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The first meetings of the Unemployed Committee were held on August
9 at the parade grounds, near the edge of town. The meetings were called
by well-known labour organizer James Kelly. About 300 people attended
the evening meeting to elect the Committee. Kelly introduced the young
man to the crowd. "(Power) was a great talker and made a speech
to the unemployed which impressed them so much that they appointed him
as their chairman and he led them in all their parades and protests
[from then on]." 10
The Police Files
From the start the police were ordered to follow the leaders of the
new Unemployed Committee. The Commission of Government was afraid. It
did not want another riot. The commissioners were on the lookout for
any trouble. The right to vote was already gone. They could not outlaw
public meetings. But they could police them. A special group of plain
clothes officers was told to do the job.
Detective Mahoney and Constable Bennett were on duty at the first two
meetings of the unemployed. They took notes. "Three hundred
people were there, some spectators, some [important] citizens. I might
as well add, sir, that the football and baseball fans helped to make
up the crowd," Mahoney wrote in his first report to the chief
of police, P.J. O'Neill. "Sir, it is our firm opinion that this
organization will not keep together." 11
Mahoney took down the names of the six people elected to the Unemployed
Committee, including Pierce Power. He noted that the group's goal was
to bring the concerns of the unemployed to the Commission of Government.
The officers were clearly not impressed by the Committee. But the next
meeting on August 10 changed their minds.
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