The story behind this famous photo of striking shirt waist strikers selling the Socialist Party’s New York Call during their epic 1909 conflict. Includes a link to the special strike issue being sold.

‘Striking Girls Will Sell Papers on the Streets Today’ from the New York Call. Vol. 2 No. 232. December 29, 1909.

This morning a special Shirt Waist Strike Edition of The Call will be mold on the streets by the girls themselves, under the direction of a number of volunteers enlisted by the Women’s Trade Union League for that purpose. This edition of the raper will be distinct from the regular daily editions, and will be devoted entirely to the story of the strike, and it will not be on sale upon the newsstands.

Beginning Christmas day the office of The Call was invaded by the editors of the special edition, Misses Elizabeth Dutcher and Elsie La Grange Cole, who, assisted by William Mailly, whom they Jestingly called “The Chaperone Editor,” have gathered all the material for the paper, and also planned for its distribution, and the work has been carried on with a rush.

The idea of getting out a special edition devoted solely to the strike and getting the striking girls themselves to sell it upon the streets was suggested by John Murray, secretary of the Political Refugee Defense League, to Miss Cole, who brought it up at a meeting of the Women’s Trade Union League, and Mines Dutcher and Cole were empowered to go ahead and get out such a paper. They immediately visited Secretary Shindler, of the Ladies’ Waist Makers Union, and asked him what he thought of the idea, and work was started on the Special Shirt Waist Edition.

Besides the special articles telling the story of the inception of the strike, the use of thugs and police and city magistrates to dishearten them, there will be special articles in Yiddish and Italian and a number of cartoons.

The purpose of this special edition of The Call is threefold: First, to get money for the cause; second, to tell the whole truth about the strike; and, third, to acquaint the general public with the story of the brave fight of these working girls for living conditions.

“We are very grateful to The Call for its assistance in getting out this special strike edition, more grateful than we can say for all the help given us in this undertaking to help the girls,” said Misses Cole and Dutcher last night.

“We regret that more of the stories are not from the pens of the girls themselves, but Christmas and Sunday intervened and made it practically impossible for us to get at the girls in time to get them to write much for the paper. Of course, every line in it deals with the strike from the viewpoint of the strikers. We expect it to be a great success in every way,” declared Misses Cole and Dutcher Just before the paper went to press.

“We have made arrangements for the sale of the paper at the following points: Outside of the Hoffman House, the headquarters of the Associated Waist and Dress Manufacturers; at the Hotel Astor, the Waldorf-Astoria, the Plaza, Columbus Circle, City Hall Park, Brooklyn Bridge and all through the shirtwaist shop district, as well as in other parts of the city,” declared the editors and managers last night.

The following women have volunteered to superintend the sale of the paper by the girl strikers, who will wear broad shoulder sashes bearing the inscription. “The Ladies’ Shirtwaist Makers’ Union on Strike for Better Conditions.” Minnes Curley, Miner, Doer, Pike, Walker, Rauha, Mrs. Ghent, Stokes, Dr. Lothrop-Reasch, Malkiel and Beard. Willam Mailly will assist at strike headquarters in Clinton Hall.

Hundreds of girls wearing the strike placard will act as news dealers during the day under the direction of the women named above, and it is expected that a snug sum of money will be gathered in for the strike fund besides the vast amount of advertising which the strike will receive.

The work of preparing the special issue of The Call has been carried on with an unequaled amount of vim and enthusiasm, and the work of getting it into the hands of the public has been planned with equal enthusiasm.

The New York Call was the first English-language Socialist daily paper in New York City and the second in the US after the Chicago Daily Socialist. The paper was the center of the Socialist Party and under the influence of Morris Hillquit, Charles Ervin, Julius Gerber, and William Butscher. The paper was opposed to World War One, and, unsurprising given the era’s fluidity, ambivalent on the Russian Revolution even after the expulsion of the SP’s Left Wing. The paper is an invaluable resource for information on the city’s workers movement and history and one of the most important papers in the history of US socialism. The paper ran from 1908 until 1923.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/the-new-york-call/1909/091228-newyorkcall-v02n322-DAMAGED.pdf