Tag: Fresno Free Speech Fight of 1910-1911

Hellraisers Journal: From Spokane’s Industrial Worker: Fresno-Backbone of California-500 Fellow Workers Needed

Janet RayeFree Speech Fights
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Quote Frank Little, Fresno Jails Dungeons, FMR p6, Sept 2, 1910———-

Hellraisers Journal – Tuesday November 8, 1910
Fresno, California – 500 Fellow Workers Needed for Free Speech Fight

From the Spokane Industrial Worker of November 2, 1910:

IW Masthead, Nov 2, 1910

FREE SPEECH NEWS FROM THE FRONT
——-

FRESNO THE BACKBONE OF CALIFORNIA.

The Sierras east of Fresno are covered with great forests of pine, sugar pine and Oregon pine. The Hume-Bennett Lumber company is at Hume, a mile from Kings river, employing over 700 men; Fresno Lumber company at Pine Ridge, working a thousand men; Sugar Pine farther, to the north, working about 700. This territory also abounds in minerals, especially gold and copper, and is as yet only scratched. Fresno county is the stronghold of King capital in California. He wears his crown with haughty mein and brooks no oppositions. Fresno is the back bone of California. To break this back bone will take at least 500 men. If we break it, all California falls to the crimson standard, for we will then systematically proceed to organize. We have men here who are the goods and will make it their special business to see that this is done. There are a vast number of Armenians, Greeks, Italians and Mexicans here, also colonies of Germans and Russians. In fact all nationalities are here represented. We omit the Japanese because they are already fairly well organized. All these different  nationalities have their eyes now focused on the I. W. W. If we win they are bound to regard us with admiration, and it will be easy to organize them. If we lose-perish the thought-we can’t afford to lose. We are fighting for breath. Send men, gather recruits, and send funds. This is a battle royal and must be supported. Yours for Industrial Freedom.

JUNGLES PRESS COM.

Address W. [U.] L. Leister, P. O. Box 209, Fresno, Cal.
On arrival inquire at 1128 I St. Not J St.

—————

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Hellraisers Journal: Fresno Herald and Democrat Advocates Whipping Post to Suppress I. W. W. Free Speech Fight

Janet RayeFree Speech Fights
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Quote James Russel Lowell, We Will Speak, Car Wkr p19, Aug 1903———-

Hellraisers Journal – Sunday October 30, 1910
Fresno, California – Editorial Advocates Whipping Post to Suppress Free Speech

From the Spokane Industrial Worker of October 26, 1910:

Fresno FSF, IW Masthead p1, Oct 26, 1910Fresno FSF Preserved, IW p1, Oct 26, 1910

[…..]

ADVOCATES WHIPPING POST TO
SUPPRESS FREE SPEECH.

General Headquarters I. W. W., 518 Cambridge Bldg., Chicago, Ill.

The Fresno Herald and Democrat, published at Fresno, Cal., for which one John Hamilton Gilmour assumes responsibility as publisher, has an editorial in the issue of October 12th commenting on the fight for free speech that is being made by the I. W. W. at Fresno, which ends by saying:

“It is incumbent upon all classes of citizens to aid the police in the suppression of these Industrial Workers of the World if they attempt to disturb the peace of the city. * * * For men to come here with the express purpose of creating trouble a whipping post and cat-o’-nine-tails well seasoned by being soaked in salt water is none to harsh a treatment for peace breakers. Indeed, such a punishment would prove more efficacious than a term in a dark cell.”

The editorial is an indication of what the membership for the I. W. W. have to fight against in carrying on the campaign for education and organization amongst the workers of the San Joaquin valley.

A whipping post and cat-o’-nine-tails seasoned with brine! For what? because workers of that sections-a few of them insist that they have an opportunity of holding meetings, to discuss matters of interest to their class, and to devise ways and means to educate, and organize the wage slaves of the farms, factories and railroads into an effective organization. The master class of the San Joaquin valley have throws off the mask. Through the mouthpiece of their class they have made known to what extent they are willing to go in order that they may continue to plunder the workers of that section, in PEACE.

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Hellraisers Journal: Thirty-Three Fellow Worker Now Jailed at Fresno; Sheriff Says He Can “Accommodate” 300

Janet RayeFree Speech Fights
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Quote Frank Little, Fresno Jails Dungeons, FMR p6, Sept 2, 1910———-

Hellraisers Journal – Saturday October 22, 1910
Fresno, California – Thirty-Three Fellow Workers Now in Jail

From The Fresno Morning Republican of October 21, 1910:

THIRTY-THREE MEMBERS OF I. W. W.
NOW IN COUNTY JAIL
————
Police Arrest Five More for Speaking
on Streets Without Permit.
————
Sheriff Chittenden Says He Can
Accommodate 300 “Workers.”
————

Dont Buy Jobs, IW p4, Oct 19, 1910
Industrial Worker
October 19, 1910

With the arrest of five members of the I.W.W. last night by the police, there are now thirty-three of the so-called “workers” in the county jail. One was released yesterday as he declared that he was not an I.W.W. and asked for an opportunity to shake Fresno’s dust from his feet. Police Judge Briggs gave him the chance and he left town. All of the remainder, excepting the five jailed last night, have entered pleas of not guilty and demanded immediate trials by jury.

