A Martyr To The Cause
A year after its June 1912 start, the coal miners’ strike on Vancouver Island was still dragging on, with the miners having little to show for their suffering. The coal companies were continuing to refuse to meet the miners’ demands for better pay, working conditions and the right to join a union.
On 13 August 1913, miners in Ladysmith and Extension, angered by the use of strikebreakers to reopen the mines, went on a rampage, destroying property and attacking strikebreakers. The government called in the militia to keep order. More than 200 strikers were arrested and charged with rioting and related offences.
Joseph Mairs
Fundraising postcard commemorating Joseph Mairs, 1914.
Twenty-one-year-old Joseph Mairs was one of those arrested. He chose a speedy trial by judge and pleaded guilty in the hope of receiving a short prison sentence. However, he was given 16 months and transferred to Oakalla Prison Farm, near Vancouver, where he was put to work clearing land. In January 1914, Mairs, a “good, quiet prisoner” with a history of health issues, complained of severe stomach cramps. He was treated for acute indigestion but died shortly thereafter. An autopsy revealed that he had tuberculosis of the intestine and that misdiagnosis and incorrect treatment had led to his death.
Joseph had pleaded guilty to avoid a long prison sentence, which he feared he would not survive. Ironically, his father, who had also been arrested, pleaded not guilty and was acquitted by a jury.
Wording on the Joseph Mairs obelisk in Ladysmith Cemetery.
Joseph’s death shocked the labour movement. In Ladysmith, several hundred miners, family, and friends marched in a mile-long funeral procession to the cemetery.
An obelisk-shaped monument was erected over his grave by the United Mine Workers of America union. Considered a Labour martyr, his memorial is today the focus of an annual gathering with speeches, music and song.
Video Labour Martyr Joseph Mairs (captions available in EN). Enjoy this video with a transcript (EN).