The Commonwealth. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1911-1914, 1913-04-04
THE AKRON RUBBER STRIKE

The strike OF tho seventeen thou
sand workers at Akron, Ohio. enters
its sixth week. The world has not
beard much about this strike although
. it Ia the greatest since Lawrence APP
peared on the horizon Nay. II IL
much more significant.
Lawrence was strike of aliens
testing eapltalstio law and order at
the point of the bayonet and club.
Akron is n strike of Americans whose
ideals about constitutional rights.
American freedom and other bour-
geoise distractions have been rudely
and orudely shattered by the crash of
the club and the zipp of bullets.
Akron is the producing plant of the
rubber trust. Due to over-capltali2a-
ton and inflated dividends they have
had to grind their workers down and
down and down. little thinking that
the day of reckoning would come.
Why should they think of nemises?
They had the best organized list in
America and for seven years they had
prevented the workers organizing.
But their hour came. They cut the
workers 90 per cent in February of
this year. This was the last straw.
Some 800 men walked out at the Fire
stone company, They had no organi-
zation, no funds and no friends. AS
in Lawrence it was the last despair
ing struggle of a drowning class SO
for ten days.
Then the l. w. w. heard about the
eruption and rushing organizers to the
place soon had seventeen thousand
out.
The class nature of justice soon APP
peared under the tension as always
happens in these cases. Clubbings
were the order of the day. Shots were
fired. The trust in despair organized
a citizens welfare league.
This league is a new thing in trust
defense organizations. All local bust
ness men, officials, and other working
class traitors were persuaded that
their interest lay in REFRESHING the
strikers. Enrolled as specials they
were given clubs and ak handles and
acting on the order of Captain Outlet,
chief of police, dispersed all crowds
exceeding two in number. In this
humanitarian work they were assisted
by a flying squadron of seventy-five
autos in which were riot guns.
AS a consequence no picketing is
possible. Local citizens housing out
of-town agitators and organizers have
been told to quit or be tarred and
feathered. The local press spoke as
though the foundations of civil gov
eminent were tottering.
Despite this the strikers stand firm
1t is being demonstrated that when
the American gets the veneer and
myth of American working class
rights knocked out of his head he will
fight as no other race.
It is up to the class conscious work
ing class of the United States to do
their share by money contributions to
win the rubber workers strike of
Akron.
The same nav which is poisoning
the workers of Akron, killing through
care mothers of the nation, will
stretch out for you at any time. Re-
member the rubber trust cleans out
it's workers once a month. Your turn
may be next
The socialists won the battle of
Lawrence. They must win the greater
battle of Akron. The wooden trust
has been whipped. So must the rub
Der trust be whipped. To do less were
treachery to the workers Of the ma
ton.
All that is needed to win is money
So for humanity's sake forward all
you can spare and make your locals
forward all they can spare to J. w.
Royd Rox 244 Akron Ohio