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Hellraisers Journal – Wednesday November 26, 1919
Bogalusa, Louisiana – White Union Men Shot Down Defending Black Labor Leader
From The Shreveport Times of November 23, 1919:
Bogalusa, La., Nov. 22.-Three white men were shot to death and two wounded in a fight at a garage here today in which several men attempted to prevent special police [company gunthugs] from arresting a negro labor leader, suspected of inciting negroes, and two white men who had carried shotguns to protect him while parading him down the main street of the city.
The dead are:
L. E. Williams, president of the allied trades council of Bogalusa and owner of the garage.
J. P. Bouchillon and Thomas Gaines, carpenters. They were shot by the officers.
[The wounded are:]
S. J. O’Rourke, carpenter and one of the men for whom a warrant for arrest had been sworn, and Jules Leblanc, a special policeman and a former captain in the United States army.
Saul Dechus [Sol Dacus], the negro, is president of the Negro Union. He escaped from the garage with four white men during the shooting.
James Williams, brother of the slain leader, was arrested, charged with assault with intent to kill.
Defy Barricaded Armed Men.
Bogalusa was quiet tonight. The special officers, who are members of the Self-Preservation and Loyal League and who advanced on the barricaded garage despite the fire from shotguns and pistols, are maintaining order.
The officers began their search for Dechus last night, but failed to find him. Today, the officers said, Bouchillon and O’Rourke, armed with shotguns, marched Dechus, for whom a warrant had been sworn, down the street to Williams’ garage.
The chief of police had sworn in 45 special officers and they formed to make the arrest. W. C. Magee and Jules Leblanc with warrants for O’Rourke, Bouchillon and Dechus, started toward the garage. As they entered a gate leading to the building the fighting began and Leblanc was hit in the arm.
Tries to Raise Gun, Shot.
Williams, the labor leader, stepped into the doorway. Officers said he refused to give up the men and made an attempt to carry his shotgun to his shoulder. He was shot dead. The garage was rushed by the officer and only the body of Bouchillon and James Williams were found.
In the last few days, the league which includes several members of the American Legion, has been active is attempting to stamp out radicalism. Wednesday 13 members, all of were of the American Legion, escorted out of town a white man reported to have expressed radical sentiment. The same men warned Dechus yesterday to leave the town.
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DEMANDS INVESTIGATION
New Orleans, La., Nov. 22.-William A. Donnels, general organizer of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, telegraphed Attorney General Palmer tonight asking an investigation of the killing of three union men in Bogalusa today in a battle with special policemen. Copies were sent to Samuel Gompers, president of the American Federation of Labor, and [Labor] Secretary [William B.] Wilson. The telegram follows:
President of Central Trades Council of Bogalusa, La., and two other men murdered by thugs in employ of Great Southern Lumber Company. We have asked repeatedly that an investigation be made of conditions in Bogalusa, without avail. If something is not done at once we are going to take the law in our hands.
[Emphasis added.]
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SOURCES & IMAGE
Quote Messenger p2 editorial, Bogalusa Massacre, Feb 1920
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.c2904887&view=2up&seq=374
The Shreveport Times
(Shreveport, Louisiana)
-Nov 23, 1919
https://www.newspapers.com/image/208882722/?terms=bogalusa
See also:
The New York Times of Nov 23, 1919
Bogalusa Sawmill Killings
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogalusa_sawmill_killings
History of the Labor Movement in the United States, Volume 8
-Postwar Struggles, 1918-1920
-by Philip S. Foner
International Publishers Co, 1987
(search: “bogalusa solidarity”)
https://books.google.com/books?id=UMBWNCXcR8wC
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Solidarity Forever – Tom Morello