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Jack Miller kept the senior citizens center for a long time up there
In Seattle, Washington. Jack had spent most of his life in the forest
As a logger or "timber beast" they called them in those days, because
You were treated like an animal. There were no bunk houses, he
Recalled sleeping on the ground with his fellow workers with their
Wet clothes from the rain forest piled in the heat next to the fire
Hoping that they would be dry by the time to go to work the next day
Spoke many different languages in the forest and they could hardly
Talk to each other, it was just like Lawrence. He said most of them
Had never been to school, uh, most of them couldn't read or write
Jack Miller could remember the Verona. There was a shingle weaver's
Strike up at Everett, Washington, called the Everett Massacre, it's
Another one of those that didn't make it into the history books
The Wobblies, they chartered a steam launch called the Verona and
They had it sailed up there to Everett, bringing strike relief, and
As the boat sailed into the pier, Sheriff McRae had ringed the whole
Pier with armed deputies, he just deputized every drunk in every bar
In town and put a rifle in their hand. Well, they surrounded the boat
And when they lowered the gangplank, Sheriff McRae walked to the end
Of it and said "Who are your leaders here?" and they shouted back
With one voice "We are all leaders here." Well, that scared the tar
Out of the law, you know, and they began shooting, those deputies
Began shooting. A lot of those Wobblies were killed. Some of the
Deputies were killed in the crossfire, though, so when the Wobblies
Those that survived, made it back to Seattle, they were arrested and
They were thrown in the Snohomish County Jail on a charge of murder
A whole bunch of them. Well, that jail was an all steel jail, it was
The newest affair, all made out of steel. It had just barely opened
So the heat wasn't on and there was no blankets and you couldn't get
Any smokes. So, those Wobblies, they passed a note from one cell
Block to the other and then by common consent the next day they were
All gathered in the middle of each cell block and when the noon
Whistle blew they began to jump up and down simultaneously, up and
Down, up and down, singing all the time and finally they
Hit the resonating frequency of that jail and cracked
The south wall. They broke the jail. And Jack Miller said
"Thus proving everlastingly what a union is: a way to
Get things done together that you can't get done alone."
Now, Jack said, "You know, we didn't have any intellectual life
We lived in our emotions, we were passionate people. We were
Comfortable in our emotions. We made commitments to struggle
Emotionally, commitments for which there are no words, but those
Commitments carried us through fifty, sixty years of struggle."
He said, "You show me people who make the same commitments
Intellectually and I don't know where they'll be next week." Kind
Of stern, isn't it? Well, he said, "Armed only with our sense of
Degradation as human beings, we came together and organized and
Changed the condition of our lives. Now this is
The hard thing," he said, "why can't you young
People with all you've got do the same thing?"
Hmm, I wonder why us young people can't do like they did?
Yeah, yeah, why?
Why do you think?
Why can't us young people?
What come?
What come?
What come us young people?
Why can't we do like they did?
Can't do like they did?
Yeah, why?
Why do you think us young people?
What come like they did?
Can't do like they did?
Like, like, like, you know, like he did?
Yeah, like he did?
Like, I don't know?
Like, what come with you young people?
Get up and let's do like they did?
Giddy up!
What come?
What come?
What come?
What come?
What come?
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