‘I.W.W. Puts One Over on Tonopah Bosses’ from Voice of the People. Vol. 3 No. 37. October 1, 1914.

Special to the Voice, September 24.

On the 22nd of September, the Tonopah Daily Bonanza, one of the slimiest sheets in the hands of the master class, was dynamited, causing very little damage, this lying sheet at once published an article stating that the red flag organization, the I.W.W., had attempted to blow up the paper. The scissorbills at once called a mass meeting to organize a citizens committee to run the I.W.W. out of town. All the citizens were there at the meeting, but it must be remembered that all the members of the I.W.W. in Tonopah are citizens. Mr. Booth, the editor of the Bonanza, got upon the floor and said that the I.W.W. had dynamited his place of business, and that the good citizens should at once take action. They did so. After Mr. Booth got through talking, Tom Fagan, one of the Tonopah Socialists, got upon the floor and told Booth that he could not get away with stuff like that. It was too old.

The next to take the stand was H.E. McGuckin, organized of the I.W.W., in Tonopah at this time; McGuckin started in by telling Mr. Booth that he was a liar and knew it. He told the citizens that if they wanted to find the party that did the dynamiting to keep their eyes upon the offices of the Bonanza, as that was the most likely place to find him. He then told the people of the tricks of this kind that had been pulled off in other places. Before he was through the house was wildly shouting for the I.W.W. In concluding, Mr. McGuckin said that the I.W.W. was in Tonopah to stay, and that any move on the part of Booth and his hunch would be met by a counter move on the part of the I.W.W. In answer to Booth, who said that the I.W.W. wanted $15 of the $20 produced by the average miner of Tonopah. McGuckin said, “If you know anything about us revolutionists, you would know that we not only want $15 of the $20, we want the whole $20, no more and no less. We want to put overalls on you and the rest of your class, and let you find out what it is like to handle a muck stick 8 hours a day, 1400 feet under the ground.” After one more of the Socialists had spoken they started to organize a committee. Tom Fagan, one of the rebels, got up and made a motion to adjourn, the chairman tried to get away from it, but there was nothing doing, he had to put the motion. It was carried unanimously.

Ten minutes later the Tonopah Prop. League signed up 12 new members. But however there was just one thing we overlooked, we forgot to extend to Mr. Booth a vote of thanks for renting a hall and inviting the I.W.W. to speak at what turned out to be one of the best I.W.W. meetings ever held in Tonopah.

Tonopah Press Committee.

The Voice of the People continued The Lumberjack. The Lumberjack began in January 1913 as the weekly voice of the Brotherhood of Timber Workers strike in Merryville, Louisiana. Published by the Southern District of the National Industrial Union of Forest and Lumber Workers, affiliated with the Industrial Workers of the World, the weekly paper was edited by Covington Hall of the Socialist Party in New Orleans. In July, 1913 the name was changed to Voice of the People and the printing home briefly moved to Portland, Oregon. It ran until late 1914.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/lumberjack/141001-voiceofthepeople-v3n37w089.pdf