New Castle, Pennsylvania outside of Pittsburgh was a center of labor militancy and the site of numerous I.W.W. publications, including for a while the national ‘Solidarity’ weekly newspaper. Those revolutionary editors were under constant state harassment. Here, all of its jailed editors appeal for solidarity.

‘The Persecution of Solidarity’ from The Industrial Worker. Vol. 2 No. 7. May 7, 1910.

Shall the Master Class Destroy the Labor Press of Pennsylvania?

Fellow-Workers:

You will find below a short statement of the facts in connection with the present persecution of Solidarity. To a class-conscious workingman, the real reason for this persecution will be plain and clear. The masters are determined to crush out all forms of labor unionism. They realize that Solidarity stands in their way. They realize the importance of the strategic position that we occupy in the very heart of the Steel Industry. They feel that Solidarity must be throttled. For the same reason the workers everywhere should rally to its support. Since our arrest and imprisonment we have altered our editorial heading so as to make further persecution on that score impossible. We have also engaged an acting manager and editor while our fellow-workers are in jail. This, of course, involves additional expense, and our whole source of income is derived from subscription and voluntary contributions from the working class. But Solidarity must be maintained, and the message of Industrial Unionism proclaimed, cost what it may. In this hour of battle and of trial, when the masters have determined to strangle even the voice of protest, may we not also look to you to do your share both in contributing to our present unlooked-for expenses, and in sending in subscriptions? Send all contributions to SOLIDARITY DE FENSE FUND, Box 622, New Castle, Pa.

FACTS IN THE CASE.

The facts in this case are, briefly, as follows: On December 18, 1909, after several months of preliminary work, the first issue of Solidarity appeared, announcing in its editorial heading the fact that it was “published weekly by the local unions of the I.W.W. In New Castle.” The name of its editor, A.M. Stirton, was also given, and that of its business manager, C.H. McCarty. A joint press committee elected by the two I.W.W. locals, but whose names were not published, supervised the work of issuing the paper, in conjunction with the editor and manager. The paper way, the property of the two local unions.

Solidarity met a ready response from the workers in the Pittsburg district and elsewhere throughout the country. The paper was dealing telling blows to capitalism right at its very heart. The corporations and their tools, the city and county officials, evidently feared its influence. The latter set about to suppress or destroy it.

Getting their cue from a statute passed by the 1907 Assembly, which provides that papers published by corporations, partners or individual owners, shall publish names or owners in their editorial headings, but which says nothing at all about an unincorporated or voluntary organization, although there are hundreds of such papers published by such organizations in this State–getting their cue from this piece of special legislation, the prosecuting attorney of Lawrence county and his subordinates proceeded to collect “Information” against Solidarity. After two months of vain “effort,” a Pinkerton detective named Fernandez was brought from Pittsburg to work on the “case.” Under the guise of a “wholesale and retail piano dealer,” Fernandez secured an advertising contract with Solidarity, to which were attached the certified signatures of the five members of the Press Committee.

With this information as to the “ownership” of Solidarity, the prosecuting attorney proceeded to business, and on March 1 arrests were made as follows: A.M. Stirton, editor; C.H. McCarty, Valentine Jacobs, Earl F. Moore and George Fix. Indictment was also drawn against B. H. Williams, but, being in the hospital at the time, he was not arrested.

These six men were tried March 17 in Judge Porter’s court, and, although the evidence failed to show wherein they had violated the law, the Jury returned a verdict of “guilty.” On March 23 sentence was passed by Judge Porter, and each of the six defendants was fined $100, with additional costs of $80 altogether. Refusing to pay the fines, all six were turned over to the sheriff and locked up in the county jail, where they must remain for 90 days according to the pronouncement of the court.

The day after Solidarity’s trial, the owner of a capitalist paper, the New Castle Daily Herald, was tried for the same offense. Although the evidence was conclusive in his case the jury declared Mr. Dickinson “not guilty.” Six members of a committee in charge of “The Free Press,” the local organ ́of the Socialist Party, were also tried on the same charge and found “guilty.” To block this attempt to destroy the labor pross of Pennsylvania, which, if successful, will be repeated elsewhere, we call upon the working class everywhere to rally to our support. Come on with the subs and money for the Defense Fund. Slap the conspirators in the face!

(Signed) A.M. STIRTON, C.H. MCCARTY, GEORGE FIX, EARL F. MOORE, VALENTINE JACOBS, B.H. WILLIAMS.

The Industrial Union Bulletin, and the Industrial Worker were newspapers published by the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) from 1907 until 1913. First printed in Joliet, Illinois, IUB incorporated The Voice of Labor, the newspaper of the American Labor Union which had joined the IWW, and another IWW affiliate, International Metal Worker.The Trautmann-DeLeon faction issued its weekly from March 1907. Soon after, De Leon would be expelled and Trautmann would continue IUB until March 1909. It was edited by A. S. Edwards. 1909, production moved to Spokane, Washington and became The Industrial Worker, “the voice of revolutionary industrial unionism.”

PDF of full issue: https://archive.org/download/v2n07-w59-may-07-1910-IW/v2n07-w59-may-07-1910-IW_text.pdf