Hellraisers Journal: Joe Hill Lives! “Do you hear it every body? Joe Hillstrom will never die.”

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But tho’ his clarion voice is hushed,
And tho’ his harp lies mute and still,
Hill’s murdered dust is vocal yet
With words that burn and notes that thrill.
-Major Honere J. Jaxon
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Hellraisers Journal, Tuesday November 30, 1915
From The Day Book:
“Another Immortal” by Honore J. Jaxon

Joe Hill, charcoal, by L. Stanford Chumley, ISR, Dec 1915

In yesterday’s Day Book we find a poem, written by Honore J. Jaxon, which declares Fellow Worker Joe Hill to be “Another Immortal” and begins:

Once more a glorious rebel falls,
Ensnared by knaves in legal guise.
Once more a rebel’s name is smirched
By slaves who peddle purchased lies.

But tho’ his clarion voice is hushed,
And tho’ his harp lies mute and still,
Hill’s murdered dust is vocal yet
With words that burn and notes that thrill.

These words recall the chant voiced by members of I. W. W. Local 69 and their Verdandi allies as they kept vigil throughout the long night of November 18th until sunrise the next morning when the shots rang out that ended the life of Joe Hill. There, in Salt Lake City, on the corner of Second South and Commercial Streets, where Local 69 soapboxers had rallied since its founding five years earlier, they gathered and sang the songs of Joe Hill and listened to speeches by members of the Joe Hill Defense Committee, Ed Rowan and Fred Ritter among them.

The chant began, “And Joe Hill will be shot in the morning,” and was answered by “Not if we can help it!” Then someone called out:

Something is going to happen. Joe Hillstrom will never die,
do you hear it every body, Joe Hillstrom will never die.

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Hellraisers Journal: The Body of Rebel Songwriter, Poet, & Artist Joe Hill Reduced to Ashes

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Through this aperture each of us, one at a time,
and each with feelings all his own,
viewed the flame-lashed casket.
-Ralph Chaplin
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Hellraisers Journal, Monday November 29, 1915
Chicago, Illinois-
The Body of Fellow Worker Joe Hill Reduced to Ashes

Joe Hill, charcoal, by L. Stanford Chumley, ISR, Dec 1915

In his Last Will, FW Joe Hill wrote:

My body? Oh! If I could choose
I would to ashes it reduce
And let the merry breezes blow
My dust to where some flowers grow.

In accordance with the wishes of our Rebel Songwriter, Hill’s body was taken to the crematory at Graceland Cemetery on Friday, November 26th, and cremated. Ralph Chaplin has provided a moving description of the cremation procedure:

The coffin lid was raised for the last time to permit final identification. The attendants looked to me as committee spokesman for word to proceed. I bowed my head. The casket was wheeled to the doors of the blast chamber, which creaked open to receive it. The steel doors creaked together, and the tiny room was all white again. Only the roar of the fire blast could be heard, growing louder and louder. We could hardly bear it.

—–

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Hellraisers Journal: “The Firing Squad With The Screen Removed,” a Cartoon by Ralph Chaplin

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Don’t Mourn; Organize!
-Joe Hill
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hellraisers Journal, Sunday November 28, 1915
From Solidarity:
The Joe Hill Edition: “Don’t Waste Anytime Mourning!”

The latest edition of the I. W. W. newspaper, Solidarity, is dedicated to Joe Hill and features the following cartoon, penned by Ralph Chaplin:

Joe Hill, Cartoon/ Firing Squad with Screen Removed, Solidarity Newspaper of Nov 27, 1915
Drawing by Ralph Chaplin from Solidarity of November 27, 1915

According to the cartoon, the firing squad is made up of the five members of the Utah Board of pardons, which includes Governor Spry, Attorney General Barnes, and the three members of the Supreme Court: Chief Justice Straup, and Associate Justices Frick and McCarty. As the money power directs the state-sanctioned murder of Fellow Worker Hill, the rising sun of Organization appears over the prison wall.

Below Chaplin’s drawing is a banner with FW Hill’s farewell message:

Don’t Waste any Time in Mourning-Organize

—–

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Hellraisers Journal: Thousands Gather in Chicago to Honor FW Joe Hill and Sing His Rebel Songs

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I. W. W. movement has been sealed in
the sweet blood of this poet-radical.
-Jim Larkin
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saturday November 27, 1915
Chicago, Illinois-
I. W. W. Gives FW Joe Hill a Grand Send-Off, Thousands March

Joe Hill's Funeral, Chicago, Nov 25, 1915-2, ISR of Jan 1916

A grand funeral hosted by the Industrial Workers of the World was provided for Fellow Worker Joe Hill, Working Class Martyr. Thousands gathered in the West Side Auditorium on Thanksgiving morning, November 25th. The windows of the auditorium were open and the singing within could be heard by the the thousands who filled the streets outside, extending for blocks in every direction.

After the morning’s orations were completed, a great throng of mourners followed the casket to the train which bore the remains of FW Joe Hill to Graceland Cemetery. Another funeral service took place there followed by singing which lasted late into the night.

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Hellraisers Journal: Happy Fiftieth Birthday to Eugene Debs!

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Let the capitalists fight it out,
and you stick by your own class.
-Eugene Victor Debs

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Sunday November 26, 1905
From the Appeal to Reason: Debs Celebrates Fiftieth Birthday in Toledo

Comrade Debs reached his fiftieth milestone in life on November 5th, and celebrated the day with the local Socialists of Dayton, Ohio, according to this week’s Appeal:

Eugene Debs, Wilshire's Magazine, Nov 1905

DEBS’ BIRTHDAY.
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Yesterday was the fiftieth birthday anniversary of Mr. Debs, and in compliment to him the local Socialist presented him with a finely wrought horseshoe, the workmanship of E. E. Motter, on the conclusion of his address.

