We all know Mother Jones as the patron saint of miners and their families, another of her indefatigable passions was the defense of those fighting against Mexico’s Diaz dictatorship. A report from St. Louis.

‘The Mexican Protest Meeting’ from St. Louis Labor. Vol. 6 No. 416. February 6, 1909.

Mother Jones Addressed an Enthusiastic Audience at Druids Hall-Resolution of Protest Adopted.

The large hall at the Druids building was crowded with an enthusiastic audience last, Sunday afternoon to listen to speeches in behalf of the Mexican political refugees, Sarabia, Magon, Rivera and Villarreal.

The meeting was held under the auspices of the Socialist Party. Comrade L.G. Pope acted as chairman and opened the meeting with a few well-chosen remarks, stating the object and importance of the gathering. He then introduced Comrade Hoehn, who spoke of the revolutionary struggles in recent years throughout the civilized world, also referring to the Moyer-Haywood-Pettibone, the Rudowitz-Pouren and Mexican refugees’ cases, and closing with a few remarks on the Gompers-Mitchell-Morrison decision.

“Mother” Jones was then introduced, being greeted with hearty applause by the large audience of men and women. The speaker pictured the story of the Mexican Revolutionists in forceful language and gave a striking description of the miserable conditions of labor in Mexico. She pointed out the connection between commercial interests of powerful capitalist corporations of these United States and the political machinery of the government in Mexico. “Mother” Jones then described the kidnaping of Sarabia, his release from the Mexican dungeon, thanks to the governor of Arizona, and the arrest of Magon, Rivera and Villarreal. Incidentally she criticised the efforts of the ruling powers here to Russianize the political institutions of this country.

A collection amounting to $23.70 was taken up for the Mexican Refugees’ Defense Fund.

Chairman Comrade Pope then read the following resolution, which was passed by a unanimous vote:

Resolution.

“Whereas, Systematic efforts have been made during the last few years, by the governments of Russia and Mexico, to compel Uncle Sam to play the role of the Pinkerton hireling for the benefit of Czar Nicholas and Czar Porfirio Diaz;

“Whereas, The Mexican refugees, Sarabia, Magon, Rivera and Villarreal, have been imprisoned in the United States at the instance of the Mexican government for political reasons, which is in violation of the fundamental laws of our Republic and a disgrace to the memory of the American Revolutionists of 1776; therefore be it

“Resolved, That this mass meeting of citizens enters an emphatic protest against the imprisonment of these Mexican patriots and demands their immediate release;

“Resolved, That copies of this resolution be sent to the United States Senators from Missouri, to the United States Congressmen representing the three St. Louis districts, to President Roosevelt and to the Secretary of State, Hon. Elihu Root.”

The comrades were well pleased with the success of the meeting.

***

AN APPEAL

In Behalf of the Mexican Political Refugees.

Brothers and Comrades:

At three great national conventions–namely, the American Federation of Labor, the Western Federation of Miners, and the Socialist Party conventions–resolutions were passed espousing the cause of the Mexican patriots and labor leaders imprisoned in a United States jail in Los Angeles, Cal.

For sixteen months these men, Ricardo Flores Magon, Antonio I. Villarreal and Librado Rivera, have been held without trial. They have been denied the right of bail, although ample funds were offered by their friends. They have been held “incommunicado” since July 7 of last year–that is, refused the liberty of seeing their families or friends.

Upon the testimony of an employe of the Furlong Detective Agency of St. Louis, these Mexican political refugees are accused, of attempting to set on foot in Arizona an armed expedition to invade Mexico. This the prisoners absolutely deny, proving on the witness stand at their preliminary examination, first, that neither they nor any of their friends possessed weapons to arm such an expedition; and, second, that they were not in the territory of Arizona at the time. (How all this must remind union men of the trial of Moyer, Haywood and Pettibone!) In addition, it was shown that the Furlong Detective Agency was in the employ of the Mexican government: that this detective agency had been pursuing Mexican political refugees all over the United States for years, and that these private detectives had already returned to the waiting Mexican soldiery across the border one hundred and sixty political enemies of President Porfirio Diaz.

Why does Diaz want them?

Because in Mexico free speech has been suppressed, the right of ballot has been abolished, and the free organization of trades unions made a crime–sixty-four men, three women and four children were recently shot down at the strike in the Rio Blanco mills by the soldiers of Diaz.

Against all these tyrannies the Mexican political prisoners now in jail in the United States have been fighting for ten years.

They do not deny that they are enemies of Diaz–Diaz, who has succeeded himself as president, by force of arms, seven times.

They do not deny that they advised their compatriots in Mexico to take up arms rather than to be shot down by the rurales of Diaz. They do not deny that they intend to fight in Mexico for their constitutional rights, if they can obtain them by no other means.

But they do deny the false testimony produced by the paid spies of Diaz–the Furlong Detective Agency of St. Louis.

Many pages could be written upon the atrocities practiced upon the working people of Mexico. Here is a sample:

On the tobacco plantations of Valle Nacional. 15,000 slaves are annually purchased for from $40 to $50 a head, under the infamous “Contract System.” Three-fourths of these miserable beings die in the space of twelve months–a fact acknowledged by the overseers themselves and the Valle Nacional is but one of the many death-traps of Mexico. Conservative estimate places the annual importation of slaves upon the various plantations of Mexico as not less than 125,000 souls.

But it may be asked, “How does this affect us?”

Your question will be quickly answered by any American miner, for just across the border the Mexican government is compelling the Mexican miners to work for less than half the wages received by the American miner in Arizona, and the mine owners are preparing to use this as a club to beat down wages in the United States. The cheap labor of Mexico is the most threatening problem ever faced by the American wage worker, and Mexican labor will be cheap just as long as President Porfirio Diaz is in power. What did he do when the Mexican miners at Cananea went on strike for higher wages? He sent his general, Kosterlitsky, with a squadron of rurales, shooting right and left, and drove the Mexican miners back to work. Hundreds were killed in this slaughter.

For protesting, organizing and fighting in Mexico against these things Magon, Villarreal, Rivera and Sarabia are to be tried in Tombstone, Arizona, probably within a few weeks. Neither imprisonments nor threats of death have crushed the spirit of these Mexican patriots. Give them liberty, and the working people of Mexico will rally round them, re-establishing constitutional government and freely organizing their trades unions.

Recognizing these facts, the American Federation of Labor, the Western Federation of Miners and the Socialist Party, in their national conventions, have espoused the cause of the imprisoned Mexican patriots, and with these resolutions as their warrant the Mexicans now call upon you for financial support.

Send all funds for the defense of the Mexican Refugees’ Defense to Secretary-Treasurer, Western Federation of Miners, Railroad Building, Denver, Col.

A long-running socialist paper begun in 1901 as the Missouri Socialist published by the Labor Publishing Company, this was the paper of the Social Democratic Party of St. Louis and the region’s labor movement. The paper became St. Louis Labor, and the official record of the St. Louis Socialist Party, then simply Labor, running until 1925. The SP in St. Louis was particularly strong, with the socialist and working class radical tradition in the city dating to before the Civil War. The paper holds a wealth of information on the St Louis workers movement, particularly its German working class.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/missouri-socialist/090206-stlouislabor-v06n418.pdf