Hellraisers Journal: Tracy Defense Presents Its Case: Louis Skaroff Testifies to Brutality at Everett Jail

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You ought to be out raising hell.
This is the fighting age.
Put on your fighting clothes.
-Mother Jones

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hellraisers Journal, Monday April 16, 1917
Seattle, Washington – Charles Ashleigh Reports on Tracy Trial

Everett Defense News #20, Apr 14, 1917

Everett Massacre, Snohomish County Jail, WCS p116 w text

SEATTLE, Wash., April 14th.-During the last week the Defense, in the case of Thomas H. Tracy, one of the 73 men charged with murder of a deputy on Nov. 5th in Everett, has been bringing its big guns to bear upon the edifice of lies and falsity which the Prosecution had erected. The covering has been torn away from Everett and the city has been exposed in all its native reek.


EVERETT MAYOR’S BRUTALITY REVEALED.

Last Monday, Louis Skaroff, a young Russian boy, gave his testimony which the Defense announced was intended to impeach the evidence of Mayor Merrill. Skaroff was in Everett on Bloody Sunday, Nov. 5th. He had the courage to get up on the street corner, after the massacre at the dock, and begin to speak. Of course, he was immediately arrested. Following is his account, under examination, of the treatment he received in jail:

On Monday evening following my arrest I was lying on a table in the tank, asleep, when the jailer called for me. Somebody woke me and told me to put on my clothes as the Mayor wanted to speak to me.

THE MODERN INQUISITION.

[Continued Skaroff:]

I was taken into a room in the jail where there was an iron bed. It appeared to be an officer’s rest-room. There were three men in there: the night officer, a man who posed as an Immigration Officer and Mayor Merrill. They sat me in a chair and started asking questions. Then they talked some more; and then the night officer began to beat me up. When he got tired, the Mayor started in on me. He beat me terribly and then threw me on the floor and walked on me. Then they put my fingers under the leg of the bed and the Mayor and another jumped on the bed. Then they took me back to the cell and on the way knocked me down four times.

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Hellraisers Journal: From the Industrial Worker: “The Patriot”

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Should I ever be a soldier
‘Neath the Red Flag I would fight;
Should the gun I ever shoulder
It’s to crush the tyrant’s might
-Joe Hill

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hellraisers Journal, Sunday April 15, 1917
From the Industrial Workers: A Poem From a Patriot

IWW, WWI, Patriot, Love My Flag, IW Apr14, 1917

 

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Hellraisers Journal: Eugene V. Debs Pleads with Organized Workers of America to Stand Up and Save Life of Tom Mooney

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Comrades, the red blood in you
must now prove itself.
I pledge myself to you
in this fight to its finish.
-Eugene Victor Debs

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hellraisers Journal, Friday April 13, 1917
From the International Socialist Review: Debs Fights for Life of Tom Mooney

Eugene Victor Debs, ISR, Oct 1916

TOM MOONEY SENTENCED TO DEATH

An Appeal to the Organized Workers of America!
By EUGENE V. DEBS

Tom and Rena Mooney, ISR, Dec 1916

A TELEGRAM just received from San Francisco announces the sentence of Tom Mooney. He is to hang by the neck until he is dead. The day set for his murder is May 17th. The capitalist jury and judge have done their foul work, and it is now up to us to do ours.

Tom Mooney is an absolutely innocent man and his conviction an infamous crime. We, the workers of America, are duty bound to challenge the verdict of the capitalists’ jury and set aside the sentence of the capitalist judge. We constitute a court, a jury and a judge of our own.

We sat thru this case from the hour the vile conspiracy was concocted and we knew beyond doubt that Mooney was framed and that he is to be murdered for no other reason than that the corporation criminals, the big capitalist thieves and their official highbinders could not buy him, or silence his agitation.

More than twenty reputable witnesses not only testified to Mooney’s innocence but proved it beyond even the shadow of a doubt. His alibi was without a flaw. He was miles away from the bomb when it exploded in the preparedness parade. He had absolutely no connection with and no knowledge of the affair. Bourke Cockran, the eminent New York lawyer who defended him, is positively convinced of this and so is every other man or woman who attended the trial and is not in the pay or under the influence of the United Railroads, the Manufacturers’ Association, and other red-handed bandits who have for years been plundering San Francisco and have now set themselves up as the autocratic rulers of the Pacific coast.

