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Hellraisers Journal – Wednesday April 21, 1920
Centralia Defendants Get Heavy Sentences; Anna Louise Strong Reports on Trial
From the Washington Standard of April 6, 1920:
HEAVY SENTENCES GIVEN I. I. W.’S
———-TWENTY-FIVE TO FORY YEARS GIVEN MEN CONVICTED OF
SECOND DEGREE MURDER; PRACTICALLY MEANS LIFE
TO MOST OF THEM; CASE TO BE APPEALED.
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The seven men convicted at Montesano March 13 of second degree murder for the slaying of Warren O. Grimm, Centralia Armistice Day parade victim, were sentenced to not less than 25 years in state’s prison and not more than 40 years, by Judge John M. Wilson Monday afternoon.
Defense Attorney Vanderveer took exception to the sentences and gave notice of appeal.
Judge Wilson said that he could not pay any attention to the jury’s plea for leniency in the case of John Lamb and Ray Becker in the light of the evidence submitted. He said he regarded the case against all of the men as identical. Loren Roberts, whom the jury found insane, was ordered sent to the criminal insane ward at Walla Walla penitentiary.
The seven men sentenced to 25 to 40 years were O. C. Bland, Bert Bland, John Lamb, Eugene Barnett, James McInerney, Ray Becker and Britt Smith.
Motion for a new trial was made by Vanderveer, and argued at length but was denied by Judge Wilson before the sentence was passed.
The minimum sentence for second degree murder is 10 years, the maximum life imprisonment. The defense has 90 days in which, to carry the case to the supreme court.
[Photograph and emphasis added.]
From The Nation of April 17, 1920:
Centralia: An Unfinished Story
By ANNA LOUISE STRONG
NEITHER side was satisfied with the compromise verdict rendered by the jury at Montesano in the trial of the eleven members of the I. W. W. charged with the murder of Warren 0. Grimm in connection with the Centralia tragedy on Armistice Day. The prosecution asked that all eleven be convicted of murder in the first degree, as having conspired to commit murder. The defense asked that all be acquitted, as men who had planned only to defend themselves and their hall against a threatened raid. One of the defendants was freed on a directed verdict. Of the ten considered by the jury, two were acquitted, one adjudged insane, and seven convicted of murder in the second degree. Even to the jury itself this verdict was not satisfactory. It brought in first a verdict of murder in the third degree for two of the defendants, but was informed by the judge that this was inadmissible, and upon further consideration changed the verdict to that of murder in the second degree. It is generally conceded that three of the jurors held out for some time for absolute acquittal of all defendants.
Both prosecution and defense expressed disappointment. Prosecuting Attorney Allen called it a “travesty on justice,” and declared that a new action would be begun for the murder of McElfresh, another of the victims of the shooting. George F. Vanderveer, counsel for the defense, declared that a second degree murder verdict was absurd, as the only possible connection of most of the defendants with the death of Grimm lay in the theory of previous conspiracy, while second degree murder is “unpremeditated.” He undertook to appeal the case, alleging as grounds the prejudice of both judge and jury. Judge Wilson had delivered an address in eulogy of the Armistice Day victims at a patriotic memorial service held in their honor, and Juryman Sellers was alleged to have announced his intention to go on the jury and hang the members of the I. W. W.
According to the view taken by most of the local press, the verdict was “at least a partial victory for the defense,” as acquittal was practically impossible under the judge’s instructions. Judge Wilson ruled that while it was lawful for the I. W. W. to plan a defense of their hall, it was unlawful to station men outside the hall for that purpose Since four of the defendants had admitted being so stationed, a verdict of acquittal was hardly possible.
Another verdict found its way into the newspapers, that of the labor jury—six men elected by various labor bodies of the Northwest to sit through the trial and report their findings. Seattle, Everett, Tacoma, and Portland each sent delegates from their central labor councils, and delegates came also from the Seattle Metal Trades Council and the Centralia branch of the Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen. This labor jury, passing over the point of law raised by the judge, and taking into account testimony offered which the judge instructed the regular jury to disregard, announced its conclusion as follows:
That the defendants were “not guilty” of conspiring to murder Grimm;
That there was a conspiracy by the business interests at Centralia to raid the I. W. W. hall;
That the hall was unlawfully raided before the shooting started;
That the I. W. W. had a right to defend it;
That Warren 0. Grimm was a party to the conspiracy to raid the hall;
That the defendants did not get a fair trial, as much vital evidence was excluded.Both sides agree that there was a patriotic parade on Armistice Day last November, which went somewhat out of the usual line of march past the I. W. W. hall. The I. W. W., fearing that their hall would be raided and wrecked, as it had been two years before after a Red Cross parade, had armed themselves to defend the hall. There were also members of the I. W. W. who had taken up positions in the Arnold Hotel opposite the hall; the Avalon Hotel, part way down the street; and Seminary Hill, a thousand feet away, overlooking the entrance to the hall.
