Descripción
[AFRICA ? Labor Strike] [PHOTOGRAPHS ? Africa] [LABOR ? Strike] [PHOTOGRAPHS ? Labor] Mally, Charles William. Group of four vintage amateur photographs relating to the railway workers strike in Bloemfontein, South Africa in January 1914, most likely taken by Charles William Mally. Three of the sepia toned, unmounted photographs measure approximately 4.25 x 3.25 inches; the fourth measures 4 x 2.5 inches. As white miners immigrated to South Africa to work in the coal and gold fields toward the end of the 19th century, there was a growing interest to protect the interests of white labor against the work performed by native African workers for far less money. These outsiders brought with them the knowledge of unions and they eventually organized various groups of workers in the region. A relatively successful miners? strike occurred in 1913 and the government did not have enough armed forces to suppress it. Consequently, the South African state army, known as the Union Defence Force (UDF), was established in July 1913. The railway workers called a strike on January 13, 1914, which resulted the next day in 20,000 strikers made up of railway employees, coal and gold miners, and typographical workers. 10,000 troops of the recently organized UDF were immediately dispatched, and on January 14th, just hours after the strike began, martial law was proclaimed. This time the troops were successful in quelling the strike which ended on January 18, five days after it started. Bloemfontein, close to the mining region of South Africa, apparently was the center of the railway workers? strike activity. Each of the four photographs have a penciled identification written on their reverse. 1) Railway strike Bloemfontein, January, 1914. Strikers followed by Defence Force in Maitland Street ; 2) Railway strikers, Bloemfontein, O.F.S. January 1914. Major Brand addressing strikers; 3) Martial Law during Railway strike Bloemfontein, January 1914; and 4) Daily Mail Train leaving Kroonstadt, O.F.S. May, 1914. O.F.S. stands for Orange Free State, a province in the Union of South Africa. The four photographs were found enclosed in a cover (with no letter) mailed by A. B. Mally in Stellenbosch, Union of South Africa to a Miss M. E. Mally, 3306 University Ave., Des Moines, Iowa, postmarked in February, 1928. Those names and addresses led to the family of Charles William Mally (1872-1953). Mally was born in Iowa and studied entomology at Iowa State College. Upon graduation from Iowa State in 1894 with an advanced degree, he worked at the State Agricultural Experiment Station of Ohio. From there he left for Cape Colony with an appointment as assistant entomologist in the Department of Agriculture at Cape Town, South Africa. He returned to the United States for two years but returned in 1907 in his same position. Mally was transferred to Cape Town in 1911 as government entomologist for the Cape Province. He was promoted to the position of senior entomologist in 1919. He became well known in South Africa for a dusting powder (and the machine to distribute it) that was very effective in destroying locusts. In 1926 Mally was appointed lecturer at the Elsenburg Agricultural College, University of Stellenbosch while still maintaining his position of senior entomologist of the Department of Agriculture. Mally died in Stellenbosch. See: S2A3 Biographical Database of Southern African Science on the internet. Charles William Mally was married to Annie Blair Ayres (1869-1954). They had three children, one of whom was named Anne Freda Mally (1910-1970). Charles William Mally had a sister, Miss Mary E. Mally (1879-1963) who never married and lived in Iowa. Given these family connections, the cover, addressed to M. E. Mally in Des Moines, was sent to C. W.?s sister by his wife, A. B. (Annie Blair) Mally. The Washington D. C. Evening Star reported on May 29, 1936 that Mrs. A. B. Mally, accompanied by Miss Freda Mally of Stellenbasch. N° de ref. del artículo 000479
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