Customer Reviews

Lament for the Molly Maguires

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Arthur Lewis' book Lament for the Molly Maguires was the factor convincing Hollywood to make a movie with Sean Connery. The movie hardly got a fact straight and certainly was not interested in getting things exact. Lewis' book lacks what today we consider proper citation, leaving the reader guessing in some instances. No footnotes, lists of sources, just mention of where he found his information, which was newspapers, word of mouth, and court records. In this sense, the book is written like a novel. Molly Maguires is not a 'concrete' topic, however, and is comparable to people still fighting the Civil War. Lewis does not strike me as a writer writing his book for a cause, though.

In another sense, the book does not fall prey to union sentimentalists, propaganda, and self-righteous no-nothing imbeciles who have to turn history into their own interest. Lewis' book is objective, probably missing some minor facts (such as - which Molly it was who put his hand on the cell wall, Fisher or Campbell) and one of McParland's initial experiences at the Pottsville, PA tavern, where McParland caught another cheating at a card game, these are two discrepancies I have found.

I recomend this book not because of its citations, but because of its objectivity. Subjectivity, especially in the modern coal region, is often union sentimentality, and even to the extent that there is question as to whether the Mollies in fact existed and where the local Catholic Church celebrates their execution as unfounded when clearly the 1870's Catholic Church condemned any sort of violence, and used the 'Molly Maguire' name by quote! Don't be fooled by modern distortian of facts, read this book if you are serious about what has to be called factual history.

Arthur Lewis could have been more specific in his citations. This is my only gripe with the book. But I will read it again, and most definitely learned quite a bit from it. I couldn't put it down. On the other hand, there are other author's on this topic who will suggest a group of murderous thugs founded modern labor unions. Read Kenny's book on Molly Maguires, 2002, where academics is not going to be considered, the Mollies were not heroes.

The Catholic Church and 80% of all other Irish in the coal region were frightened and dissatisfied with Molly deprivations, crimes, and worst of all crimes, murder. Factors in Labor unions becoming involved in the coal region are not connected to the Mollies, but all of the coal region workers, being put into harms way, daily, representing far more than Irish Catholics, but several races and some yet to come en masse, Poles and Italians. One last question: If the Mollies were such heroes as other authors suggest, why did their descendents destroy all of the records they could get their hands on?

This book is an interesting introduction to reading about the beginning of the labor movement in America. The story unfolds after the Civil War in the coal fields of eastern Pennsylvania. Irish coal miners pit themselves against the owners of the mines and the railroads in this exciting class struggle. As you read the book, you may question the author's point-of-view regarding labor vs management events. Were the leaders of the various Irish communities cold-blooded murderers or working class heroes? Were Jack Kehoe, Alec Campbell and others framed by a Pinkerton detective? Why was the work in the mine pits the most dangerous job in America? Did the bosses and owners undermine the efforts of workingmen to organize and improve their lives in the coal patches? Did the "secret society" of the Molly Maguires actually exist? Read the book, do some research, and decide for yourself. The controversial film, The Molly Maguires, starring Sean Connery and Richard Harris was "suggested" by this book.

This book has no index or table of contents for its 40 chapters. It is a narrative about the events in the coal mining counties of eastern Pennsylvania in the 1897s. The reports and conversations are as accurate as memory allows. The author lists the various people who helped him when writing this book. [These historical facts were used by Arthur Conan Doyle for his "The Valley of Fear" novel.]

From 1850 to 1877 the oppressed miners in five counties fought against their oppression and poverty. The mine owners used any means against labor unions, including private armies that disregarded the Fourth Amendment. The mine owners used the name "Molly Maguires" to demonize their enemy. The "Molly Maguires" were not part of the labor unions, but a separate group of men who were similar to organized crime gangs. The post-Civil War America was famous for the many secret societies formed, and also many open societies. Each society was a group of men formed to advance a special interest; this seems to be part of human nature. The post-Civil War America was infamous for the power of the new corporate aristocracy which grew very rich very fast by oppressing and impoverishing its workers. High tariffs allowed a cost plus pricing for manufacturing, although scheming and human error created panics and bankruptcies. Small businesses could be ruined by larger competitors [regulation fosters competition]. Democracy in America was under an attack never seen before. The big corporations eventually triumphed, so after WW II there are few small manufacturing businesses around any more. Wage earners are continually oppressed by lower wages and higher taxes. What will happen when we get the next Great Depression?

