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Hellraisers Journal – Saturday June 21, 1919
Winnipeg, Manitoba – News from the General Strike
From The Butte Daily Bulletin of June 18, 1919:
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(Special United Press Wire.)
Winnipeg, June 18.-As a result of the sensational raid made here by federal officials, 10 labor leaders are prisoners and are being held incommunicado in Stony Mountain penitentiary, with the northwest mounted police guarding the labor temple. No person is permitted within 100 yards of the building. Warrants were issued for four others.
Military intelligence officers and other government officers have been planning the raid for a week, but had deferred action until the government could supply the powerful weapon desired in the drastic deportation act. Under this law all aliens and “British-born trouble makers” can be deported.
Charge Inciting Police Force.
The arrests were based on warrants charging “inciting the police force to neglect of duty” and responsibility for publication in the strike bulletin last Wednesday of a special article containing “false and libelous statements.” The story was headed, “Police Replaced by Thugs,” and vigorously attacked the special constables. Civic authorities were assailed for dismissing the regular police force.
The 10 men in prison are Aldermen John Queen and A. C. Capps [A. A. Heaps], the Rev. William Ivens, George Armstrong, R. [B]. Russell, R. E. Bray, [M.] Charitonoff, Moses Almazoff, Mike Berentozuk [Verenchuck] and A. C. Schoppelreidk [S. Choppelrei].
The police also raided the labor temple, Ukrainian hall and Liberty hall, where a vast quantity of literature was seized. The utmost secrecy surrounded the plans for the arrests. Every man arrested submitted quietly on being shown the official warrant.
Of the four men for whom warrants were issued, Sam Blumenberg is reported to have crossed the border into the United States. W. A. Pritchard, a prominent Vancouver labor leader, is said to be on his way to the Pacific coast; R. J. Johns, local labor leader, is in Montreal, and B. Devyatkin, a Russian, cannot be located.
Although it was reported that the Dominion government contemplated making arrests of alleged agitators in western cities, dispatches from Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, Regina and Brandon stated that no such action had been taken.
Gray Makes Statement.
Referring to the federal government’s action, Mayor Charles F. Gray said: “I have consistently deplored any attempt at strong-arm methods, especially when we appear to have passed the danger crisis. These men have already earned the condemnation of labor men, and their overthrow was simply a matter of days.”
Labor men refused to comment on the new development.
Street cars will be running in Winnipeg tomorrow, it was announced by E. Anderson, counsel for the Winnipeg Electric company. The company is trying to get its regular men back, but in the event of their refusal volunteers will be used, it was said.
To Elect New Leaders.
At a mass meeting of 5,000 strikers, held amid cheers and singing, it was decided to elect new labor leaders and continue the fight. Labor leaders have engaged counsel and an effort will be made to free the prisoners. These attempts will be futile, members of the citizens’ committee declare and said the arrest of the uncompromising leaders will admit of negotiations being conducted by the more reasonable labor men.
For the first time since May 15, limited street car service was started here today. Several cars carrying crews in addition to three special policemen appeared on the streets. No attempt so far has been made to interfere with their operation.
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(Special United Press Wire.)
Winnipeg, June 18.-Ten leaders in the general strike here, under arrest charged with “seditious conspiracy,” will be deported without the formality of a civil trial, high government authorities intimated. Bail has been refused the prisoners.
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[Emphasis to first two paragraphs in original, all other emphasis added.]
From The Winnipeg Evening Tribune of June 17, 1919:
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SOURCES & IMAGES
Quote Joe Hill, General Strike, Workers Awaken, LRSB Oct 1919
https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=vTlRAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&pg=GBS.PA6
The Butte Daily Bulletin
(Butte, Montana)
-June 18, 1919
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045085/1919-06-18/ed-1/seq-1/
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045085/1919-06-18/ed-1/seq-2/
The Winnipeg Evening Tribune
(Winnipeg, Manitoba)
-June 17, 1919
https://digitalcollections.lib.umanitoba.ca/islandora/object/uofm%3A1692731
See also:
For corrections of names, I have used the index of:
Winnipeg 1919:
The Strikers’ Own History of the General Strike
-The Winnipeg Defense Committee
-ed Norman Penner, intro by Christo Aivalis
James Lorimer & Company, Apr 16, 2019
(Note: my own copy is dated 1973,
-ed and intro by Penner.)
https://books.google.com/books?id=K6WWDwAAQBAJ
Tag: Winnipeg General Strike of 1919
https://weneverforget.org/tag/winnipeg-general-strike-of-1919/
The Winnipeg General Sympathetic Strike
[of] May-June, 1919
-by the Defense Committee
Winnipeg Manitoba, 1920
https://archive.org/details/savingworldfromd00winn_0/page/n1
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiuc.2575433_001;view=2up;seq=1
http://debs.indstate.edu/w776s3_1920.pdf
http://peel.library.ualberta.ca/bibliography/4548.html
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Workers of the World, Awaken! – Magpie
Lyrics by Joe Hill