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Hellraisers Journal: Whereabouts and Doings of Mother Jones for March 1917: Found Assisting Strikers in Chicago and Washington DC

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All strikes are alike;
they are a protest against charity,
ignorance, misery, hunger,
individual slavery and jails.
-Mother Jones

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hellraisers Journal, Thursday April 12, 1917
Mother Jones News for March: Found in Chicago and Washington

Mother Jones, Garment Strike, Chg Dly Tb, Feb 26, 1917

From the Chicago Day Book
for March 1, 1917:


PETITION ASKS THAT COURTS
BE FORBIDDEN TO
ENJOIN PEACEFUL PICKETING

Signed by several hundred “neutrals,” a long petition asking the legislature to pass a law forbidding the courts from enjoining peaceful picketing of shops where a strike is on has been forwarded to Springfield.

True to the predictions of Mother Jones last Monday, the wholesale arrests of [garment] strikers on orders of Judges Baldwin and Smith aroused public opinion….

From the Duluth Labor World
for March 3, 1917:

MOTHER JONES MET WITH
COPY OF WRIT
—–

CHICAGO, March 1.-Officials anticipated activities of “Mother” Jones, 83-year-old labor leader. When she arrived here to participate in the garment workers’ strike she was served with a copy of the injunction prohibiting picketing.

[She declared:]

What a lot of rot. Imagine an old judge issuing anything like that in the twentieth century!

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Hellraisers Journal: War Profits and Starvation: International Socialist Review on “Food Riots in America”

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You ought to be out raising hell.
This is the fighting age.
Put on your fighting clothes.
-Mother Jones

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hellraisers Journal, Monday April 9, 1917
The Review Reports on Failure to Starve in an Orderly Manner

The Cover of the International Socialist Review for April 1917:

New York Food Riots, ISR Cover, Apr 1917

Leslie Marcy of the Review Reports on Food Riots:

Rioting for Food, NYC, ISR Apr 1917

FOOD RIOTS IN AMERICA

-By LESLIE MARCY

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Hellraisers Journal: From the American Socialist: Ryan Walker on American Militarism

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You ought to be out raising hell.
This is the fighting age.
Put on your fighting clothes.
-Mother Jones
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hellraisers Journal, Sunday April 8, 1917
From the American Socialist: Ryan Walker Comments of Militarism

“Russianizing America” by Ryan Walker:

Russia America, Ryan Walker, AmSc, Apr 7, 1917

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Hellraisers Journal: United States and Germany at War; Jack Reed Asks: “Whose War?

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The speculators, the employers,
the plutocracy…with lies and sophistries
they will whip up our blood until we are savage-
and then we’ll fight and die for them.
-Jack Reed

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hellraisers Journal, Saturday April 7, 1917
From The Seattle Star: “War Is Begun…Wilson Signs Declaration”

News of America’s entrance into the War in Europe displaced all news of the ongoing Tracy Trial from the front page of last evening’s edition of The Seattle Star:

WWI, War Begun Today, Seattle Star, Apr 6, 1917

———-

Regarding the ongoing Tracy Trial, we were able to find a small article on page two of the same edition of the Star with the headline:

“Jury Wants to Hurry the Case”

It appears that the Jury is getting bored as the Defense fights to save the life of Fellow Worker Tom Tracy.

———-

From The Masses of April 1917:

WHOSE WAR?