The author points out the "inhuman cruelty" of the mine owners. They would manipulate the immigration laws to bring in cheap labor. [The author does not mention if these problems existed before the Civil War when there were many restrictions on corporations, and hence absentee ownership.] Coal workers' wages ranged from $7 for a 60 hour week to half that for an 80 hour week (they were near slavery). Chapter One gives a partial background to this story. The author barely hints at the actions that caused this reaction.

Chapter Two tells of the origin of the "Molly Maguires"; they alone could fight the mine operators. As the rate of pay fell, support for the "Molly Maguires" grew (Chapter Three). Business men and politicians joined. An "inner circle" took control of the organizations. And so this story begins. Franklin Benjamin Gowen blamed his bankruptcy on unionism. He became determined to crush any labor organization, and became District Attorney to help other mine owners. Employers drafted union leaders to send them into the Army. Pennsylvania allowed corporations to create their private police force in 1865, without any effective limits. Search warrants and habeas corpus did not apply (Chapter Six). One consequence of this warfare was to force small independent owners to sell out to large corporations! There were dozens of unsolved murders and assaults. Gowen became President of the Railroad, then started to buy up the independent collieries. Gowen next divided and destroyed the unions. The ultimate victory was to smash the "Molly Maguires", and he needed an insider for this. He hired the Pinterton Detective Agency. The rest of the book explains how this was accomplished.

Note that this book is heavily dependent on the self-serving testimony of James McParlan. Some of his stories appear to lack corroboration from independent sources. You can draw your own conclusions on this. This book does not mention the other private detectives, some of whom could have been provocateurs.

Arthur Lewis' prize-winning account of the infamous Molly Maguires, the small secret group of Irish immigrants who terrorized the coal regions of eastern Pennsylvania with murder, mayhem and political corruption in the post-Civil War period. This is one of the more readable books on the subject, and tells the story in an entertaining narrative that succeeds in conveying the true excitement of the Molly era, and well depicts the astounding courage of the famous Irish Pinkerton detective, James McParlan, who risked his life to infiltrate the deadly, terrorist society. Arthur Lewis was a journalist by training, not a professional historian, and therefore this work should not be judged according to academic standards. You will not find pages of footnotes or scholarly references. However, Lewis grew up in Pennsylvania and his personal familiarity with the facts was bolstered by an impressive amount of historical research. Some people have criticized Lewis for siding with the coal companies and the prosecutors against the Mollies in this book, believing that this makes him "anti-Irish" or "anti-labor," but the stance is well justified by historical events. A very good book.

This book is an interesting introduction to reading about the beginning of the labor movement in America. The story unfolds after the Civil War in the coal fields of eastern Pennsylvania. Irish coal miners pit themselves against the owners of the mines and the railroads in this exciting class struggle. As you read the book, you may question the author's point-of-view regarding labor vs management events. Were the leaders of the various Irish communities cold-blooded murderers or working class heroes? Were Jack Kehoe, Alec Campbell and others framed by a Pinkerton detective? Why was the work in the mine pits the most dangerous job in America? Did the bosses and owners undermine the efforts of workingmen to organize and improve their lives in the coal pits? Did the "secret society" of the Molly Maguires actually exist? Read the book, do some research, and decide for yourself. The controversial film, The Molly Maguires, starring Sean Connery and Richard Harris was "suggested" by this book.

Must have read this book 5 times, and enjoyed it more and more each time. Written in a way to comprehend, keep you glued, and get caught up in the action, with your mind bending who were the good guys, and who were the bad.

Lewis' book is one of the most readable and informative accounts yet written about the Molly Maguires. Lewis has been criticized for not having sufficient sympathy for Irish miners and the labor union. However, this criticism comes mainly from people in the Pennsylvania coal region who are one-sidedly biased. Lewis actually takes a balanced approach. He acknowledges the terrible conditions in the coal mining industry and the misery of the miners, yet refuses to accept that these hardships justified murder, beatings and arson -- which drives the descendants of the Molly Maguires and the left-wing union extremists crazy. Lewis tells the history of the Pennsylvania Molly Maguires in an honest, readable, entertaining and understandable way.