At the beginning of the trial, the prosecution was not disposed to admit that the members of the I. W. W. had actually expected a raid and had armed for defense, but at the end it agreed to this interpretation in a statement dictated in my presence for press use. Similarly, the attorney for the defense, Mr. Vanderveer, in his opening statement, did not admit the shooting from the Avalon Hotel, but this was later conceded. It was a shot from the Avalon Hotel which killed Warren O. Grimm.
At the end of the parade came the Centralia division of the American Legion. The prosecution introduced several witnesses who claimed that the parade was in military formation at the time when the shooting began from the hall. Some said it had halted, some that it was marking time, and some that it was marching straight ahead at the usual pace. Opposed to this, the defense introduced some thirty or forty witnesses who stated that certain members of the parade had broken ranks and begun an attack on the hall, actually kicking the door open, before any shots were fired. Spectators on the sidewalk and men actually in the parade gave this account, one “regular” soldier stating that Commander Cormier blew a whistle, after which the shout arose: “Let’s go get ’em.”
A typical bit of spectator’s testimony was that of Forest Campbell, a candy-maker. He said: “I saw Cormier stop the parade and almost at once a group of men rushed toward the hall. Two or three men were in the lead. They were running. I heard the glass crash and the door swing open. I saw McElfresh lying on the sidewalk in front of the place.”
The only man who directly admitted taking part in the raid before the shooting began was Dr. Frank Bickford, who was called by the defense to repeat the testimony he had given at the coroner’s inquest. He stated that he had offered to lead a raid, but that before he started there were others ahead of him, one of whom kicked open the door, and then the shooting started. In its rebuttal the prosecution introduced a series of witnesses from the parade who testified, with monotonous regularity, that the parade was in military formation when the shooting began.
General agreement exists regarding the place where the eleven defendants were during the shooting, except in regard to Eugene Barnett, a miner. The prosecution held that he was in the Avalon Hotel, and fired the shot that killed Grimm; they introduced witnesses who claimed to have seen him in the window and later leaving the hotel. Some of these witnesses proved uncertain in their identification, and the defense brought in much evidence to show that Barnett was in the lobby of another hotel, unarmed, during the trouble, and that he then rode out to his home, ten miles away. The jury evidently gave weight to the testimony of the defense on this point, as Barnett was one of the two men to whom they gave the first sentence of “third degree murder,” whereas, according to the prosecution, he had been the actual slayer of Grimm.
Of the other defendants, Britt Smith, secretary of the I. W. W., was in the hall, together with James McInerney, Mike Sheehan, Ray Becker, and Tom Morgan. The latter turned State’s evidence. Sheehan was unarmed and no evidence connected him with any knowledge of the raid; he was acquitted by the jury. McInerney was found armed, and arms were found belonging to Becker and Smith; these three were convicted of murder in the second degree. Morgan, who turned State’s evidence, was released.
Two of the defendants, O. C. Bland and John Lamb, were in the Arnold Hotel, diagonally opposite the hall. The prosecution claimed that they fired; the defense admitted that they were ready to fire, but stated that as Bland thrust his gun through the window, he cut his hand so seriously that he could not use it. The hotel proprietor, standing below the window, heard the glass break and rushed up stairs, but heard no shots and saw no smoke in the room. Both Bland and Lamb were arrested at their homes, and left large families of dependent children when they were taken to jail—seven in the Bland family and five in the Lamb family. The mothers had difficulty in getting any assistance from the public charities and the families were in serious straits until the Salvation Army relieved them.
Loren Roberts and Bert Bland, two young boys, brought up in the vicinity of Centralia, went armed to Seminary Hill. Roberts made a “confession” and was later judged insane. Bert Bland, a smiling youth, perhaps the most attractive of the defendants, made the most damaging admission, as he related clearly and honestly how he fired from the hill into the crowd that was surging round the hall. He received the verdict of second degree murder, as did his brother, 0. C. Bland, and John Lamb.
Elmer Smith, one of the two men acquitted, was a young attorney in Centralia. Born on a homestead in North Dakota, working his way through college and law school, taking up and improving a homestead in Washington, having a young wife and small child—he had been one of Centralia’s most popular young men until he became attorney for workingmen, including, finally, the I. W. W. The only evidence against him was that he had been in the hall earlier in the day and asked Britt Smith if he was prepared for a raid. He was several blocks away during the shooting.
Four of the defendants were fathers of small children; one, Mike Sheehan, was an old man whose sons were grown and scattered to the four winds, except for one of them, Bill Sheehan, who was present at the trial. The mother of Loren Roberts also came, a quiet, pale woman, whose husband had died of tuberculosis induced by a saw-mill accident which smashed his ribs into his lungs; she said that Loren was a good boy and had supported her and her younger children. Only four of the defendants were with out family responsibilities, young Bert Bland, a Centralia boy; Ray Becker, son of an eastern clergyman; James McInerney, a fighting Irishman and class-conscious worker; and Britt Smith, the I. W. W. secretary, who had seen the inside of most of Washington’s lumber camps.
