The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1934-10-04
BY MERIDEL LIE SEUR

to this platform, so we did, MAX
ing the center of a wide massed
circle that stretched as far as we
could see. We seemed buried like
minerals in mass, packed body
to body. l felt again that pecu-
liar heavy silence in which there
is the real form of the happen
ing. My eyes burn. can hard
ly see. l seem to be standing like
an animal in ambush. l have the
brightest, most physical feeling
with every sense sharpened pecu-
liarly. The movements, the mass
es that I see and feel I have never
known before. 1 only partly know
what am seeing, feeling, but l
feel it is the real BODY and ges-
ture of a future vitality. see
that there is a bright clot of wo-
men drawn close to a bullet-rid-
died truck. / am one of them, yet
l don't feel myself at all. 1t is
curious, l feel most alive and yet
for the first time in my life | do
not feel myself as separate. | real
ize then that all my previous feel
ings have been based on feeling
myself separate and distinct from
others and now 1 sense sharply
faces, bodies, closenes and my own
fear is not my own alone, nor my
hope.
The strikers keep moving UP
cars. We keep moving back to-
gether to lie. cars pass and form
between US and a brick building
that flanks the parking lot. They
are connecting the loudspeaker,
testing it. Yes, they are moving
up lots of cars, through The crowd
and lining them closely side by
side. There must be ten thousand
people now, heat rising from them.
They are standing silent, watching
the platform, watching the cars
being brought up. The silence
seems terrific like a great form
moving of itself. This is real
movement issuing from the close
reality of mass feeling. This is
the first real rhythmic movement
/ have ever seen. My heart ham,
mers terrifically. My hands are
swollen and hot. No one is pro-
ducing this movement. It is
movement upon which all are NOV
ing softly, rhythmically, terribly.
No matter how many times
looked at what was happening l
hardly knew what l saw. l looked
and | saw time and time again
that there were men standing close
to us, around US, and then sudden
ly I knew that there was a living
chain of men standing shoulder to
shoulder, forming a circle around
the group of women. They stood
shoulder to shoulder slightly NOV
ing like thick vine from the pres
sure behind, but standing tightly
woven like a living wall. moving
gently.
1 saw that the cars were now
lined one close fitted to the other
with strikers sitting on the roofs
and closely packed on the running
boards. They could see far over
the crowd. "What are they doing
that for?" / said. No one an
swered. The wide dilated eyes of
the women were like my own. No
one seemed to be answering ques-
tions now. They simply spoke,
cried out, moved together now.
The last car drove in slowly, the
crowd letting them through with
out command or instruction. "a
little closer" someone said. "Be
sure they are close" Men sprang
up to direct whatever action was
needed and then subsidized again
and no one had noticed who it
was. They stepped forward to di-
rect needed action and then fell
anonymously back again.
We all watched carefully the
placing of the cars. Sometimes we
looked at each other. l didn't I'M
derstand that look. I felt uneasy.
It was as if something escaped me.
And then suddenly, on my very
body, I knew what they were do
ing, as if it had been communi-
Gated to me from a thousand eyes,
thousand silent threats, as if it
had been shouted in the loudest
voice.
They were building a barricade.
Two men died from that days
shooting. Men lined up to give
one of them a blood TRANSMISSION,
but he died. Black Friday men
called the murderous day. Night
and day workers held their chill
dren up to see the body of Ness
who died. Tuesday, the day of
the funeral, one thousand more
militia were massed downtown.
1t was still over 80 in the shade.
l went to the funeral paTlors and
thousands of men and women were
massed there waiting in the ter
rifle sun. One block of women
and children were standing two
hours waiting. I went over and
stood near them. I didn't know
whether I could march. I didn't
like marching in parades. Besides.
| felt they might not want me.
l stood aside not knowing if I
would march. 1 couldn't see how
they would ever organize it any,
way. No one seemed to be doing
much.
AT three-forty some command
went down the ranks. I said fool