The presentation was made by E. J. Miller, who presided over the meeting. So touched was Mr. Debs by the pretty compliment that he refused to allow the local reception committee to send the gift to his home at Terre Haute, but preferred to carry it with him throughout the remainder of his itinerary.-Dayton (O.) Journal.

—–

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Hellraisers Journal: Eugene V. Debs in Wilshire’s Magazine on “Winning a World” for Socialism

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Capitalism has had its day of carnage and its crimson sun
is slowly but surely sinking in the west.
-Eugene Victor Debs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saturday November 25, 1905
From Wilshire’s Magazine: Eugene Debs on “Winning the World

The following article by Comrade Debs is from the most recent edition of Wilshire’s:

Winning a World.
by Eugene V. Debs

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Eugene Debs, Wilshire's Magazine, Nov 1905

The Socialist movement is as wide as the world, and its mission is to win the world—the whole world—from animalism, and consecrate it to humanity.

What a tremendous task!

And what a royal privilege to share in it!

To win a world is worthy of a race of gods.

And in the winning, men develop godlike attributes, since all men are potential gods.

To the strained and vigilant eye of the Socialist on the watchtower all is well in point of outlook.

Capitalism has had its day of carnage
and its crimson sun is slowly but
surely sinking in the west.
Not more certain is the sunrise on the morrow
than the coming of the sure-evolving
Cooperative Commonwealth.

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Hellraisers Journal: Joe Hill’s Body Arrives in Chicago, Will Be Cremated According to His Wishes

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My body? Oh, if I could choose,
I would to ashes it reduce..
-Joe Hill

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wednesday November 24, 1915
Chicago, Illinois-
Body of Fellow Worker Joe Hill Arrives on Train from Salt Lake City

Ralph Chaplin, Spartacus ed

The body of Joe Hill, accompanied by Fellow Worker Bert Lorton, arrived by train from Salt Lake City yesterday. On hand at the Northwestern Depot to take charge of the of the remains of the Rebel Songwriter was a committee from the national headquarters of the Industrial Workers of the World, which included another rebel poet and songwriter, Ralph Chaplin. Chaplin states that arrangements are underway for the funeral of Joe Hill and that his body will cremated according to Hill’s wishes as expressed in his “Last and Final Will.”

The will was written by FW Hill in the form of a poem, now being published in newspapers across the nation. The following is from a Kansas newspaper, The Salina Evening Journal, edition of November 22nd:

Joe Hill Last Will, The Salina (KS) Evening Jr, Nov 22, 1915

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Hellraisers Journal: Execution of Joe Hill Cost Salt Lake Co. $371; Spry’s Spy Reports on Funeral

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Don’t Mourn; Organize!
-Joe Hill
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tuesday November 23, 1915
Salt Lake City, Utah-
Execution of FW Joe Hill Cost County $371.80

Joe Hill execution , Diagram sketch of Utah state prison yard, Parsons (KS) Daily Sun, Nov 13, 1915

The men who were selected to shoot bullets into the heart of Fellow Worker Joe Hill will, apparently, be very well paid, for most of the nearly 380 dollars, allocated by the county for that purpose, goes to them. Pretty good pay for just a few minutes of work, if one does not mind being paid to put another human being to death.

The body of our Rebel Songwriter is now a train to Chicago and will arrive there this afternoon. A grand funeral followed by a march to the cemetery is being planned at I. W. W. headquarters in that city for later on in the week.

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Hellraisers Journal: Joe Hill Honored by Friends & FWs in Salt Lake City, Sent by Train to Chicago

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Gook luck to all of you,
-Joe Hill

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Monday November 22, 1915
Salt Lake City, Utah-
Joe Hill Given Grand Send-off, Will Arrive in Chicago Tomorrow

Joe Hill, lgr

Fellow Worker Joe Hill, our martyred rebel songwriter, was given a grand send-off in Salt Lake City before his body was placed upon a train bound for Chicago where another grand funeral will be held in that city, headquarters of the Industrial Workers of the World. The Salt Lake City funeral was presided over by I. W. W. Local Union #69 and by Verdandi, Swedish Temperance Society.

Unfortunately, the only report of the funeral that we have on hand is from the hostile Salt Lake Tribune, one of the newspapers which so gleefully reported the Governor’s intention to drive the I. W. W. from Salt Lake immediately following the murder of our fellow worker. Nevertheless, as can be seen below, the unquenchable spirit of Solidarity displayed by those in attendance shines through the anti-I. W. W. propaganda of the Tribune’s reporting.

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Hellraisers Journal: “I Will Die Like a Rebel!” FW Joe Hill on His Last Day & at His Execution

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I will die like a rebel…
My best to everybody. Goodbye.
-Joe Hill
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hellraisers Journal, Sunday November 21, 1915
Salt Lake City, Utah-
Walking with FW Joe Hill on His Last Day and to the Execution

Joe Hill, lgr

Today there will be held in Salt Lake City a grand I. W. W. funeral for Fellow Worker Joe Hill. After the funeral his body will be placed on a train and shipped to Chicago where another funeral will be held later this week. The Chicago send-off may prove to be the largest funeral ever held in that city.

Today, as promised, Hellraisers, to the best of our ability and from the sources available, reconstructs the last day and the final moments of Fellow Worker Joe Hill.

JOE HILL’S LAST DAY
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