The tragedy of Centralia, like the earlier tragedy of Everett, had its roots in the lumber industry of the State of Washington; in the camps where men herd together in bunk-houses, with little chance to bathe or to dry their clothes, enduring a state of damp untidiness through the chilly, rainy winters. The I. W. W. is especially strong among these lumber-jacks, who move from camp to camp, always in the vain hope of finding something better.
The industrial background of the Centralia shooting would have been more clearly brought out had not the judge refused to admit a large mass of testimony offered by the defense. Mr. Vanderveer offered to prove an intricate conspiracy, connecting the business men of Centralia, the Employers’ Association of the State, and even the State officials at Olympia, with the plan to raid the I. W. W. hall as the first step in a State-wide drive against the I. W. W. He offered to prove that the manager of the Employers’ Association of Washington visited Centralia and urged the forming of a citizens’ protective league to get rid of “reds”; that after the I. W. W. hall opened last fall a meeting was held at the Elks Club, at which the chief of police stated that there was no lawful way to run the I. W. W. members out of town, whereupon a secret committee was formed to “handle the I. W. W. problem”; that a proposed raid on Armistice Day was discussed in the town, and that Warren 0. Grimm had cognizance of it and supported it.
Mr. Vanderveer also offered in evidence the account of the raid made on the former hall by the Red Cross parade two years before. All of this testimony was ruled out by the judge, “unless an overt act by Grimm himself could first be shown.” When Vanderveer then introduced witnesses who saw Grimm with the attacking party, or coming wounded from the direction of the hall, the prosecution arrested two of them on a charge of perjury as soon as they had finished their testimony.
Whether or not the raid on Armistice Day was definitely planned as part of a State-wide drive against the I. W. W., the Centralia tragedy did result in such a drive against the organization, and all persons remotely connected with it in the public mind.
Many members of the I. W. W., claiming the expediency of their tactics of self-defense, state in proof that “there have been no more of our halls raided and wrecked by mobs since we showed that we would fight back.” On the other hand, cases in court against members of the I. W. W. have been influenced adversely by the Centralia tragedy. Before Armistice Day, all cases of so-called “criminal syndicalism” in the Northwest had resulted in acquittal; since the Armistice Day parade, nearly all have resulted in convictions, with sentences ranging from a year to fifteen years for persons whose sole crime was mere membership in the organization.
Labor councils throughout the Northwest are beginning to demand that the lynchers of Wesley Everest be prosecuted. The friends of Everest have many names of lynchers, including prominent citizens of Centralia. Prosecuting Attorney Allen has promised to prosecute if there is sufficient evidence.
And so, for more reasons than one, the Centralia tragedy is an unfinished story, for the conditions in the logging camps that produced Everett and Centralia still exist. “The reading-rooms are turned into store-rooms, the unfinished baths are not being finished. New camps established last October are still without toilets. The only thing that keeps conditions jacked up to even half-decency is the fear of God which the I. W. W. puts into the hearts of the employers.”
This was the testimony of a churchmen. Fear is not a secure foundation for an enduring structure of human relations. So long as it remains the foundation of life in the woods of Washington, the story of Centralia will remain unfinished.
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[Photograph and emphasis added.]
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SOURCES
Quote Wesley Everest, Died for my class. Chaplin Part 15
https://www.iww.org/history/library/Chaplin/centralia-conspiracy/15
Washington Standard
(Olympia, Washington)
-Apr 6, 1920
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84022770/1920-04-06/ed-1/seq-1/
The Nation, Volume 110
-Jan-June 1920
New York, New York
https://books.google.com/books?id=nug_AQAAMAAJ
The Nation of Apr 17, 1920
https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=nug_AQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&pg=GBS.PA499
“Centralia: An Unfinished Story” by Anna Louise Strong
https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=nug_AQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&pg=GBS.PA508
IMAGES
Centralia Trial, IWW Defendants Names, Spk Chc p1, Feb 7, 1920
https://www.newspapers.com/image/562031885/
Anna Louise Strong, Stt Str p 5, Mar 4, 1918
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87093407/1918-03-04/ed-1/seq-5/
See also:
Centralia Armistice Day Conspiracy of 1919
https://weneverforget.org/tag/centralia-armistice-day-conspiracy-of-1919/
Tag: Anna Louise Strong
https://weneverforget.org/tag/anna-louise-strong/
The IWW in the Lumber Industry by James Rowan
Lumber Workers Industrial Union #500 of IWW
Seattle, Washington, 1920
https://archive.iww.org/history/library/Rowan/lumberindustry/
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Better World A Comin’ – Woody Guthrie