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With Friends and Neighbors By CHARLES CONNOR. ‘AI No. 14, west-bound from Richmond, Philadelphia and New York, pulled into the Pratt depot one spring morning in the year of 1913 and delivered its bundle of mail newspapers from the East, and a big basket of fruit. _ A state militiaman, assigned the—_ PICK up the fruit which arrived regularly every other morning, stepped up and received it from a baggage clerk, “Another basket for her high- Rose, Mother Jones, the bag gage clerk said, “‘and how is the today “Fine, as far as T know,” said the milinaman, “but I haven't seen her for weeks. She sticks, close to her knitting inside the house yonder. This Inuit should be good for her. Who sendat, any way?” “I don't know,” said the clerk, there's never a name on it, but T suspectt comes from the union. By the way, there's another front page sory about her in yester day's Philadelphia Bulletin —right here t is, I read it on the way down. Says she hopes to be re leased soon as the strike ends.” ‘You know, that's a puzelet for my commanding officer, Maj. Davis, said the militia man, “We keep that house guarded day and night, but these Philadelphia and Chicago papers always have’stories about her, which found be they cone di rectly from the old lady herself. He can't’ tleave out where they get their Information,” ‘ “Well, from what I hear, Mothe r Jones has friends all over the county. the clerk continued. a trayee one of them is slipping it out.** “Maybe,” said the militiaman. “Well, that's none of my worry. Personally, I admire the spunk of the old lady. She's 83 now but as frisky ass pup. Told one con gressman off who came to see her yesterday, I hear. Called him all blood sucking pirate and sent him away with his heels scorching. Well, I got to get this fruit over for her. Keep it comme. She gave me a bananas the other day. And Train No. 14 pulled out for Charleston, Huntington, Cincinnati and points West, Ma. Thomas B. Davis, comman der of the state militia which was called into the 1912-13 Cabin and Paint creek strike to restore order, never did Und out how information about Mother Jones slipped so cas tly into hands of Philadelphia and Chicago editors who were printing stories of the strike on their front ay Pages. He wouldn't have to foal very far. IN FACT, today he would tin his mysterious messenger over a PICTURES | AT RIGHT 1607 O'Dell Ay, where Mra. Isabe Carney Ives, = “I've never told anyone about it, she says, “but I carried handwrit ten statements from Mother Jones out in the bottom of my shoe. There was my depot agent at Hansford friendly to the miners’ cause in that day, and I slipped them to him. He saw they got aboard a train for delivery to the Enat. 'Two guards patrolled my home on Pratt day and night because Mother Jones was boarded there for five months following her ar rest as'an agitator, I remember ‘we were paid $1.50 a day for her board and room, which was a high ‘gate for those days. “Anyway, none of my family could leave or enter the house without a properly-slowed pass. My own mother was ile in Shel tering Arms hospital at that time, and T was privileged to vis it her each day. That's when I tucked messages from my star boarder into my shoe and deliv ered them on my way to the hos pital. Mrs. Carney remembers well the preformed visit that the militant altor leader paid her. “She had bright Irish eyes and they twinkled merrily when she was happy,” she says. They shot fire, though. When she was mad. She had a booming voice that could shake the rafters, but I ever heard her curse in my home, though I understand she could make her words burn when occas sion demanded. “She had plenty of company in while she stayed at my house. I remember three Senators and one Congressman came to see her. There was some sort of congres sional investigation following some of her stories which appeared in eastern newspapers. Officials from both the state and coal companies also visited her, and a Mr. Older, the owner and publisher of a pa per in Los Angeles, sent his wife to interview her. “AT HER REQUEST, each time Anyone came 4 hid in a closet to|and another officer. She stayed months of the strike, the Baldwin I hear all that was said In case she there during the remainder of the guards were stationed at Mucklow I wanted a witness later on. I cani strike and was not permitted to| with headquarters in the club! truthfully say that a goodly man! visit the strike ares again. Several house and a machine gun on the ber came for the purpose of try 1 years later, however, when, we perch. Every now and then, too ing Mother Jones out and, in Aj moved to Sharon on Cabin creek, often for comfort, there would be subtle way, to find out her price she re-visited us for two weeks and gin battle between the militers to come over on the operators’ aide she and I had many a hearty laugh' and, guards. We moved to Pratt secretly by pacifying the men and recalling the way she handed her with our three children to get calling off the strike. Pratt visitors, but of range. “More than once during an {n i ~ terview, she raised up in wrath|* and called them ‘blood sucking pis rates,’ her favorite expression,|) then ordered them from the house.' “She received mail from all over|, the country,too. Each Friday, the]: UMW in Charleston would send up| “Fm not spouting off at random.) “She spoke very lttle of her ay husband was one of ers and perhaps that's the strike| past Ile, but she was an Irish wo ndy ,our man through and through. She was. house in Pratt was chosen foriborn In Cork county in 1830, in Mother Jones’ prison. We had lived herstand, and came to this country at Mucklow, now called bn Paint creek. During Gallagher where she married and ronmong the earlyler. Her husband and four children a stenographer tog help her an swer her letters. My, but she was a grand lady. She wore corsets and had a strong, robust figure, I never realized that she was over 80 when she was at my house. She was as nimble as a cat and as quick-witted. Her hair was as white aS snow and she had a creamy complextion that belied her years. “May, Davis treated her with the utmost respect, as did all the other militamen who had anything to do with her. I think many of them secretly admired her and wouldn’t have been ashamed in now an d “After theive months under guard at my house, she was per mitted to leave for Charleston one day, accompanied by May Davis eee Bs died in ad epidemic and thereafter! ‘she devoted her life to the miners, ‘my boys,’ she called them. An boy, they all loved Mother Jones. AND SO IT WAS. When the Brent strike of Cabin creek and Paint creek was settled, the Bald- Win-Felty outfit moved to Colora do where a strike was on against the Rockefeller mine owners. “My S1-year-old dunt, Mrs. Anna ‘When they arrived, they found McLaughlin of South Charleston, Mother Jones on the job and, a) was visiting me only last night and usual, im jacl. Once released, she|we talked of Mother Jones, she went to see John GD. Rockefeller,|said. “Some people hated her, but Jr. and succeeded in settling it.I stil say she was a gentle lady Many Kanawha countlans re who had guts to fight for what ‘member her from her last visit tor she believed’ was right. I was Charleston in 1920 when Another’ proud to have her as my guest. Mrs. Isabel Carney of 1607 O'Dell Au wt left, recalls vivid ly the time Mother Mary Jones, famous labor leader who champ ioned the rights of miners dur ing the early part of this cen tury, was kept “prisoner” in her home at Pratt for five months. In her family album, she looks over the photo at right taken outside the front gate of her home during the 1912-18 strike. Notice ihe way the fiery felsh women wore her purse In those days. At right is Maj. Tom Dark, commanding officer of state militia which patrolled the area. While In the background wearing the fancy but in a Mrs. ‘Order from Los Angeles, who was in Pratt to interview Mother Jones. Then 82, Mother Jones lives to be 101.
Newspaper Details
Charleston Daily Mail
Charleston, West Virginia, US
Sun, Feb 01, 1953
Page 5
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
FL, USA 19 Jul 2026
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