Eugene Victor Debs is one of the most fascinating men in American history. He was a co-founder of the IWW, and was present at the founding convention in Chicago in 1905. While he did not maintain his membership in the union, he remained supportive of the union and its founding principles throughout his life. During his imprisonment after the Pullman strike of 1894,
Debs became a dedicated activist in the Socialist movement, and as years went on, he took a greater role of leadership in the party, frequently contributing editorials to the party’s journals, including Appeal to Reason. He was the party’s candidate for president of the United States four times before the speech depicted in this song took place. The “Canton Speech,” delivered on June 16, 1918, was the one that landed him in prison. In the audience of around 1,000 Socialists having a picnic in Canton, Ohio’s Nimisilla Park, was a reporter for the Cleveland Plain Dealer by the name of Clyde Miller. Miller had been working closely with northeast Ohio federal prosecutor Edwin Wertz, gathering information on individuals who might be in violation of the Espionage Act. So, after hearing Debs’ speech in Canton, which was taken down by a stenographer in Gregg shorthand, Miller phoned Wertz and told him that Debs, just by what he said, was undoubtedly in violation of the law. Wertz obtained the warrant for Debs’ arrest. Debs was sentenced to 10 years in a federal penitentiary. While he was in prison, he ran for president a fifth time, this time gaining just short of one million votes. The war ended that November, 1918, but Debs still had to serve his time. After a very difficult incarceration that left an indelible mark on his physical health, his sentence was commuted to time served by the man he had run against in the presidential election campaign, Warren G. Harding, and he was released from prison on Christmas morning, 1921. All his life, Debs never stopped fighting for the workers and the working class. He hated when people said he had “risen” from the ranks of labor, for to him, he had not risen, but had always stayed with them, side by side, and shoulder to shoulder.
Our song is in the voice of a young socialist worker hearing Debs speak in person for the first time, standing in that crowd in the park in Canton, Ohio, inspired to action and dreaming of a better world. “The cross of stars is bending” is a reference to the constellation the southern cross, which appears to bend in the refractory effect of the earth’s atmosphere as it sets, heralding the new morning. (Greg is proud to note that this notable episode in history took place in his hometown.)

“Let the people take heart and hope everywhere, for the cross is bending, the midnight is passing, and joy cometh with the morning
` —Eugene Debs 1918.”