The Commonwealth. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1911-1914, 1914-02-19
MORNING PAPER ADMITS
THAT LABOR DEM0NSTRA-
TION OF TUESDAY WAS
LARGEST IN HISTORY OF
EVERETT.


Dor demonstration ever held in Everett
took place last night when several
hundred worllingmen lead by band
marched down Hewitt avenue and
north on Lombard to the City park
at Twenty-fourth street, where mass
meeting of several thousand persons,
composed of union men, sympathizers
i and curious onlookers listened to
short addresses by representatives Of
, the workers."
The above quotation is from the
morning daily of Everett No one sus-
poets the morning scribune OF being
over friendly to labor. Yet It did
Justice to the occasion. IL made one
understandment, however, in saying
"The timber workers held their
regular meeting in Liberty hall after
the parade the Labor Temple not be-
ing large enough to hold them"
The fact is that Liberty hall, also,
was too small to hold the vast con-
course of workers who turned out in
sympathy with the strikers. Besides
the nine hundred or more men and
women who assembled in Liberty hall,
more than thousand were gathered
| in an overflow meeting outside, where
various speakers addressed the meet
! ing.
During the evening the fact was
made perfectly clear to all that the
mill owners had entered into fight
on one issue only, namely, the right
of the workers to organize.
Fight for Equal Rights.
Addressing vast concourse of peo-
pie at the city park, previous to the
march to Liberty hall, C. J. Folsom,
an organizer for the American Fed
Grafton of Labor, explained briefly
why the men at the Robinson Manu-
featuring company walked out, declar-
| ing it was caused by the discharge of
men for the sole reason that they be-
Ionged to the union.
1--WE have the same right to organ
ize as any other body of men, said
the speaker, "and when we are dis
charged for belonging to a union 1t
is just the same as discharging a man
because he joins the church, or the
Commercial club, or the Cascade club.
1t is our right and our privilege to
organize and we are going to fight
for that right. The bosses are or
ganized for their mutual benefit and
no one is complaining about them"
Suggests General WaIkout.
r. J. Olinger, of the Electricians
local, was the next speaker, reiterat-
ing what the first speaker had said
regarding the right to organize and
declaring that the 200 men who walk
ed out of the Robinson plant last week
were to be commended for their ac-
ton. Organized labor should back
them, he said, and help them win this
fight There are 1000 union men in
Everett, he continued, and if they re-
fuse to work until the discharged men
at the Robinson plant are taken back,
the fight will be won.
Gus Law, president of the recently
organized HOBO union, followed and
| told how Robinson tried to get the
men at the Hotel de Jungles to take
the places of the men who walked out
and how these men refused to be
scabs.
All in all the lumber and mill bar
ons have no cause for selfcongratula-
ton on the issue raised by their own
arrogance and "un-American" despo-
tism.
scabs viii Be Hard to Find Now.
Owing to the fact that at least 1000
Puget Sound lumberjacks and mill
hands have resumed work, after a
Ilay-off of about eight weeks, it viii be
hard for the exploiters to get seabs
to break the strike.
Practically all the principal logging
companies of the northwest have com
menced operations and more are pre-
pairing to start work before March 10.
The Merrill & Ring company, with a
base of operations near Everett, re
sumed work at half capacity Mon
day and is issuing calls for more men
in order to operate at full capacity as
soon as possible.
The Simpson Logging company, at
shelton. one of the largest of the
Puget Sound camps, has commenced
cutting Grays Harbor loggers have
become active again and are issuing
calls for more men. The Foster a
. Morgan company has announced its
Intention of resuming activities next
week.