WORKLESS INVADE CITIES.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLVI, Issue 117, 15 May 1912, Page 2

WORKLESS INVADE CITIES.

; AMERit?4N LABOR TACTICS; 1 ARMED CITIZENS; TAKE ACTION. '(N.Z.; Ilei-aid Correspondent.) l SAN; FRANCISCO;, April15. ■A newVl^or movement,; Sunder the of the Industrial Works' «rs of the World, prooeediing along lines more direct and uncompromis- ' ing than the American Federation of 1 Laboi-, "has within the last year, or two spread; to a surprising extent in United States. Its membei-s are largely of the class; of unskilled woi'k--ers. arid it is frankly socialistic in its aims. , Therein it diverges abaitptly frpmv the. American' Federation r^Laborv which,, under Samuel Gompers,; has' consistently. opposed socialr Istio politics. "• Thfe 'methods of, the'; "industrial workers'.' are specta'ciilar, . not to, say sensational. Not less sen-.,: satiqnal are the steps recently adopt- : «d by certain communities to Nensure lihat the iindusfcrial workers" shall not; • invade them.^ ; A favorite perform- j anoe of the members of this organisation is to ijamea. -town, as a meetingplace^ and a.datfe being fixed, from all parts of the United States, the workless gravitate :thereto on. such; date..'. Those within \' say, 100 ' miles, walk i tliither. in parties; But from great-j ;«r e'v^ai from one coast to';, the other, "industrial", workers i "beat" their' way on freight trains,' anil baggage cars. As the result of one of these so-called "conferences"] , I'jesD.o,, in California, found itself about a year Bgo with a large-sized unemployed, problem on its, hands. The Avorkers plaivfced themselves in the town and demanded* to be- fed., Other ' means failing, they1 violated the . drdinancies against1 stireet speaking. ! and thus got tbemselves arrested and j gaoled. It was months before the j workers were got. out of the town.. • A s'jnilar honor was, planned to be r accorded tMs month to. Diego, j also in , California, but San Diego j declined with thanks and' some violence. Armed citizens and deputy constables, sworn in for the purpose, . met parties of the intending visitors at the county line, and.marched them back again.. One party of nearly 100 "industrial workers" was mpt at' Onofre, which is within San Diego County, by a very determined band ■of citizens and constables, who before ■escortrag the men beyond the counts';, line forced them to pay Jiomage to ; the American flag. In the grey -dawn they 'were raado to krieel on the pround and kiss the fplds of th« 'Stars and Stripes. Th© f'industrial Yorkers,"/ who, it is/said, admitted vthev "are anarchists, performed the j : -ceremony- most .unwillingly. As ~ tJiev were rri.ardbecl. back they were ■coTp.nelled also to make at lea.st a sVnr of joining in the sinking of "The Star-spangled Banner." f"Citi--550Y1C? also inyestlecafssd every train o.ntf>r?7io; the county, sf>archin«? , for T.tv^W., /me^nberfl, andl the roads and1 • tirirlofAS/ieWdirtg info Ohe coviTity were ■'■ P^^^lled day ard n.ig>>+'. , The .^o^i..fpv^ncG conseon^ntly did not attoin T-«ry fv)nsi.devable dirneTißioris, \ and Pin Di*>p:o wps scared the problem th n+' Fresno ?!"*<*& a y^ar no;o. Thos^ who did roach San Dief*o ; .>ave the wire* Trtuch) trouble by Jo|iV/M.;,nor ar^TrcHst'^ speeches in +he '-, ..strf^+s. Th-^ editor of a weekly .:[ yj}"*v*r. f^yor^M'* to the T.W.W., who rr;V'Torr>nslv cT^f-'sefl. the twli^e for j 1 '\: :'fy~tyir>fr fhe ris:ht .^f free sneech, was] y 4tyiAnntfyyeq. hy ■' half ?;' dojier■■•'•: Vp»n. ! •■'.;;.■•.'. -ItpHow? .•';nani<?s f*' 1' unknown, bund],^ '''-■'■'■■4%vsi ■•,■ *tii.'■'aiifornottle;. and carried out , y>f '\fhk^itv.A tf - HeVtva^ not, liberf>+p<T tin, ,■•.■* 'i,;1,-+fe[j-fny/j].uvft rpn^'xl Esc^^dido. 30 •■•■'• ir»floje(,^n{itf v'Af '-'f^i D'ef-". The editor j .~:£$0-:--$ii£y'?&i$> " ?^ ri;* fn+irrTi; ;:' ;^;:^ ;^:|r>^|^»f<>aring his life would1/ ■ ■; :. ;;Tr, ''■ifop-/-P%<>fy nf, Wfi*hinp+'m, ""d .. ..'/■jajsp;"'ins^infcwtj' Columbia (Canada),'

the Industrial' Workers of the World have organised strikes amongst large bodies of unskilled men employed on railroad construction and in the lumber camps. Work on the Canadian Northern railroad, a new trans-Con-tinental line under construction; was brought to a standstill; and on the Grand Trunk Pacific railroad it was seriously hampered. In all 6000 railroad laborers in British Columbia and 14,000 mill workers in Southwestern Washington are on strike. They are demanding an increase in wages from 9s to, 10s a day. Citizens' committees in the strike area are attempting to drive strikers out of the towns, but the I.W.W. is a very strong organisation thereabouts, aad not much success is being had in this emulation of the San Diego tactics.