August, 1944, 1944

On July 31, two STFU organizers and four truck drivers gathering workers for jobs at the Campbell Soup Co. were arrested by a USES official in Cotton Plant, Ark. Mitchell immediately fired off letters to the ACLU, WDL, and similar organizations, asking for help (1). The reader may follow the progress of the case through the letters of Cotton plant lawyer Ross Mathis (11,13,16,25) and through a "statement of facts" on the case (n.d. [August, 1944]). Rev. David S. Burgess, employed by the Congregational Church as a minister to migrant workers, sent two lengthy reports on the condition of the men who did get to Campbell Soup Co. (22,30). There are several replies from labor leaders in California to Mitchell's inquiries concerning jobs in the canning industry in their state (21 to 30). Finally, an extremely valuable chart appears at the end of the month; it lists all shipments of STFU workers sent outside the South from Nov., 1943 to August, 1944, with a breakdown by company, number, age, sex, race, and regular occupations