Young Communists in the northern forests of Minnesota.

‘Fighting Finns Organize League’ by Emil Fuura from Young Worker. Vol. 2 No. 9. September, 1923.

Dear Comrades:

Cloquet, Minn.

I am a member of the Young Workers’ League of this little sawmill town called Cloquet, newly built from ashes since 1918, when the big forest fires ran through this joint and the whole Nor’west.

Cloquet grew up fast because the three sawmills the remained now are the backbone of this town. Cloquet was a lively town for a while after the fire, and increasing with its old settlers. And then comes a cut in wages and all the food products kept rising to the highest point.

This was more than the workers could stand, and they began to organize and hold mass meetings and united into one of these numerous craft unions which was called the Timber Workers of the World; we went on strike May 1, 1919, and we stood strong for a while, but in our own lines there were traitors or yellow sneaks who went to scab. We all know what this means–it weakened our power. But still we fought with hope. Finally our front got thinner, and at last we only had a small force of us to fight against the company. Most of us were Finns, who had courage to fight until orders came from headquarters to let Weyerhauser, the Lumber King, have his victory.

Some went back to work, some got blacklisted, some served terms behind the bars and some had to leave town. This is how we came out with our strike. This is what the world’s might, Capitalism, offers to Labor so long as we do not get together. We must get together, hand in hand, and, in one front, fight against the world’s capitalistic class. We must organize and get together, win together and rule together, and break the chains that Capitalism offers us that we so far have carried just to make profits for the Slave Holders.

Cloquet now has a population of 600, and about 20 per cent. are Finnish, who own the Workmen’s Hall, where we hold our meetings four times a month. Comrade Max Salzman was here and got us started, and now we have about sixteen members, and all seem to be interested in this league.

I am and will always be with the Young Workers’ League and will do my best in the struggle for freedom from Slavery. I remain, Yours in comradeship,

-Emil Fuura, Sec’y.

The Young Worker was produced by the Young Workers League of America beginning in 1922. The name of the Workers Party youth league followed the name of the adult party, changing to the Young Workers (Communist) League when the Workers Party became the Workers (Communist) Party in 1926. The journal was published monthly in Chicago and continued until 1927. Editors included Oliver Carlson, Martin Abern, Max Schachtman, Nat Kaplan, and Harry Gannes.

For PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/youngworker/v2n9-sep-1923-yw.pdf