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Peter Speek
and Migratory Labor:
An Estonian
Revolutionary Finds the Real America
by Greg Woirol, Whittier College
| Peter
Alexander Speek arrived in the United States in the fall of 1908
at the age of 35, "having in my pocket only 4¢ and knowing
hardly more English words."1
A leader of revolutionary activities against Russian rule in his
native Estonia, Speek came to the U.S. a committed socialist intent
on developing worker awareness and leading the class struggle. After
two years in New York, Speek traveled to the West Coast, entered
the graduate program in economics at the University of Wisconsin,
and worked two years as an investigator for the United States Commission
on Industrial Relations (CIR). During his time with the CIR, Speek
traveled widely across the United States, "visiting labor camps,
cheap city lodging houses, gatherings of hoboes and tramps in so-called
'jungles', interviewing employers and various public agencies."2
Speek wrote dozens of reports during these investigations that served
as the foundation for official CIR policy recommendations and for
a series of popular press articles on current migratory conditions.3 In doing this work, Speek
became a recognized authority on migratory labor issues. Reference
to Speek's reports can be found in studies of early-twentieth-century
migratory labor conditions, but a specific evaluation of Speek and
of his contributions has not been written.4
Speek's work for the CIR is of interest because of its subject matter
and its comprehensive coverage. Speek's work is also of interest
because it was during this period that Speek rejected his revolutionary
socialism and became a structural reformer, accepting the basic
U.S. economic and political system and working to improve the details
of its institutions. |
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Peter Alexander Speek was born June
16, 1873, on a small farm near the village of Laguja, about twenty
miles southwest of Tartu, Estonia.5
Speek supported himself as a teacher while completing degrees
in teaching (1894) and law (1903). During the 1890s Speek became
active in the movement for reform of Tsarist rule in Estonia and
soon emerged as one of three main leaders of the Estonian reform
movement, each of whose views was voiced through editorship of
a newspaper. Founder and editor of Uudised (1903-05), Speek
distinguished himself by his radicalism and by the strength of
his call for Estonian independence. From its beginning in November
1903, Uudised "was as marxist as the censor would allow."6 Speek "was the heart of
the paper and symbolized the increasing radicalization of the
Estonian intelligentsia" as resistance to Russian rule intensified
in 1903-05. Under Speek's leadership, Uudised concentrated
on increasing Estonian social awareness and focused on issues
related to working conditions, women's rights, education, and
government reform.7 |
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