comparable to that of any other contemporary organization, being involved in almost constant battle if not in one, then in another, mining area. Its first big struggle came in 1894 at the Cripple Creek gold mines in Colorado, to be followed by even larger strikes

in Leadville, Colorado in 1896-97, then at Couer d'Alene in Idaho

in 1899, and in 1901 at Rossland and Fernie in British Columbia, as well as in the San Juan region in California. However, it was the tactics learned in the strikes in Colorado City in 1903 that were applied to strikes that ensued in Minnesota, following the example set by Teofilio Petriella, the kind of rallying cry which Finnish workers understood just as well as their Italian counterparts. The best picture of their hopes and expectations is given in the appeal made before Governor John A. Johnson of Minnesota in Duluth, on 24 July 1907, by a 24-year-old Finn, John Välimäki, who was delegated to explain the workers' point of view to him. According to the Duluth Labor World, Välimäki stood before the governor and said : "I am 24 years old. I came to this country from Finland with my father in 1901, and I have been a citizen just three days, and I learned to read and write at home. In this state there are 8,000,000 (sic) workers waiting for a chance to work and advance themselves. I am a socialist, and I believe these mines should belong to the workers and not to mining companies. In short, I believe in work for the general good. We carry the red banner, which symbolizes our blood. We are not anarchists. There are three kinds of anarchists in existence: unorganized anarchists, organized anarchists, and anarchists by conviction. None of them are to be found in the mines. The socialists are a political party. As workers we belong to the Western Federation of Miners. All the socialists in the mines belong to it, but not all who belong to it are socialists. There are 2,000 socialists in the Federation, which has 10,000 members. We are striking for wages, but principally for an 8-hour day. When a man goes to the mine at 6 in the morning and returns at 8 in the evening, what chance does he have to improve himself? Is he even a man? It seems to us that 8 hours is enough. We oppose the piece-work system. As socialists we obey the laws. We try to change the laws, but as long as they are in effect, we obey them. We do not believe in illegal activities against strikebreakers. If someone quits our cause, we try to open his eyes so that he will see things as we see them. If we lose this strike, Minnesota will no longer be a place where it will be possible for Finns to live."

254