Mother Jones In Wheeling
Mary Harris "Mother" Jones, made two known visits to Wheeling, one in 1913 and the second in 1915.
1913
On January 5, 1913, the fiery orator, fearless fighter for workers’ rights, the “Miner's Angel,” and self-proclaimed “hell-raiser,” Mary Harris "Mother" Jones visited Wheeling.
In retaliation for the Paint Creek Mine Strike, mine owners brought in heavily armed Baldwin Felts guards to terrorize the miners and their families and to forcibly evict them from their meager company houses. West Virginia Gov. Glasscock declared martial law, making the situation worse. In reaction to the violence and death that ensued, the Ohio Valley Trades and Labor Assembly, a Wheeling-based central labor body (or union of unions), organized a protest meeting and fundraiser at Wheeling's Victoria Theatre in support of the miners. Mother Jones was the featured speaker.
More than 1,000 people crammed the theatre to hear the Miners' Angel speak. During her speech, Mother Jones slammed Glasscock and his notorious “commission.” She said she would seek a federal investigation, and when she asked those who supported this investigation to rise, “every man in the theatre jumped to his feet.”
A month later, she was arrested in Charleston for inciting to riot and conspiracy.
Read the report in the Jan. 6, 1913 Intelligencer.
1915
On July 15, 1915, Mother Jones was back in Wheeling to address an enthusiastic crowd at Market Auditorium under the auspices of the Ohio Valley Trades and Labor Assembly.
At the meeting, by unanimous vote, it was decided a telegram be sent to President Wilson stating —in response to the bloody Paint Creek-Cabin Creek strike in Kanawha County and other recent national strikes that lead to violent deaths— “The industrial conditions are growing more bitter throughout this country, and if the government won't do business we will.”
Read the report in the July 16, 1915 News-Register.
See other Famous Visitors to Wheeling.
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