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AFL PRESIDENT SAMUEL GOMPERS TO ADDRESS SHIRTWAIST MAKERS AT COOPER UNION
I have never declared a strike in all of my life. I have done my fair share to prevent strikes, but there comes a time when not to strike is but to revet the chains of slavery upon our wrists…
(The crowd applauds)
This day November 22nd, 1909, is the time and the opportunity. I say, friends, do not enter too hastily, but if you can’t get the manufacturers to give you what you want, then strike. I ask you to stand together, to have faith in yourselves, to be true to your comrades. Let your watchword be union and progress, and until then no surrender!
…then no surrender!
(There is another storm of applause as Gompers descends the platform.
ROSE SCHNEIDERMAN: …Mrs. Belmont…
(Gompers assists Mrs.. Belmont onto the platform.)
FIRE RELIEF FUND STILL GROWS: TOTAL NOW EXCEEDS $21,000
50,000 HOLD VIGIL OUTSIDE ASCH BUILDING
BEERTHA: This is my daughter! Margaret. Margaret Schwartz.
(At the other table is the celebrated young defense lawyer Max Steuer.)
(He [Bostwick] sits down. The judge looks to Steuer.)
(Steuer stands at his table.)
(Steuer stands at his table.)
I have no opening to make. It is a case that to my mind is perfectly clear. There is not anything that I know about the manufacturing business.
JUDGE CRAIN: You do not propose to open, Mr. Steuer?
No, Your Honor, I am going to put witnesses right on, and I wish to get through just as quickly as possible, and I respectfully ask that we now adjourn.
JUDGE CRAIN: It is entirely optional.
(To Bostwick) If you want me to, if you think it will help the people’s case or will clarify the subject, I will be delighted to do it, thought I do not consider that my kind of talk is that a premium anywhere. Do you want me to tell you what my defense is?
(He walks over and address the audience.)
We propose to show you that year in and year out on the Washington Place side of the eighth and ninth and tenth floors, the key was all the time in the lock, and that it was never without the lock. I myself have seen and spoken to two girls who will testify before you that when the fire broke out, they went to the Washington Place door on the ninth floor and they opened the door without any difficulty. These girls will tell you that the key was always in the Washington Place door, in the lock on the ninth floor. If, by some horrible chance, in the panic that followed the fire, some poor girl pulled the key from the door, certainly Mr. Harris and Mr. Blanck did not know that this was so. And if this dreadful error was made without their knowledge, then they are guilty of nothing. (To Bostwick) I hope that was helpful.
CROKER: We tried to enter through the Washington Place door, but we couldn’t budge it, so we chopped through it with axes.
Did you take the time to examine the lock to verify that the bolt was thrown?
CROKER: Yes, sir. I found eleven bodies there, piled on top of each other.
But you never looked at the lock?
CROKER: It was.
So you can’t say for certain that the door was locked or not?
CROKER: No, sir.
Thank you, Chief Croker. I’d like to commend your gallantry during the crisis.
ETHEL: That was the door all the girls used. Nobody ever used the Washington Place door.
Did you ever ask Mr. Harris about the door?
ETHEL: I could not open it.
You were afraid of Mr. Harris?
(Bostwick gently stops her and leads her back to her seat.)
(Steuer offers her a handkerchief.)
(She takes out her own.)
Did you ever see Mr. Blanck?
ETHEL: No, not very often.
What do you mean by not very often?
ETHEL: What does it matter? I was scared.
You do like to argue some, don’t you, little girl? You do not really mean to say that you were afraid of these two men, were you?
MOORE: I examine the scenes of fires to determine causes and liability.
Mr. Hurwitz, what is your occupation?
MOORE: On April 10th of this year.
And you have made a thorough examination of all the doors on the ninth floor of the Asch building?
BOSTWICK: People’s Exhibit 30 is the lock from the Washington Place door on the ninth floor of the Asch building.
