Just turned 17, and already a full-time paid I.W.W. organizer, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn brings the Good News to Philadelphia.

‘Miss Flynn Speaks at Largest Socialist Meetings Ever Held in Philadelphia’ from The People. Vol. 17 No. 24. September 7, 1907.

Miss Flynn Returns to New York–Philadelphia Responds Well to Message of Industrial Unionism–Work Done for The People–S.P. Declares Sympathy with I.W.W. Program.

Miss Flynn called on Aug. 27 at the Daily People office, on returning from Philadelphia. When asked about her week of agitation there for the S.L.P., she expressed herself as well pleased with the results. Literature sales were good. A supply of Daily People which were on hand at the last two meetings were very eagerly bought by the audience.

Miss Flynn said that the co-operation given her by the Party members in Philadelphia had been splendid; and she expressed the opinion that the sleepy city had shown considerable evidences of wakefulness to the agitation carried on.

Philadelphia, August 25. Our first meeting, with Miss Flynn as speaker, was held Tuesday night, and though there was a “religious” meeting on an adjoining corner and it was in a bourgeois neighborhood, we had a large crowd and an attentive hearing. The following night, in West Philadelphia, we had a very large meeting. It was the largest gathering of the kind ever held in that part of the city. Miss Flynn was in good form and made a fine presentation of Socialism, branching off into industrial unionism–frankly, I thought this a mistake, as the audience was composed largely of union men (A.F. of L.); but, as she explained the question I was surprised to see the audience break out into exclamations of approval, followed by round after round of applause. That night the press “caught on” to us and the next day the reporters were after us. The West Philadelphians bought many copies of The People, and several men came up and subscribed. Thursday night, at Front and Dauphin streets, we had an immense audience in which were a number of reporters; they wrote up more or less (principally less) accurate accounts, and gave a great deal of space to their reports in the morning papers. The feature of all these meetings that impressed me most strongly was the respectful attention and earnestness of the audience. Working men crowded about the platform and stood for an hour to two hours, listening eagerly to every word. The exposition of industrial unionism was closely followed, and Miss Flynn presented The People, “owned by the working class, edited and run by the working class, for the working class,” the impression was apparent to every one, especially so when she said, “Not a share of stock of this paper is for sale. You could not buy it for love or money. The only way you can become a shareholder is to join the Socialist Labor Party.”

One Davis, of the Socialist Party, honored us by his presence on this occasion, and, of course, we felt duly impressed by such liberality, especially when we learned that he is the official organizer of Local Philadelphia, Socialist Party.

Friday night, at Germantown and Lehigh avenues, Miss Flynn spoke to a large crowd, and, as you will have seen by the Philadelphia papers, the reporters were following us about to all of our meetings. Beside opportunity to misrepresent, they were, of course, looking for the sensation which is the life of the capitalist press. The meeting had been under way but a few minutes when the rain began to pour. Here the reporters got their coveted “sensation,” for Miss Flynn put it up to the audience whether to close the meeting or not. The crowd stuck, and she talked while the rain poured over her, and every once in a while the swaying figure on the platform was lit by a flash of fitful lightning. “Doesn’t she make a picture,” said one old lady near me, who stood under an umbrella, listening throughout. Here, too, the earnestness of the audience impressed one.

I believe that Philadelphia will be a good field for industrial unionism, as soon as the I.W.W. is once started. Saturday night Miss Flynn spoke at Germantown. Unfortunately for the Socialist party, they had selected the same night and place for a meeting. The Socialist Labor Party had already started before the S.P. speaker was on the ground. Miss Flynn held her audience throughout. She was followed by Campbell, who explained the position of the Socialist Labor Party on the trade union question. This was called out this time by a young man across the street on the S.P. platform. Justice compels me to say that no reproach attaches to the rank and file of the Socialist Party who were present. Several members of that party came over and apologized for the mistake and declared themselves in sympathy with the I.W.W.

Soon both meetings were closed by a downpour of rain.

Miss Flynn addressed a gathering tonight (Sunday) at the north plaza of the City Hall. It was such a meeting as has seldom been seen in Philadelphia. There were fully a thousand people packed into a dense crowd who listened with close attention for two hours. Every point seemed to be appreciated, and the speech was continually punctuated by enthusiastic applause. The Socialist Party held a sort of overflow meeting a short distance away, but it did not in any way detract from our meeting. These meetings which have been held during Miss Flynn’s presence here, have impressed the Philadelphians with a knowledge of the fact that there is something doing in Socialist propaganda. When Miss Flynn finished this final address there was long and enthusiastic applause, followed by a rush to shake her hands. The pressure was so great that her father and two other party members had difficulty in extricating her from her too enthusiastic friends. The chairman at all of the meetings was Rehder, and he did his part well, making a very appropriate and short speech on each occasion.

When Miss Flynn was about to leave for New York, she expressed herself as quite well pleased with the audiences that have turned out to hear her here in Philadelphia. She will be back to speak here again on Labor Day.

K.

New York Labor News Company was the publishing house of the Socialist Labor Party and their paper The People. The People was the official paper of the Socialist Labor Party of America (SLP), established in New York City in 1891 as a weekly. The New York SLP, and The People, were dominated Daniel De Leon and his supporters, the dominant ideological leader of the SLP from the 1890s until the time of his death. The People became a daily in 1900. It’s first editor was the French socialist Lucien Sanial who was quickly replaced by De Leon who held the position until his death in 1914. Morris Hillquit and Henry Slobodin, future leaders of the Socialist Party of America were writers before their split from the SLP in 1899. For a while there were two SLPs and two Peoples, requiring a legal case to determine ownership. Eventual the anti-De Leonist produced what would become the New York Call and became the Social Democratic, later Socialist, Party. The De Leonist The People continued publishing until 2008.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/the-people-slp/070907-weeklypeople-v17n24.pdf