What must have been quite a day. Mother Jones speaks at a Chicago fall festival and workers’ protest against the wage-slave system sponsored by Czech Socialists and held in that city’s Pilsen Park after a street parade leaving from the offices of the newspaper Spravedlnost.

‘Mother Jones Full of Fight’ from the Chicago Daily Socialist. Vol. 2 No. 273. September 15, 1908.

Declares Workers Are Coming Into Own in Speech at Bohemian Picnic

“I am over 70 years old and yet I feel younger than I ever did, for at last in my declining years I see the workers of the world coming to their senses. I am a woman–old and gray–yet there is not a bailiff or a capitalist sheriff whom I fear. I have just as much right to life and liberty as they have and I defy them–yes, I defy thein to stop me from tearing the shells off of the eyes of the wage slaves.

So spoke Mother Jones, the veteran woman agitator, when she stood on the platform Pilsen Park Sunday afternoon and, with her gray hair shining in the declining sun and her benevolent features gleaming, defied all capitalistic hirelings. She gave vent to all of the patriotism that was stored in her breast. In her crisp, blunt manner she rammed home truth after truths with so telling effect that the thousands gathered in front of the stand cheered themselves hoarse.

Address by Brower

Mother Jones was preceded on the speaker’s stand by James H. Brower, who spoke of the aims of the working class and pointed out that in the event he was elected governor on the Socialist ticket it would not be on account of his superior personality or his whiskers.

“No, fellow workers,” he said, “if I am elected, or if any other candidate on our ticket wins, it will be because the working class has come to a realization of the Socialist party principles. No friendship rules in your party.”

Frank Hlavacek and Joseph Ambroz addressed the audience in the Bohemian language and scored unrestrained applause from the thousand or more of their countrymen. Other speakers gave short talks in their respective tongues and the speaking, was closed by J.J. Kral, who had opened it up with a touching appeal. The “Red Special” was mentioned and cheered to the echo and hundreds of voices demanded a collection, which was taken.

“We want to prove that Gompers is a cringing liar. We are the capitalists who sent the “Special” out and we will be the capitalists who will keep it going as long as Eugene V. Debs holds out.” These and other cries accompanied the collection.

“Marseillaise” Is Sung

The demonstration that preceded the parade was a spectacle seldom seen in the streets of Chicago. Shortly after 12 o’clock the crowds began to gather in front of the office of the Spravedlnost, 683 Loomis Street. By 12:30 there were a few hundred standing around and the arrangements committee began to think that a failure would be the result of their labors. Ten more minutes passed on and still no more arrived. Their hearts began to sink. Then there was a loud shout. The strains of the “Marseillaise” came from somewhere in the distance. There was another shout and the strains of the “International Party” are heard from another direction. In a few minutes the air was full of Socialist songs and cheers.

From four different parts of the compass came banners and behind them thousands of marchers. Down Wood Street came the banner of the Carpenter and Joiners. From Eighteenth Street, up Laflin, came the Brewery Workers. Down Ashland Avenue, from the Pilsen Turner Hall, came another detachment of carpenters, headed by a brass band and flying banners. Down Throop Street came the Wood Workers and the Karl Marx Club. From every direction imaginable came lines of Socialists and unionists. Three of the unions came marching behind their own banners and their own bands, and such cheers as awoke the echoes of the otherwise quiet neighborhood brought smiles of victory and tears of pleasure to the eyes of all.

Many Banners Displayed

Without delay the marchers formed Into line and four abreast they marched down Nineteenth Street toward the park. As the marchers passed the houses along the street men rushed out and with cries of “Here goes my principles and my comrades”, fell in behind and marched on with beaming faces. Above the heads of the marchers flew the banners. In the front marched the musicians and in their wake were 208 children carrying a transparency marked, Youth Is the Future Generation. Behind these marched the woman’s organization, carrying transparency marked “The Socialist Party Stands for Woman Suffrage.” The rest of the marchers, extending for over seven blocks, were composed of Socialist members. Socialists-at-large and various unions and educational societies–all told about 5,000 souls with one purpose,

Some of the transparencies attracted much attention, especially the one in front, the largest in the line marked with Karl Marx’s motto. “Workers of the world unite: you have nothing to lose but your chains and a world to gain.” Some of the others were as follows:

“Give us schools on place of factories.”
“A woman is not free when suffrage is denied her.”
“Where freedom rules, there is my home.” “
“Workingmen vote like men. Vote the Socialist ticket.”
“Suffrage to women and bread to your children.”
“Organization is the Gibraltar on which the temple of the future must be built.”
“Equality, freedom and brotherhood.”
“Away with capitalistic slavery.”
“Working women, be the helpers of your husbands.”
“Don’t be a scab at the polls.”
“Slovanians, organize in your ranks.”
“Freiheit, Gleishheit, Bruderlichkeit.”
“The populace, the working class.”
“Spread our dally papers, spread all our publications.”

The various unions had their own inscribed banners.

Speaker Go to Alabama

Mother Jones, after finishing her speech announced that she would leave for Alabama.

“I will go,” she said, “into the ranks poor, suffering mortals in that state desecrated by Democrat rule, I will defy all the slavers there. I may come back and I may not. You will hear of me, however, before I fall.”

A resolution condemning capitalist rule and panics and warning the workers, especially labor organizations, against being befuddled by agents of capitalist interests into voting the same rotten system into power and demanding woman suffrage, was introduced by Olson and Fick, both representatives of organized labor and accepted unanimously.

The Chicago Socialist, sometimes daily sometimes weekly, was published from 1902 until 1912 as the paper of the Chicago Socialist Party. The roots of the paper lie with Workers Call, published from 1899 as a Socialist Labor Party publication, becoming a voice of the Springfield Social Democratic Party after splitting with De Leon in July, 1901. It became the Chicago Socialist Party paper with the SDP’s adherence and changed its name to the Chicago Socialist in March, 1902. In 1906 it became a daily and published until 1912 by Local Cook County of the Socialist Party and was edited by A.M. Simons if the International Socialist Review. A cornucopia of historical information on the Chicago workers movements lies within its pages.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history//usa//pubs/chicago-daily-socialist/1908/080915-chicagodailysocialist-v02n273a.pdf