Chicago Citizen

MICHAEL BUCKLEY'S

MORTGAGE TO BE

BURNED SOON

Street Car Men's Union to the

Rescue.

The Union Leader states, nearly
800 Amalgamated members on

the Surface Lines and Rapid

Transit systems have volunteered

to give their time next pay day in

selling tickets for the Buckley

Benefit entertainment.

To be exact, the number of

members reported at the head-

quarters of Divisions 241 and 308

as having given their names to

the executive board members as

volunteer ticket salesmen is 792

at this writing. That makes a

large sales organization. If each

of this group averaged fifteen or

twenty sales, it would mean that

the mortgage that has drained

Mike Buckley's income for years,

and which now threatens his

home, could be lifted and a little

set aside to counterbalance the in-

firmities of age.

Mayor Dever and Interna-

tional President W. D. Mahon

will be the principal speakers.

The Carmen's Hall, music, and

programme arranged by Joseph

Coffee, are all given gratis. Feb.

16th is the date. So that all of

our readers may know just what

prompts the enthusiastic support

of the Unions for the Buckley

Benefit, we will publish the story

in the form of a poem in the

Union Leader, entitled

MIKE BUCKLEY

"They'll Never Take Away His Little

Home."

(By a Pioneer Chicago Member.)

When the days were dark and drear,

With burdens most severe,

And the car men worked like galley

slaves of old;

They dared not protest the boss,

Or their jobs would be the loss-

'Twas a tough game to be thrown

out in the cold.

Tho' the wage was very low,

The fireplace wouldn't glow

If the pay days didn't come to meet

the bills;

We had to sacrifice, you bet,

Which made our good wives fret

To keep children fed and dressed

without the frills.

Oh, I'll tell you, boys, 'twas hell

The way poor fellows fell

In the slavery days when we worked

one by one;

With spotters everywhere

We'd be sure to get the air-

If we mentioned union we were

through and done.

But oppression can't exist

When brave men will enlist

To fight the freeman's battle for the
home;

And so courageous souls

Threw their worries to the sheols

And made up their minds to battle

for their own.

They shouted "Organize!"

And they rallied all the boys;

They struck and
sacrificed and

went to jail;

But their hearts were light and gay,

And determined in the fray

And their slogan was, "We'll stick

and never fail!"

Among that gallant crew

Was Mike Buckley, tried and true,

Who joined with Bill Mahon's game

little corps;

They put our union on the map

And avoided every trap

That was set to kill our movement

evermore.

Now Mike Buckley's old and gray

We hope many years he'll stay

To see the good for others that he's

done;

Little of this Mike has shared,

But we long to see him spared

To reap the just reward that he has

won.

The fates have badly dealt

With this generous-hearted Celt,

Who loves his union as he loves his

own;

There's a mortgage now to pay,

And we mean it when we say

That they'll never take away Mike

Buckley's home.