The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-12-11

bills, made fiery speeches, and pleased ana
frightened their souls by the evil things she
said of the company. Everybody was for join
ing the union. The news spread to all the vii
lagos that someone had come to help them at
last, and there were spontaneous strikes with
nobody to lead them. Like over in Judson
mill, where around nine thirty one hot morning
all the spinners walked out and sat on the
ground in front of the mill. The boss spinner
ran out, demanding, what you doin' here?
Why amt We workin'?" Nobody moved. "We
amt acomin' back till you raise tn rate five
cents a spool. TIL Bible says a workman's
worthy of his hire" "Hell," says the boss
spinner, which is also in the Bible. "Wahl,
reckon | kin get me some more hands to take
your place. You kin jes' set here" And he.
went back into the mill. So they sat for al
hour, some arguing to go back, and some t.
go home. Weavers and carders peeped out az
the windows at them. Nobody on the grass
thought about trying to get them to come out,
too After another half an hour, somebody
started moving toward the MILL Then every
body got up and went inside.
Over here on Hutchins hill, they had 85 per
cent joined up, and had held secret meetings
with the organizer. Then, as they found out
afterwards, company tool got himself elected
secretary and everything started going wrong.
Right away the workers took to quarreling
among themselves. One night bunch of
rowdes, hired by the company came from an
other hill and threw rotten eggs and stones at
the organizer and drove her out of town, and
threatened her to ever come back. She did
come back, once, and held another secret meet
ing but it looked like things was all wrong,
by them. And that was the end of the union.
Since then the company had kept the sheriff
and spies to keep watch out.
"There was two main troubles" Sam threw
in. "One wuz us not stickin' together good
enuf, n tn other hadn't no money TO hold
out. Everybody owed the company store, n
we'd run out of vittles, right off. Next
time it'll be different. Wen hev to git money
ahead from somewhere"
"But tn unions tn right thing fer us mill
people. Frank, you sed you belonged to
union up North, how'd yours work." I
"Yessr, ] belonged, in Jersey, N it worked
fine. Say I'll tell you about it whin you comel
over to our place, tomorrow night, to tell Myra
goodbye. It's too late to start tonight"
On Saturday evening we all gathered in Mrs.
Crenshaw's parlor, these four Marg and her
two youne'uns, and Mrs. Crenshaws house
hold Even Katy had reused herself to come
when she heard l was leaving the hill for
visit home, having been called there by
family illness.
shall never forget their faces as Frank told
of the struggles of the northern textile work.
for union, how they had suffered, been
defeated but finally had out; what condi-
tions were like before, and what they were
like now. Things hard for them still,
but much better than they were here. Mrs.
Crenshaw sitting, as she did in church, with
unnoticed tears slipping over her twitching
mouth, Katy, wide-eyed, pressing her empty
arms to her flat chest. Doris, fired up, but
restless, They listened without word until the
story was ended. Then questions began to
pour in.
eve kin do that, too" Jim declared "See
if we doan."
AS Katy left, she plucked me by the sleeve
and whispered, you'll send me a letter n
doan mind if l doan answer, becus you know
| kin read but not write. N cut you send me
book teln' about that thar country what all
kids kin go to SCHOOL,"
Ito be Continued