Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Finnish Immigrant Coverage of the Italian Hall Tragedy, Calumet, Michigan, December 24, 1913

In honor of the Italian Hall victims, I'm posting an image of the December 26, 1913, edition of Tyomies that labeled their deaths as "Murders." This gut-wrenching headline and the article detail how Finnish immigrants associated with the labor movement saw the deaths of their fallen Fellow Workers. Additionally, I'm posting a translation of the article that was done by a pro-company Finnish-language speaker. This translation was used as evidence for the efforts to round up editors at Tyomies and charge them with crimes for reporting the labor perspective on the event. The newspaper and article about the horrific loss of life at Italian Hall are reminders of the price paid by those who fought for our labor rights today, and the importance of free speech and the 1st Amendment! Seems it is under fire as much today as it was on December 26, 1913.


The translation of the headline and article (from the C&H Collection, Michigan Technological University's Copper Country Historical Archives):







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