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Hellraisers Journal – Saturday March 18, 1911
Fresno, California – Gag Law Against I. W. W. Laid to Rest
From the Spokane Industrial Worker of March 16, 1911:
THE CLOSING SOUNDS OF THE FRESNO FIGHT
———-HOW THE FIGHT WAS WON-
FRESNO FIGHT IS NOW HISTORY.
SOLIDARITY WINS IN FRESNO.
—–Fresno, Cal., March 5, 1911.
After denying the I. W. W. the streets for agitation meetings (because of our attempt to organize the workers of Fresno), after persecuting our members for their activity; after throwing them into jail and subjecting them to the greatest brutality; after passing a city ordinance denying the right of free speech, the authorities of Fresno now allow us to speak on the streets unmolested and unrestricted.
How was this accomplished? Less than 200 working men, roused by the acts of violence against the fighting organization to which they belonged, moved, from various parts on the pacific coast, on the Fresno representatives of their enemies (the capitalist class). They recognized that a defeat at this point would retard the important work of organizing the workers for the near approaching great conflict. From first to last, the fight here was carried on upon the strictest class lines, both sides recognizing and freely admitting fact…..
On February 22, 1911, the leading citizens of Fresno assembled to seriously consider the situation. After full discussion of ways and means of ending the struggle a committee of five was appointed with power to investigate the whole situation, ascertain our terms of settlement and report back to them.
This committee interviewed a like committee, elected and instructed by the men in jail, and after numerous conferences, extending over a period of five days, reported back to another meeting of the body which they represented, at which the mayor and city council were present, recommending the granting of our demands. The mayor reluctantly accepted their instructions, called a meeting of the council and the fight was ended. As fast as the legal papers could be drawn up, the prisoners were released, and at this writing, Sunday, March 5, 1911, the Fresno Free Speech Fight has passed into history.
Statement authorized at meeting of Industrial Workers of the World released from the Fresno jail.
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[Emphasis added.]
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SOURCES & IMAGES
Quote Frank Little, Fresno Jails Dungeons, FMR p6, Sept 2, 1910
https://www.newspapers.com/image/606951967/
Industrial Worker
(Spokane, Washington)
-Mar 16, 1911
https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/industrialworker/iw/v2n52-w104-mar-16-1911-IW.pdf
Note: See this same issue, page 1, to read full article. See page 2 for “Fresno Free Speech Fight.”
See also:
Tag: Fresno Free Speech Fight of 1910-1911
https://weneverforget.org/tag/fresno-free-speech-fight-of-1910-1911/
Fellow Workers and Friends
I.W.W. Free Speech Fights as Told by Participants
-by Philip S Foner
Greenwood Press, Jan 1, 1981
-see Chapter 3, pages 76-123
https://books.google.com/books?id=y4yxAAAAIAAJ
The Blood That Stained an American Family
-by Jane Little Botkin
University of Oklahoma Press, May 25, 2017
-see Chapter 13-Fresno Free Speech Fight
https://books.google.com/books?id=gBskDwAAQBAJ
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There is Power in a Union-Utah Phillips
Lyrics by Joe Hill