I object! On March 25th a fire occurs, and on March 26th all the conscience of the city is stirred by the terrible catastrophe that has occurred. Hundreds upon hundreds of people go into thatdebris and seek the bodies, and the Fire Department makes a conclusive and minute and detailed search into that debris, and the whole question that is being agitated in the press day after day is locks, locks, locks, and the door was locked, and the pictures of the doors, gentlemen of the jury, and nothing is found, when on the tenth of April, as from a clear sky, this man goes to the premises and within 25 minutes a lock is discovered, on an alleged portion of door that somebody kicked in. And every one of the locks, may it please the gentlemen of the jury, in that building was identical from the tenth floor down to the basement.
MOORE: If you stood inside the Washington Place loft, the hinges of the door would have been on your right. and the handle to the door would have been on your left. This lock is a lock for a left-handed door, the only left-handed door on the ninth floor.
Mr. Hurwitz, is this the lock from the Washington Place door on the ninth floor of the Asch building?
HURWITZ: No, sir.
How can you tell?
MOORE: Yes, the tongue of the lock was extended when I found it.
I object! Is it really to be urged upon this court that because the tongue of this lock. I think you call it, was extended on the 10th day of April, 1911, is that the slightest evidence that the lock had its tongue extended on the 25th day of March, 1911? Is it even to be suggested in a civilized country where the jurisprudence is practiced as it is practiced here?
BOSTWICK: Regardless of the condition of the tongue, we have shown that this is the lock from the door in question.
(Gesturing for the lock.) May I?
BOSTWICK: Please.
Can you open this, Mr. Hurwitz?
(Hurwitz uses a small file and opens the lock within seconds. To Moore.)
Now, Mr. Moore, If Mr. Hurwitz can remove the innards of your lock so easily they could have been removed and replaced thousands of times between the fire of March 25th and the time you arrived on April 10th, don’t you think so, speaking as an expert, Mr. Moore?
MOORE: Evidently they could have been.
Now you say it’s a left-handed lock.
MOORE: That’s correct.
And now that Mr. Hurwitz has done you the service of opening it, could he convert it into a right-handed or a left-handed lock?
MOORE: Yes, he could.
Then there isn’t such thing as a right-handed or a left-handed lock.
(Steuer takes the parts of the lock and hands them to Bostwick.)
There you are.
(Bostwick sits and Steuer rises to cross-examine Kate.)
Did you have a sister working in the place?
KATE ALTERMAN: No, sir
And you are currently living in Philadelphia?
KATE ALTERMAN: Yes, sir.
When was the last time you saw Mr. Bostwick?
KATE ALTERMAN: Saturday.
He took you up to the building, did he?
KATE ALTERMAN: Yes, sir.
And he pointed out to you where the Washington Place door is?
KATE ALTERMAN: I had to point it out to him. He showed me the plan and asked me to show him where I saw Margret last; I couldn’t show him very well on the plan for I picked it in my mind as if it were before the fire, so he took me to the building.
You have told us that she was right up against the door, isn’t that so?
KATE ALTERMAN: She was right near the door with her hands at the knob.
With her hands at the knob?
KATE ALTERMAN: At the knob.
But you couldn’t tell him that before you went up to the loft?
KATE ALTERMAN: Well, I don’t believe I told him–I think I told him, I am not sure, though, for when I gave my statement first I was sick at the time.
And so you didn’t tell it the same way as you were telling it now?
KATE ALTERMAN: I’m telling it the same way, just the same way.
Did you tell then that she had her hand on the knob?
KATE ALTERMAN: I don’t remember exactly whether I told the knob or not. It was nine months ago.
Did you ever have a sister that visited you at the place?
KATE ALTERMAN: I never did.
Have you got a sister at all?
KATE ALTERMAN: I have a sister, yes sir.
How many?
KATE ALTERMAN: I have five sisters.
Does one of your sisters live in New York?
KATE ALTERMAN: No, sir, they never did.
Now I want you to tell me your story over again, just as you told it before.
KATE ALTERMAN: What kind of story do you mean?
Just tell us what you did when you heard the cry of fire.
KATE ALTERMAN: …He went to the windows.
Now, there was something in there that you left out, I think, Miss Alterman. When Bernstein was jumping around, do you remember what that was like? Like a wildcat, wasn’t it?
KATE ALTERMAN: Like a wildcat.
You did leave that out, didn’t you, just now, when you told us about Bernstein, that he jumped around like a wildcat?