John Reed

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Hellraisers Journal: Mother Jones Abandons Her Neutrality; Says Kaiser Should Be “Kicked Off His Throne”

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Why should the workingmen fight for
the robbers of Wall street?
Let them fight their own battles.
-Mother Jones

That old blood sucker,
the kaiser, ought to
be kicked off his throne.
-Mother Jones

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hellraisers Journal, Wednesday April 4, 1917
Des Moines, Iowa – Mother Jones Speaks Out on European War

WWI Dead All On Our Side, Ryan Walker, Nw Wkr, Mar 22, 1917

Overnight, perhaps reacting to the War Resolution now before Congress upon the request of President Wilson for same, Mother reversed her stand regarding American involvement in the terrible slaughter now taking place between the waring nations of Europe. In an interview reported by the April 2nd edition of The Des Moines Register, Mother declared:

I hate war. We must not throw our American workingmen into olive drab uniforms, stick guns in their hands, and ship them over to France to be fresh slaughter for the cannons of the devilish kings of Europe.

If John D Rockefeller, Morgan, the Guggenheims, or Wall street wants to see Germany defeated, let them go over and fight in the allies’ trenches. Why should the workingmen fight for the robbers of Wall street? Let them fight their own battles, says I!

The next day, the Register reported that Mother had “abandoned her neutrality:”

That old blood sucker, the kaiser, ought to be kicked off his throne, and if he ever starts anything with this country we will lick hell out of him if I have to raise a regiment of 10,000 women myself.

Thus “Mother” Jones, firebrand speaker, abandoned her neutrality in a speech that held spellbound the miners of the thirteenth district, U. M. W. A., who were celebrating the nineteenth anniversary of the securing of the eight-hour day for miners at the Coliseum yesterday afternoon.

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Hellraisers Journal: Charles Ashleigh Reports on Tracy Trial: Former Sheriff Don McRae Testifies for Prosecution

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You ought to be out raising hell.
This is the fighting age.
Put on your fighting clothes.
-Mother Jones
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hellraisers Journal, Tuesday April 3, 1917
Seattle, Washington – Prosecution Calls Ex-Sheriff Don McRae

Everett Defense News Letter of March 30, 1917:

Everett Defense News #18, Mar 30, 1917

SEATTLE, Wash., March 30th, 1917,-The case of the Prosecution in the trial of Thomas H. Tracy is drawing to a close. It is probable that the Prosecution will rest its case tomorrow, Saturday the 31st.

THE SHERIFF TESTIFIES.

Everett Massacre, Sheriff McRae, Stt P-I, Nov 6, 1916, crpd

EX-Sheriff Donald McRae, famous leader of the Commercial Club vigilantes, was one of the star witnesses for the Prosecution. His appearance and demeanor, however, were not calculated to impress the jury very favorably. McRae showed that he did not belie his reputation for toughness. His callous admissions of brutality in the affair of the launch “Wanderer” on Sept. 22nd, when Capt. Mitten and several passengers were taken off the boat and severely beaten up and jailed, aroused nothing but a keen sense of loathing in the court.

In the matter of the Beverly Park atrocity, McRae also claimed ignorance. He admitted that he had helped to kidnap 41 workingmen and drive them in autos to Beverly Park but, when questioned about the gauntlet-running that took place there, he maintained that he had driven straight back after unloading his human freight, and therefore had witnessed nothing.

WEIRD CONCEPTION OF
SHERIFF’S DUTIES.

The hot cross-examination of Attorney George Vanderveer, for the Defense, disturbed the ex-sheriff a good deal. There were some startling revelations of the manner in which the County officials had taken up the government of the City of Everrett, probably because the Sheriff and his deputies were more willing to carry out the mandates of the lumber barons than were the city officials. The arbitrary jailing of men for no earthly reason other than that they were union men or believed in Free Speech, the beating-up and deportation of others,-all this without any formal charging or commitment-these things were painfully drawn from the enraged but helpless ex-Sheriff by the persistent cross-examination.

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Hellraisers Journal: “The Deadly Parallel” Compares IWW’s Declaration on War in Europe with AFL’s Pledge of Service

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IWW on War and Class Solidarity, Dec 1, 1916

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hellraisers Journal, Monday April 2, 1917
From the International Socialist Review: “The Deadly Parallel”

“The Deadly Parallel” was first published in Solidarity, organ of the Industrial Workers of the World, on March 24, 1917, and is republished in this month’s edition of the Review:

WWI, IWW, Deadly Parallel, ISR Apr 1917

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