Julius Taylor
To Julius F. Taylor
Esteemed Editor of the Broad Ax
Compliments of the Author
Capt. Francis O'Neill
Biography:
Julius Taylor edited the Broad Ax, the first African American newspaper in Chicago. An iconoclast, Taylor frequently attacked Booker T. Washington and defended Democratic Party candidates at a time when the Party was mostly hostile to African American voters.
Taylor frequently praised O’Neill, particularly for his actions during the bitter and violent Teamsters’ Strike of 1905. Teamsters drove the work horses that hauled goods in Chicago. When the Teamster’s union called a strike, employers brought in strikebreakers, many of whom were African American. Rioting broke out, and 21 people were killed. Under orders from the Mayor, and at the urging of the Employer’s Association, O’Neill announced a call for “special policemen” to protect the drivers, meaning the strikebreakers, and included African Americans among the “special police.” This gave African Americans authority to act against white strikers or angry crowds. During the strike, which lasted for over 100 days, it then became difficult to tell a “scab” from a “special policeman.”
O’Neill, Taylor wrote, “could not be swayed by the tin-horn politicians and their lackeys,” and "absolutely refused to bow down in front of the altar of race prejudice.” “The sturdy and courageous Chief of Police of Chicago,” continued the Broad Ax, “boldly declared that as long as colored men were full fledged American citizens, they had the undisputed right like any other class of citizens to serve as extra or permanent policemen.” We could dismiss O’Neill’s action here as simply part of a “divide and conquer” strategy, common in American labor history, in which racial divisions undermine worker solidarity. Indeed employers quickly fired African Americans who had served their purposes: by 1910 there were fewer African American teamsters than there had been before the strike.
But Taylor did not see it this way, and he would go on to lavishly praise O’Neill’s first book on the history of Irish music on the front page of the Broad Ax, proudly noting that O’Neill, “one of our steadfast friends for a number of years,” had gifted him a copy of Irish Minstrels and Musicians inscribed “To Julius T. Taylor, Esteemed Editor of The Broad Ax, compliments of the author, Captain Francis O’Neill.”
From The Broad Ax, (Salt Lake City, Utah):
“CHIEF O'NEILL AND THE COLORED POLICEMEN.
As the great teamsters' strike seems to be drawing to a close, It may not be out of place to note that Francis O'Neill, Chief of the Chicago Police force was one man who could not be swayed by the tin-horn politicians and their lackeys, and who absolutely refused to bow down in front of the altar of race prejudice. For throughout the teamsters' strike in spite of bull-dozing, brow-beating and much bluffing on the part of certain individuals high up In the affairs of this city, Chief O'Neill could not be moved and he firmly adhered to his first or original Idea of selecting colored men to serve as special policemen, and the result Is that between five and six hundred colored men are serving as special police officers at the present time, and with few exceptions they are rendering better service than any other class of men sworn In.
Chief O'Neill realizes the fact that some bad colored men as well as some very bad white men have been sworn in to do police duty who are utterly unfit to service in that capacity. But he is fair-minded enough not to blame nor hold all colored people responsible for the contemptable conduct on the part of some of the tough characters belonging to the Afro-American race.
It can be truthfully said to the credit of Chief O'Neill that he Is unlike Sheriff Thomas E. Barrett For when the representatives of The Chicago American and a few other "big fellows whispered In Sheriff Barrett's ears against selecting colored men to serve as deputy sheriffs he weakened and declared that "He would not appoint any colored deputy sheriffs, that in case he did, race riots would break out, human blood would flow through the streets and the "niggers" would all be killed
But It was not so "with the sturdy and courageous Chief of Police of Chicago, who boldly declared that "as long as colored men were full fledged American citizens, they had the undisputed right like any other class of citizens to serve as extra or permanent policemen and when the lumber merchants protested to him against sending colored policemen into the lumber district the Chief plainly intlmated to them that they had no right to dictate to the city as to the color or the nationality of the men It selected to guard or to protect their property and his plain words cooled them off, and It Is no trouble to observe plenty of colored policemen throughout the lumber district Chief O'Neill is all right and if Mayor Dunne knows which side his bread Is buttered on he will permit him to remain at the head of the Police force of Chicago."
Provenance: Thanks to Michael O'Malley, who sent on this scan of The Broad Axe and provided information around Julius F. Taylor and O'Neill's admiration for him, as well as excerpts from his recent book, The Beat Cop: Chicago’s Chief O’Neill and the Creation of Irish Music.