The Commoner.
H
Vol. a, No. 42.
j-.
JOHN MITCHELL.
Close-Range Study of the
Great Strike Leader.
To no reador of newspapers, to no.
man with oars, is it necessary. to ox
plaln who John Mitchell is. , No man
Who has hold tightly the reins upon
147,000 men for five months' can bo'do
nied the publicity which is his duo.
No man whose word sways 400,000 men
can bo ignored by the public; no man
of tho abijity, the 'energy, tho power of
John MitclToll can bo denied.
Ho has. won -his way to .the com
mand of practically all tho coal minors
of the United States, ho has won tho
rospect and the confidence of tho groat
army of " workingmon of nil conditions
and classos who have poured into the
treasury of the strikers thousands and
thousands of dollars because John
Mltcholl asked them to do so, because
John Mitchell led tho 147,000 into a
strlko and kept them on strike and
true to the union despite tho most pow
erful influences in the country to get
them back to work.
"If I have made happy tho homes of
tho laboring, men who are now ill
treated and in want, then I shall feel
that I have lived for something' he
once said.
This was long ago, beforo his name
was known outside a small circle. It
was as if the words dedicated him to
the cause of labor, for he-has since be
come its greatest and its most power
ful leader.
To the striking miners he had said,
time and tlmo again, beforo the strike
was declared: "This union of ours Is
some day going to get the little lads
out of the mines and give them educa
tion, which will raise them above the
state where they are now, and I am go
ing to fight for this for them, and you,
their fathers, must fight with mo."
There was no bombast about the
speech there never is about Mitchell's
but it wa,s.tho firm, decided asser
tion of a -fact, quietly spoken and yet
aimed so true at the very heart of the
action that its shaft struct, home.
It is a, way with Mitchell that when
he says things they do go konio. He
Is never loud. Ho is never the orator
of arms and tongue, but what he says
has weight It hits, and his facts are
blunt facts; his decisions are blunt
decisions. He -knows that truth and
simplicity of expression are greater
than oratory, therefore hg tlls the
truth and he talks right at a man at
Fhir front and gives him, at first
glance, the appearance of a minister,
which impression tho whole face bears
out.
There are incongruities about all
mon, and Mitchell wears a soft hat
with those clothes, to tho horror . of
tho tailor and tho amusement of men
who think knowing how to dress in
slyk is one of tho chief requirements
of manliness.
"Why do you not vary your dress
somewhat?" his secretary asked one
Any.
"Eh?" he said, startled by tho ques
tion. "Eh?"- he never makes an an
swer without apparently thinking It
over several times 'Tvo been dress
ing this way for a long time; I guess
I'll continue."
Dress is nothing to Mr. Mitchell,
and yet he is always neat and well
dressed.
It is not an easy thing to control
147,000 men who are on strike, and
especially 147,000 mine workers. There
are fourteen different languages spoken
by this force fourteen different na
tionalities the fiery Italian, the phleg
matic German, the torpid Slav, the
energetic Irishman, the argumentative
Welshman, the unimaginative English
man, the enterprising Polo and the
close living LIthunian are In the ma
jority. These men, of different tastes,
varied training, conflicting ideas, It
was demanded, should be directed and
governed and kept loyal to the cause,
and it required a man among men, a
general by nature, a manager, a power,
to grasp these as John Mitchell has
grasped them and held them and win
them as he has won them.
Today, throughout the coal region,
his namtf is synonymous with loyalty,
and at some of the locals the men first
expressed their allegiance to John
Mitchell and then to the union.