KATE ALTERMAN: A wildcat or a wild dog. I told it that way to imagine just exactly.
Now you heard the signal or bell for the shutting off of the power, didn’t you?
KATE ALTERMAN: Yes, sir.
Then you got up and left your table, is that it?
KATE ALTERMAN: Yes, sir.
And was it at that time that you went to the dressing room?
KATE ALTERMAN: Yes, sir.
That was the only time you went to the dressing room, was it?
KATE ALTERMAN: Yes, sir.
And of course I am speaking of that afternoon, I meant that afternoon.
KATE ALTERMAN: Of that day, yes, sir.
Now, could you tell us again what you did after that time?
KATE ALTERMAN: After going out from the dressing room?
Yes.
KATE ALTERMAN: …The whole door was aflame, it was a red curtain of fire–
You never spoke to anybody about what you were going to tell us when you came here, did you?
KATE ALTERMAN: No, sir.
You have got a father and a mother and four sisters?
KATE ALTERMAN: Five sisters. I have a father. I have no mother, I have a stepmother.
And you never spoke to anybody else about it?
KATE ALTERMAN: No, sir.
They never asked you about it?
KATE ALTERMAN: They asked me and I told them once, and then they stopped me; they didn’t want me to talk anymore about it.
And you didn’t study the words in which you would tell it?
KATE ALTERMAN: No, sir.
Now, tell us from there what you did, starting from when your purse was burning.
KATE ALTERMAN: …it was a red curtain of fire.
A “red curtain of fire”?
KATE ALTERMAN: That’s right.
You never studied those words, did you?
KATE ALTERMAN: No, sir
Did you receive, on the 12th of October, 1911, a letter inviting you to a meeting at the 151 Clinton Street, on the third floor, to meet the lawyer for the Ladies’ Waist and Dressmakers’ Union?
KATE ALTERMAN: No, sir.
Didn’t you go on the 16th of October, 1911, to 151 Clinton Street, and didn’t the lawyer go over the story of the fire with each one of you girls?
KATE ALTERMAN: No.
Well now, didn’t every one of the girls get a letter to come down to 151 Clinton Street?
KATE ALTERMAN: Yes, sir
Can you tell that story in any other words than those you have told it in?
KATE ALTERMAN: In any other words? I remember it this way, just exactly how it was done.
Will you please answer my question? Could you tell it in any other words than the words you have told it in here?
KATE ALTERMAN: No, sir. Not a word.
You say you can tell the jury the same words you used in your written statement?
BOSTWICK: I offer the statement to the jury.
(Steuer takes the statement from Bostwick.)
(Steuer takes the statement from Bostwick.)
Tell us the words in the statement, please now.
KATE ALTERMAN: (After a long pause.) Shall I tell you just as in the statement?
Yes, the words in the statement.
KATE ALTERMAN: Well, I gave a very long statement.
Now, start with the words in the statement, please, and not an explanation, Miss Alterman, if you can. Tell us just how you started the statement, and then give us the words that are in the statement.
KATE ALTERMAN: Well, it would be 4:45 on Saturday, I think that I started the beginning of the statement…
Please just tell the court what you said.
KATE ALTERMAN: (Another long pause.) I can’t remember what I said.
Mr. Bostwick asked you before whether you could tell it again in the same words as the statement and you said “Yes.” Now you say you can’t?
KATE ALTERMAN: I already told you what happened. There is only one way it happened.
You can only tell the story the way you practiced it?
KATE ALTERMAN: I can only tell it how I remember it.
Nothing more.
SHEPARD: …The same Thomas C.T. Crain.
Miss Levantini, were you employed by the defendant at the same time of the fire?
MAY: I was.
Are you now?
BOSTWICK: I see.
Miss Levantini, do you have a civil suit pending against the defendants?
MAY: I do.
So why are you testifying in their defense?
MAY: To tell the truth.
Miss Mittleman, you worked near Miss Levantini didn’t you?
IDA: Yes, on the first row of machines from the Washington Place side.
After the power was shut off on March 25, where did you go?
MAY: The key was right in the door tied to a string. I turned the key.
The key was in that Washington Place door, wasn’t it?
MAY: Yes, sir.
