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Hellraisers Journal – Wednesday November 9, 1910
Fresno, California – City Claims Victory Over Industrial Workers of the World
From The Fresno Morning Republican of November 3, 1910:
Fresno has won its battle to govern the right of free speech.
The city ordinance which prohibits speech-making on the public streets without a permit from the chief of police holds good and the Industrial Workers of the World are the ones who discovered that the law is iron-clad.
A month’s fight against the city authorities ended at 10 o’clock yesterday morning, when fifty-three members of the I.W.W. left the local jail and marched to police court, where they entered individual pleas of guilty and were released from custody with a suspended sentence of ninety days hanging over each man. Three I.W.W.’s “double-crossed” their fellow workers and pleaded not guilty, after promising to go into court and abide by the decision of the majority. This trio was returned to jail.
The fight for free speech was given up only after some of the agitators had failed to secure additional recruits to relieve those who had sacrificed themselves to pose as “martyrs” behind the prison bars. The leaders claim that the national headquarters at Chicago did not back up the fight as strongly as the agitators expected. Another reason is that the citizens here did not sympathize with the so-called martyrs and there was consequently-no encouragement to wage the war on the police any longer
By 4 o’clock yesterday afternoon the fifty-three men who were released in the morning were out of the city and in fact were many miles from the streets where the National I. W. W. once threatened to wage a war that would last for months. The backbone of the fight was broken last week when W. F. Little ex-secretary of the local I. W. W. pleaded guilty to a charge of drunkenness and declared in open court that he was tired of the fight and would not urge the “workers” to continue any longer. From that day until yesterday the prisoners in the bull-pen at the jail be-gan to weaken and in twos and fours they asked to be taken into police court that they might change their original pleas of not guilty. In each case the offender was given a ninety-day “floater.”
At 9:30 o’clock yesterday morning a committee of three consisting of Charles Miller, V. Lechner, and E. F. Doree notified Jailer Ed Jones that they wanted to see Sheriff Chittenden. The men were taken under guard to the office of the sheriff where they stated that a stray vote had been taken in the bull-pen and out of fifty-six behind the bars twenty-nine had voted to give up the fight. The sheriff summoned Chief of Police Shaw and these officials listened to the proposal made by the committee.
The men asked to be allowed to leave the city should they change their please from not guilty to guilty. The officials would not agree to this declaring that the Industrial Workers must leave the county as well as the city. The committee agreed to this. Under heavy guard the men were taken before Police Judge Briggs where fifty-three pleaded guilty and were told to leave the city before 3 p. m.
The three who would not plead guilty after agreeing to do so were William Douglas, John Brinskelli, and Peter Le Blanc. Their fellow workers pleaded with them to reconsider their pleas and join the majority but the men stated that they wished to remain “martyrs.” The list of fifty-three was led by John L. Sullivan an aged man who resembles the famous prize fighter.
The fight began October 1st when thirteen Industrial Workers were arrested for disturbing the peace
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From The Fresno Morning Republican of November 4, 1910:
William Douglas, an Industrial Worker of the World, joined the exodus “ex-martyrs” yesterday morning by entering a plea of guilty in the police court. Like the rest, Douglas was given a “floater,” which means that if he doesn’t leave the city within four hours after the passing of sentence he must spend ninety days behind the bars. The day before, fifty-three Industrial Workers pleaded guilty and were “floated” out of town. Douglas refused to change his plea at that time and went back to jail.
Yesterday when the police court opened he changed his mind and decided to join the fifty-two who are now beyond the county line. This leaves but two Industrial Workers in jail here and it is believed that these men will plead guilty this morning, thus clearing the city of the fifty-six undesirable citizens who threatened to fill Fresno’s bastile to overflowing and put the county to as much expense as possibly by demanding separate trials by jury.
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From The Fresno Morning Republican of November 5, 1910
The Industrial Workers are no more.
At 10 o’clock yesterday morning the “great register” at the local jail was used for the last time, it is hoped, to record the name of an I. W. W. Shortly before the hour set for the morning session in police court, Peter Le Blanc and John Brinskelli, the “survival of the fittest,” sent word from the “bull pen” that they were ready to give in. The pair was taken into court by Bailiff Henry Russell and without any preliminary ceremonies they pleaded guilty to disturbing the peace and received “floaters.” The penalty is ninety days for not leaving the city within four hours. Not only did Le Blanc and Brinskelli promise to leave the city, but they said they would walk out of the county and stay out.
Since the delegation of fifty-two threw up the sponge Wednesday the authorities have had no trouble with agitators, and it is now believed that the war for free speech is at an end. Approximately sixty-five Industrial Workers were in jail here from time to time since the invasion began a month ago.
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Note: emphasis added throughout.]
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SOURCES & IMAGES
Quote Frank Little, Fresno Jails Dungeons, FMR p6, Sept 2, 1910
https://www.newspapers.com/image/606951967/
The Fresno Morning Republican
(Fresno, California)
-Nov 3, 1910
https://www.newspapers.com/image/607032811/
-Nov 4, 1910
https://www.newspapers.com/image/607032952/
-Nov 5, 1910
https://www.newspapers.com/image/607033137/
Note: many articles from FMR can be found here:
http://mikerhodes.us/iww-archive-project/
See also:
Tag: Fresno Free Speech Fight of 1910-1911
https://weneverforget.org/tag/fresno-free-speech-fight-of-1910-1911/
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The Popular Wobbly – The Grand Industrial Band
Lyrics by T-Bone Slim