Are union principles worth dying for? That?s one of the questions in a new play, ?Remembering Charlie Luth,? which makes its debut July 14 at 7 p.m. in a free, one-time performance at the Landmark Center in downtown St. Paul.

The play is written by Christine Frank, a member of IATSE Local 13 who works backstage at the Guthrie Theater. It revolves around the real-life slaying of Luth, a striking member of the American Railway Union who was gunned down in St. Paul by an official of the Omaha Railroad during the 1894 Pullman strike.

Frank?s script ? which will be read on the 109th anniversary of Luth?s slaying ? is the result of more than 18 months of research in collaboration with Dave Riehle, a St. Paul labor historian and member of United Transportation Union Local 650-A.

Riehle said he first came across old newspaper accounts of Luth?s slaying in 1994, while researching the Pullman strike for a 100th anniversary commemoration by rail unions. He said he was amazed that Luth?s sacrifice had been forgotten in St. Paul labor lore.

Luth, a 28-year-old father of three, was killed during a confrontation with Omaha Railroad official Charles Leonard at a Lowertown boarding house. Leonard apparently was trying to arrange rooming for scabs during the strike; Luth tried to persuade the boarding house operator not to cooperate. During a scuffle, Leonard shot the unarmed Luth four times at point-blank range, according to testimony at the time.

Play examines the price of principles
Frank?s play not only tells Luth?s story, but captures the reactions of St. Paul workers and others to the killing and the strike.

It imagines heated discussions among union members about whether to avenge Luth?s death by lynching Leonard. It portrays Luth?s funeral procession, in which more than 3,000 people marched from Rice Park and Swede?s Hollow to Oakland Cemetery.

The script also includes portions of a sermon by the Rev. Hermann Fleer, who officiated at Luth?s funeral service. According to one newspaper account, Fleer gave a talk ?full of imprecations against railroads and monopolies.? That sermon apparently cost Fleer his job a few months later.

Riehle said it?s important to pay tribute to Luth?s memory and to acknowledge his stand for something he believed in.

?If he?d have kept his mouth shut, nothing would have happened,? Riehle said. ?The reason he died is because he was engaged in the cause. He was committed. That?s why he acted.

?In the Army, if you act like that and get killed, you?re considered a hero. I?ve thought a lot about that.? He should be honored as a good soldier in labor?s army.?

In his research, Riehle said, he realized that Luth?s death was not a one?time event. He recalls visiting Luth?s gravesite in Oakland Cemetery and noticing that the headstone of Luth?s widow, Pauline, was much less weathered. Then he realized that she lived 58 more years.

?I thought about the sacrifice imposed upon his family by this,? Riehle said. ?It affected them for generations.?

Family members invited
Riehle tracked down some of Luth?s descendants during his research, and discovered that they remain a family of railroad workers, some into the third and fourth generation.

Few know much about Luth beyond how he died, Riehle said. But as many as a dozen relatives are expected to view the July 14 staging ? including a number coming from out of town.

?They welcome his sacrifice being acknowledged,? he said, ?and they?ll learn a whole lot more about what happened.?

The staging of ?Remembering Charlie Luth? is in the tradition of the workers? theater movement of the 1930s, says Riehle. The Twin Cities Chapter of AFTRA arranged for professionals from the Actors Forum to handle key roles, but most parts will be read by rank-and-file union members.

Riehle first recruited volunteers from his own railroad union ? ?it is our story, in a way,? he said ? and from the American Postal Workers Union, ?which has a tradition of labor theater.? Other unions represented include AFSCME, CWA, Education Minnesota, MAPE and Operating Engineers. The cast has been rehearsing every Monday at the St. Paul Labor Centre.

Howard Kling, a member of IATSE Local 219 and director of the Labor Education Service at the University of Minnesota, is directing the reading, which will include some scenery and costumes, but not a full production. The staging is sponsored in part by LES, a number of unions, and the Ramsey County Historical Society.

Adapted from The Union Advocate, the official newspaper of the St. Paul Trades and Labor Assembly.