(To Ida.) And it was attached to the door by a string, wasn’t it?
IDA: Yes, sir, by the string, about three or four inches long, a piece of tape or something about half-inch wide.
(To May.) What color was the string?
MAY: It was a checked piece of string, half-inch wide, if not more.
So you turned the key attached to the string, and then..
MAY: No, I was the first one at the door.
When you got out of the hallway, what did you see?
IDA: All I could see was heads and the smoke was thick, so I ran back.
And after you passed through the Washington Place door on the ninth floor a second time, did you see Margaret Schwartz?
IDA: Certainly.
Mr. Bernstein, what is your occupation?
SAMUEL BERNSTEIN: I am the superintendent and manager of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory.
How long have you held that position?
SAMUEL BERNSTEIN: 12 years.
And in those 12 years, how often did you go from one floor of the Asch building to another?
SAMUEL BERNSTEIN: More than I can count.
Through which door did you enter and leave the ninth floor?
SAMUEL BERNSTEIN: Either the Greene Street door or the Washington Place door, depending on where I was.
You used the Greene Street and Washington Place doors indiscriminately?
SAMUEL BERNSTEIN: Yes, sir.
And were those doors ever locked during working hours?
SAMUEL BERNSTEIN: So that the girls would leave by the Greene Street door and have their purses searched by the watchman.
Did you tell Mr. Harris and Mr. Blanck that you were turning the key in the door on March 25th of this year?
BOSTWICK: So, you were the only one to get a raise.
Mr. Bernstein, what was your brother’s name?
SAMUEL BERNSTEIN: Jacob.
How did he die?
SAMUEL BERNSTEIN: He perished in the fire, sir.
I’m sorry for your loss.
(Beat.)
But I have to ask you, if your brother was killed by this terrible fire, why are you here testifying for the men who have been blamed for his death?
The remaining cast members watch from above on the bridge.
Mr. Harris, Mr. Blanck, thank you for coming.
BLANCK: You’re welcome.
How did the two of you work as co-proprietors
BLANCK: About one million dollars per year.
Did your work take you from one floor of the Asch building to another?
BLANCK: Many times a day.
And did you use the Washington Place door?
HARRIS: Yes, many times.
And did you ever find the Washington Place door on the ninth floor ever locked?
BLANCK: The employees could get out any way they wished.
What did you when you realized there was a fire?
HARRIS: …At this point I started to holler, “Girls, let us go to the roof!”
Did you fear for your life?
HARRIS: …and passed back the ladder I found there.
Was your sister working on the ninth floor at the time of the fire?
HARRIS: She was.
Mr. Harris, would you ever allow your own sister to be locked in a room that was even slightly prone to fire?
HARRIS: Absolutely not.
Mr. Blanck, what are the ages of your children?
BLANCK: Mildred is twelve and Henrietta is five.
Two little girls. And where were they on the day of the fire?
BLANCK: They were in the office with me. Their mother had gone South and I was going to take them shopping.
And what was your first thought when you heard the cry of fire?
BLANCK: To get the girls to the roof.
How did you do that?
BLANCK: …And I kissed them.
(Steuer hands him a handkerchief.)
(Steuer hands him a handkerchief.)
Thank you, sir.
HARRIS: I can’t remember what I said to him.
(Steuer takes a pocketbook from his table and throws it to Bostwick.)
Just open it and see for yourself how big it is.
Mr. Harris, is theft a major problem in your company?
HARRIS: (Passionately.) It is! You see how many waists can be crammed into a small space.
What evidence of theft do you have?
HARRIS: …and another girl had about three dozen waists!
And what action did you take against these thieves?
BLANCK: This was not long after the strike, and we didn’t want to make any trouble, so we discharged them.
But you declined to press charges against these girls who clearly stole from you?
BOSTWICK: You would say it was not over 25 dollars, wouldn’t you?
I object to that as immaterial!
HARRIS: No, it would not exceed that much.
Mr. Harris, was there any rule in your factory that the door on the Washington Place side should be locked before the employees left the shop?
BLANCK: There was no such thing as a locked door on the premises.
Did you know whether the Washington Place door was locked or unlocked at 4:45 on March 25th of this year?