John Mitchell has won the respect of
the operators. Baer, Olyphant, Thomas,
Fowler, Wilcox, Markle, and even Mor
gan, recognize Mitchell as a man of
power, and, as men of power them
selves, they admire him. They do not
admit it. Some of them call him
names, abuse him, insinuate things
which make men clench their fists,
but they Gannot help admiring him. He
has won his., way to the top of his
class as they have to theirs and he
has compelled their respect
Mr. Mitchell came up from the
mines. A poor farm boy, a poor, hard
fcvtvrv man in hfa ancliRnp.R nnil whfin 1 "wnrldnEr. nruiRfttantlmia minor nn nm-
ho has ended ho has said 'sometlilng. 1 bltious organizer, a forcef hi labor lead-
His manner is symbolical of the
whole nature of the man. Quiet, re
served, almost grave; the deep set
eyes, the firm, straight mouth, the in
voluntary clenching of the jaw, the im
pressive forehead, all speak for them
selves, and speak of determination and
depth.
But there are other things that speak
as well. His handshake means vol
umes. He grasps the one given him as
he grasps a question, and, once over, a
handshake has occurred.. It is a firm,
large, strong, wholesome grasp, that
takes hold and holds and says, "This is
something, this is an occasion, this
is the hand I have been waiting to
hold." But there js no spontaneity
about it he hand is advanced slowly,
more slowly than the eyeB, for while
the hand is coming the eyes have
glanced, seen, considered and decided.
It la Mr. Mitchell's silence that im
presses as much as his speech. It Is
not possible for that head of his to
hold aught but thoughts which com
. mand respect and attention. There is
Koraething doing when ho thinks
There is no frivolity in his composi
tion. A glance at his dress proves
that A Prince Albert coat, a plain
collar, a black tie which hides his
er, ho possessed that indomitable qual
ity tnat woma not let him stay down.
He is the typo of men of whom one
says without flattery, "He can do any
thing well." He has it in him to be a
great statesmap. H.e would be a good
diplomat He would make a stalwart
business man. As a military man he
would be a wonderful disciplinarian
and a loved leader.
There have "been some men to picture
him in an official government chair.
Perhaps some such dream has even
flitted through his mind. Who, having
power, does not crave more? But if it
nas, u nas been quickly dismissed to
attend to the business inhand.
Persons who did not know him might
imagine that in the .conferences bofore
President Roosevelt in tho White house
the clever, college bred business giants
of operators would so far have out
shone Mitchell that he would have
been quite overwhelmed. But no
Mitchell himself had no such thought'
harbored no such fear.
He went to tho conference to face
men great in their business and the
greatest executive of the country, with
a calm and simple assurance that he
was in the right, that his sincerity
would win the day, and people who
know of what occurred there, of how
the operators lost their tempers, of
how one was perhaps too forceful in
his words to President Roosevelt, tell
how the quiet, direct, plain speaking
John Mitchell, with his superabundant
force, his intense sincerity, his honest
directness, outshone the others.
If thero Is pride in the man it Is so
well balanced that his heels cannot
stand upon it. He is always the same.
Quiet, courteous, dignified, clear head
ed John Mitchell, firm, forceful and
free minded.
Had he more humor ho would be
better off. Ho laughs shortly, almost
silently, and rather mirthlessly, as
men do who laugh at another man tell
ing their own stories. Mitchell would
rather smile than laugh. There is more
in that calm, thoughtful smile of his
than In a book full of pictures. Vary
ing emotions aro traced upon the bor
ders of his lips by It, and l may mean
many things.
He likes good stories, but he never
hold his sides to ease the pain of
laughter in his life. Such laughter Is
too muoh exertion to waste, and with
the same amount of mental and physi
cal force ho could do much work, much
thinking, much planning. He seems
to always be weighing himself in his
mind, carefully adjusting tho scale to
get the exact poise and then being
right ' '
He is of the worker type of man.
When there is anything to be done he
does It There is no plunging in, no
rush and hurry and flurry and excite
ment But he steps forward for long,
hard work like a man starting on a
long walk. He has to reach the end
and he does it Day after day, night
after night, In all the worriments and
struggles, and with tho thousands of
details of the strike to attend to, dis
tressed, harassed, at one time seeing
defeat ready to slap him In the face,
dreading- every minute a rush back to
work by the strikers, but never show
ing it in his face or manner that is
the. kind of man John Mitchell is.
