Hellraisers Journal – Saturday August 23, 1913
Marysville, California – I.W.W. Hop-Pickers Martyred at Wheatland
From the Industrial Workers of August 21, 1913:
I.W.W. Hop-Pickers Martyred at Wheatland
Near Marysville, California
Hop Pickers, Durst Ranch, Wheatland, California, 1913
On the Durst Brothers’ Ranch at Wheatland, near Marysville, farm workers, led by the Industrial Workers of the World, were on strike. The struggle was over wages and the practice of withholding part of the wages until the end of season, forfeited should the picker not finish the season for any reason. On Saturday evening, August 2nd, a protest meeting was held, led by Richard “Blackie” Ford and Herman D. Suhr. Another meeting was called for the next morning, Sunday August the 3rd and demands were issued.
This so enraged Ralph Durst that he struck Ford and called in the law to have him arrested. No arrest warrant was presented, and, therefore, picketers would not allow the arrest.
A meeting, held later that afternoon, was attacked by the local sheriff and his deputies. Strikers resisted the attack which led to the deaths of a district attorney, a deputy sheriff and two hop-pickers. Many more hop-pickers were injured.
Hop-pickers are being rounded up in the area, held incommunicado, and there are allegations of beatings and torture. A man-hunt is on for Ford and Suhr.
Durst Ranch, Wheatland, California
-Some Causes of Trouble and Unrest Among the Hop-Pickers
Looking to employ only about 1500 hop-pickers, the millionaire Durst Brothers, nevertheless, advertised in California, Oregon and Nevada that they had work for twice that many. About 2,800 workers showed up at the ranch. They were men, women, and children, of many different nationalities: Syrian, Mexican, Hawaiian, Japanese, Lithuanian , Italian, Greek, Polish, Hindu, Cuban, and Puerto Rican. In all, about 27 different languages were spoken.
Most of them were out of luck. There was no work to be had, and, therefore, no housing, no food, and the money spent on transportation gone for naught.
For those who did find work, the wages offered turned out to be a lie. 10% of wages are held back until the end of the season, but forfeited if they can not finish the season for any reason. Most hop ranches pay an average of $3.00 per day. The Durst Ranch rarely pays more than $1.50 per day, for a 12-hour day.
The Wheatland Hop-pickers: conditions on Durst Ranch
Withholding 10% of wages until the completion of the season proves to be profitable for the millionaire Durst Brothers. The abominable conditions in the camp cause many of the hop-pickers to quit the camp before the end of the season. Tents are rented, without blankets, for 75 cents per week, about half a day’s pay. Men, women, and children sleep on the floor, huddled together in piles of straw. Some forego the tents, and sleep right in the fields where they work. Food is poor, and hunger is rampant. There are only nine toilets, and none of them are in the fields. The company provides no receptacles for garbage.
Water is not provided, even with temperatures often over 100 degrees. The Durst Brothers sell lemonade for for 5 cents a glass.
Small wonder then, that illness is common in the camp, including typhoid and dysentery.
Yuba County, California
-General Round-up of Hop-pickers and I.W.W.
Sheriff’s deputies assisted by detectives from the Burns Agency have continued the round-up of hop-pickers who were on the Durst Ranch on the “Bloody Sunday” of August 3rd. Any member of the Industrial Workers of the World found in the area is also considered fair game.
Disturbing stories of abuse and torture are coming out of the area. There are reports of men being dragged from one county to the next, being held incommunicado, beaten, denied food and water, and threatened with death. A 15-year-old boy, Edward Glaser, who was seized by a Burns detective, is being held incommunicado, and was denied a visit by his uncle.
“Wanted” posters were up around this state and nearby states for “Blackie” or “Shorty” Ford and for H. D. Suhr, wanted by the Sheriff’s office at Marysville, California on a charge of murder stemming from the events on the Durst Ranch at Wheatland on August 3rd.
The History of the Labor Movement in the United States, Volume IV
The Industrial Workers of the World 1905-1917
-by Philip S Foner
International Pub, 1965 https://books.google.com/books?id=UiScKGtes8EC
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