America 1881: They Call Me Legend

Chapter 438 Workers, Peasants and Women
Early morning, May 1886, 5, San Francisco.

The rising sun rises from the sea level and shines on this seaside city.

At this point in time, the city has woken up from a deep sleep, with people coming and going, and a lot of traffic.

But today is different.

The whistle of the ships is not heard on the pier, they are quietly parked in the berths of the port; the jingling of trams is not heard on the street, only a horse-drawn carriage passes by occasionally.

The construction site was quiet, and there was no worker in sight; all the factories were the same, the machines stopped roaring, and there was no white or black smoke coming out of the chimneys as usual.

The shops were all sealed and closed.

There are very few pedestrians on the street.

Even people who are completely unaware realize the seriousness of the problem and hurry on their way.

The whole city seemed to hold its breath.

On the rooftop of the tallest tower in downtown San Francisco, Governor Stoneman, the Mayor of San Francisco, and several bosses of the Anti-Strike Union stood there, looking into the distance.

"Why didn't Brannan come?" Stoneman turned his head, looked around, and found that the leader of the anti-strike alliance was not there.

"Brannan has some personal matters to deal with, so he can't come here at the moment." The owner of a shoe factory said.

As for the private matter, needless to say, everyone in San Francisco now knows it.

"It's really mud that can't support the wall." The governor muttered.

All the businessmen present looked solemn.

They are very worried about their factories and shops, for fear that the workers will engage in "zero-dollar shopping" or something after the demonstration, and they will wipe out their little property.

To this end, many of them paid high prices to border detective agencies, hired them to protect the security of their factories.

At this time, the boss of the Border Detective Agency was standing beside them, looking at the scenery of San Francisco leisurely.

"Stoneman, what do you think if those workers are really determined to cause damage?" the mayor asked worriedly, "I really don't want to see this happen!"

"Miller, if they really want to emulate the gang in Paris ten years ago, my militia can gather at any time and let them know how powerful they are!"

The governor didn't even look at the mayor.

The way he is speaking now seems to have returned to the time when he was a commander in the Arizona Military District a few years ago.

This is also a point that has been criticized since Miller became governor.

He is more of a soldier than a politician.

Stoneman looked at Chen Jianqiu who was leaning on the railing, and said to everyone with a smile:
"At that time, Boss Chen will sponsor all the ammunition for my soldiers! He is the largest arms dealer in the west, so please rest assured!"

Chen Jianqiu waved his hand:
"Mr. Governor, you are doing this for us, and I should pay some money."

Hearing that Chen Jianqiu and the governor made a move, all the businessmen present were immediately relieved.

"Boss Chen is willing to take out the guns and ammunition in his warehouse, and he immediately feels much safer!"

"Boss Chen deserves to be No. 1 in the western arms industry!"

These bosses began to call Chen Jianqiu brothers and sisters, and they didn't care that he was a Chinese anymore.

"Look, over there!"

The mayor suddenly pointed forward.

At the end of the street in the distance, a group of black people appeared.

From the various work uniforms they wear, we can see the industries and identities they are engaged in.

Shoemakers, textile workers, house renovation workers.
Holding signs and banners, they were marching towards Union Square.

The voice of the slogan came from far and near, faintly and faintly:
"Short working hours! Better pay! Give us a safe working environment!"

"It doesn't look like much." A businessman muttered.

"I'm afraid not necessarily." The mayor stared intently at the parade.

Sure enough, as the procession advanced, workers and citizens poured out from both sides of the road from time to time to join the procession.

This makes the team bigger and bigger.

"Hey, look, what's over there." A businessman pointed in another direction.

There was another team there.

The size of this team is a little smaller than the one directly in front, but it is still mighty.

However, from the perspective of clothing, the members of this team are not workers, they look more like farmers or farmers:
"Against the monopoly! Reject the shamelessness of the bankers! We must survive!"

This is their slogan.

The appearance of this group of people made everyone present fall into a state of bewilderment.

"Didn't you say today is just a workers' march?"

A businessman asked about the governor.

The governor frowned.

He didn't know exactly what happened. The information Brannan and Hellman gave him was just a workers' strike parade today.

Before everyone on the rooftop could react, another person pointed to the road directly below them and exclaimed:

"and also!"

Everyone hurried to the railing and looked down.

Another parade has appeared!
Unlike the workers and peasants, there is a caravan in the middle of the procession. Some members of the procession are sitting in the caravan, and others follow around the caravan, waving small flags in their hands.

Most importantly, the members of this team are all women!
"My God!" The mayor's face suddenly swelled into a liver color.

He was very familiar with the girl standing on the caravan and chanting slogans.

That's his daughter!
"We want the right to vote! We want equal job opportunity! We want politics!"

The mayor's daughter, in a green dress and turban, raised her arms and chanted.

If it wasn't for Chen Jianqiu beside him to stop him, the mayor would have jumped off the roof immediately and dragged his daughter off the caravan.

"Where are people? Come on! Damn it! Go and get my daughter home!" The mayor coughed and looked for his subordinates.

And the "culprit" of all this, Chen Jianqiu, took the mayor's arm and calmly advised:
"Mayor, don't be impatient. This is a good thing. There is an old saying in my hometown that 'a dragon begets a dragon, a phoenix begets a phoenix, and a mouse gives birth to a big hole. Once you see it, women do not give way to men, and there will be a lot to do in the future."

The mayor was anxious and angry, and he couldn't hear the sarcasm in Chen Jianqiu's words.

The best destination for his precious girl should be to find a well-matched son-in-law who is fast and fast. Now, what is it to engage in the feminist movement in public?
"Go and find out what's going on!" He said eagerly to his subordinates.

what happened?

Chen Jianqiu knew it.

He did it.

Workers alone are not enough to hold strikes and demonstrations. How can it be done without the participation of farmers?
At this time, the peasant groups in the United States were victims of the industrial revolution, and there was no room for survival under the double squeeze of monopoly capitalists and big bankers.

And the struggle of the peasants has never stopped.

From the "Grange" organization Chen Jianqiu met in New Mexico to the current "National Farmers Union".

The information about their activities in California was piled up in the frontier detective agency.

Therefore, after Chen Jianqiu moved his mind, he quickly found the person in charge of the National Farmers Union in California.

Coincidentally, he also knew this person, who was also a perennial parade host.

To a certain extent, the two still have a GM friendship.

Chen Jianqiu also saved his life.

His name is Oliver Dunleavy, former head of Grange New Mexico.

The two hit it off.

"The workers' activities are still nationwide, and we must help the venue!" Dun Levy said.

As for the feminists, they found Hawley themselves.

The mayor's daughter learned of the strike from her father and contacted Hawley.

Chen Jianqiu never thought that there would be such a crop.

The structure of women's rights organizations is relatively loose, but from the current point of view, these women's combat effectiveness is not weak at all.

Chen Jianqiu looked down while dragging the market that was close to collapse beside him, touched his chin, and said to himself in a voice so low that people around him could not hear:
"It doesn't matter if you come, a woman can hold up half the sky."

(End of this chapter)