During those anxious days care did
not sit heavily on his brows; instead,
endeavor lifted his eyes and hope
smoothed his forehead, and confidence
kept his lips straight Day by day,
like a man dragging himself up a slip
pery cliff, he climbed, getting a firmer
and firmer hold upon the strikers, un
til he had them where he has held
them since, firmly in his grasp, obed
ient to his command.
He is accused of all sorts of things
never was thero a man In his position
who was not and chiefly of inciting
and sanctioning tho violence which has
occurred. But time and time again he
has counselled the strikers, in strong,
forceful speeches, to remain law-abiding
and quiet, to stay at their homes
and keep away from the mines. Yet
violence has occurred, as occur it
would in any body of 147,000 idle men;
.and despite the charges made against
him, despite the operators' attempts to
inveigle him into a tangle, ho has re
mained clear and straight, and true to
the best interests of his organization.
Perhaps thero is no better indica
tion of his character than this, that
fair minded men who oppose him and
the union and his labor interests yet
admit that John Mitchell is the man
he is. New York 'Herald. ,
$ In the World of Industry.
Compiled by
The Pittsburg Dispatch.
Telegraphers at Milwaukee, Wis:,
have joined the federated trades coun
cil. Four thousand tinplate workers at
Llanelly, Wales, are on strike for an
eight-hour day. ' "
Striking molders at St Catherines,
Ont, have received concessions and
have returned to work.
New Haven (Conn.) tinners have
won their strike, which included rec
ognition of the union.
Scotch miners are pressing for a
minimum wage, much on tho same
lines as the South Wales miners.
Government employes in Washing
ton have started a movement to secure
a 10 per cent increase in all salaries.
Since Its organization 50 years ago
the amalgamated carpenters and join
ers have paid out' for benefits about
$9,800,000.-
Tho general assembly of the Knights
of Labor meets. in annual convention
at Niagara Falls, N. Y., on Novem
ber li.
' The building trades council of Kings
ton, Ont, is protesting against the sale
by the penitentiary of cut and rough
stone In competition with free labor.
The American federation of labor has
1,377 federal unions, 406. central bodies,
27 state organizations and 95 national
organizations. Its growth during the
past year beats all records.
State Labor Commissioner William
Blackburn of Washington will rigidly
enforce the female labor law of that
state, forbidding the employment of
women over 10 hours a day.
Prolonged Idleness among Indiana
tinplate workers has been productive
of the formation of a co-operative com
pany by tin workers at Gas City, who
will locate a plant near Los Angeles,
Cal.
The striko of foundrymen at New
port, Monmouthshire, England, con
tinues. It involves pipe bedmen, pit
men, pipe testers, dressers,. cupalo.men
and general laborers. These struck for
better wages and conditions of employ
ment The mon belong to the national .v
amalgamated laborers' union.
Resolutions favoring and urging the
movement for an eight-hour-day law
were passed at the recent convention of
tho national association of blast fur
nace workers and smelters held at Buf
falo, N. Y.
Owing to the scarcity of boys for
messenger service at St. Louis, Mo., the
district messenger companies have
been experimenting with-men,. who are
paid $1.25 a day and are not required
to wear uniforms.
The international 'longshoremen,
marine and transportation workers' as
sociation, recently passed resolutions
forbidding the members of any craft
or class of 'longshore workers to enter
another craft in any bufhis home port
Justice O'Gorman of tho New York
supreme court haB. given a decision
upholding the right of a trade union
to withdraw, its members from the
work of an employer who refuses' to
pay the wages or accept 'the rules
adopted by the labor organization.. '
The struggle between the employers'
association and the teamsters! union
at Santa Rosa, Cal., which has been, in
progress for many years, has ended.
All the employers with the exception
of four signed the agreement arid
schedule demanded by the teamsters
The jurisdiction of the master steam
boilermakers' association has been ex
tended, and branches will be estab
lished in Europe.- The association al
ready has branches in Canada and
Mexico. The object of this extension
is. to .secure the enactment of uniform
license laws.
HEADACHE
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