The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-01-05
ELLIS, ARTIST OF
THE. PROLEI'ARIAT'

lst OF the daily" was being inter
/ viewed" Put interview" in quotes
! Fred Ellis is too simple, unpreten-
tious person to be interviewed. He
just talked while getting ready to
start another drawing. It was un-
usual for Ellis to be talking about
himself, He never does. Now he was
talking about himself because he
was asked to.
I gasped at what he told me Of
the life, in the yards. "How could
you stand it," I asked.
81 don't know. ! just did. You
can stand anything if you have to-"
his eyes were sad.
at was a miserable life. Like be-
ing in Jail, only you worked much
harder. Two or three times a week
we'd go to sleep with our clothes on,
too tired to take them off. Sometimes
men would get desperate, they'd let
fly hook and-a straw boss would
be on the ground with the blood
squirting out of him. Men become
killers in such a life."
Upton Sinclair has told the story
in his great epic of the American
class struggle, "The ,Iungle"-per-
hays the only really revolutionary
piece of writing Sinclair has done.
Sinclair was charged with hysterical
exaggerstion and Justification of
facts.
"What do yor think of The Jun
gle,' Fred? Did Sinclair tell it all
straight"
HE didn't tell enough. There were
niany horrible details that Sinclair
never learned"
Working IL hours a day and more
:" left you little time for leisure
pursuits. By eating cheapIy and
sparingly, buying almost no clothes,
spending practically nothing on
amusemcnts, Ellis in the course of
three years managed to save even
out of his miserable wages 500.
He had always liked to fool around
with pencil and paper, drawing
sketches of things and people. So
he decided to stop work and go to
art school. He went to the Art Ac-
sdemy in Chicago for two months
end then had to quit because his
money was used up. That ended his
formal art education.
But Ellis was thru with the stock
yards. He became a sign-painter,
! painting large outdoor signs. For
l21 years he worked at this trade,
being active in his union all the
time. He was just one of the hum
dreds Of thousands of rank and fill
ers, unknown except to his immedi-
late circle, working in Chicago when
The could find work there, travelling
ttoSother cities when he couldn t, al
ways limiting the elusive job. He
had no contacts with the organized
movements of the workers outside
Fof' the American Federation Sof La
\ bors 10
Later On Ellis was elected an Off
Ger of his union and became dele
gate. to. the Chicago Federation of
I Labor. In 1919 the Chicago Fedora
ton, then under progressive leader
ship, launched a weekly magazine.
| The !, New Majority. There were
/ drawings 'bysArt Young and Board
man Robinson in The New Majority,
reprinted from the old Masses, with
which he was familiar. The thought
occurred to him that he might be
able to do. some suitable drawings,
and SO he tried. They were accented
and printed. They marked the first
! einergence of Fred Ellissas work
t,ingclazs artist. ~ Y 's TIL. M
Ellis contributed more drawings
and continued to draw for The New
Ne joritywh;le working at his trade.
4 In. 1919, while working on q scat
fold onrsthe fifth floor 0f q building
/ ia. Chicago, Ellis suddenly slipped,
/ lost his. balance, whirled thru dizzy
1 air and landed in heap onsthe hard
| asphalt pavement. Some people die
from a fall like that. Ellis gas
lucky. He lived. He spent six weeks
lin the. hospital and for two years
! walked with crutches or a cane, I'M
able TO- work. Ellis was lucky. J,
William e. Foster was circulation
manager of The New Majority and
lit was thru him that Ellis formed
his first real contacts with the rev.
1 clrtinna1y movement. While in the
4 kosnital. ,he wns viaited ~ John