Four of the “workers” were in court yesterday morning. Alfred Nelson said he was not an I.W.W. and pleaded guilty to a charge of vagrancy. He was given a “floater.” H. S. Barnes, E. F. Doree and William Love pleaded not guilty to the same charge and demanded immediate jury hearings. The trio was returned to jail in default of bonds of $100.

At 8 o’clock last night, five were arrested on a charge of violating the city ordinance against speaking on the public streets without a written permit from the chief of police. Patrolman Al Hayes arrested J. Alpert, a lineworker; Helms arrested William Cashman and George Berger, miners; Pickens jailed Manuel Carragal, a laborer; and McKee arrested C. R. Neeley, a smelter-worker. All had I.W.W. buttons, working cards and literature but no money. The men arrived in town on the brakebeams of the southbound trains yesterday afternoon.

Since the I.W.W. headquarters were removed from Mariposa street to a tent in Belmont, just beyond the city limits line, the “workers” who arrive in town have found some difficulty in locating the place where they are supposed to register and receive financial assistance.

Sheriff Chittenden, who witnessed the scene at I and Mariposa streets last night, stated that he had made arrangements to accommodate three hundred of the I.W.W.’s if they come to Fresno.

“I can, on a moment’s notice, take all of the vags out of the bull-pen and turn it over to the ‘workers.’ This bull-pen, which is on the lower floor of the northwest wing of the jail, will accommodate approximately three hundred men. I am prepared for any invasion,” said the sheriff.

When the “workers” tried to speak at I and Mariposa streets last evening, a crowd of fully five hundred was in attendance. At the same time, evidently at a given signal, four men tried to speak, each on a different corner. The police were on hand in large numbers and the men had no sooner started than they were jerked from their boxes and taken to jail. The big crowd lingered for several minutes expecting to see more of the “workers” on the boxes, but after the arrest of the five men, none ventured forth and the crowd gradually melted away.

[Photograph and emphasis added.]

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Hellraisers Journal: Many Fellow Workers in Jail in Fresno, Arrested for Fighting for Free Speech; More Men Arriving

Janet RayeFrank Little
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Quote Frank Little, Fresno Jails Dungeons, FMR p6, Sept 2, 1910———-

Hellraisers Journal – Friday October 21, 1910
Fresno, California – Many Fellow Workers Jailed, More Men Arrive Daily

From the Spokane Industrial Worker of October 19, 1910:

Fresno FSF, Masthead, IW p1, Oct 19, 1910

FRESNO FIGHT IS ON:
MANY MEN IN JAIL
—————

The fight for free speech in the State of California has opened in Fresno. The boys have been gathering for the last month and more are on the way to the front. Telegrams received by the WORKER informs us that 19 men were arrested on the streets up to the time of sending the message. Large crowds are on the streets and the populace is much excited. Men are arriving on every train and more are coming by boat from Portland and Seattle, according to the statements of letters just received from these cities.

The boys have been forced from their hall and cannot rent another, but are doing well in their camp in the jungles. There the incoming men are fed and prepared to go to the “can.” While there has been no news from the men already in jail, it is a safe bet that they are roaring the “Red Flag” and other working men’s songs.

The boys evidently took the police by surprise, as an editorial in the Fresno Herald of a few days ago asserts that November has been selected as the time for opening the fight. This same slimp street, a scurrilous sewer of degenerated conceptions that rivals the infamy of the “Morning Liar” (sometimes called the Spokane Spokesman-Review), states in its columns that the members of the I. W. W. are thugs, holdups, etc., and that one was killed in an attempted robbery on the way to Fresno. This monumental liar does not mention names, dates nor locations, but leaves it to the scurvy imagination of his own class of degenerates to fill in the missing items of mis-information.

He further advocates the use of the whipping post for men the insist on their privilege of free speech, and even suggests that to wash their wounds with salt water would increase the agony. Such a vicious apostle of a return to the methods of the Inquisition is a fitting herald for the ideas and intentions of the master class, and he only advocates the desires of them all. It is just such articles and just such tactics on the part of the ruling class and their tools that puts murder in the hearts of the helpless victim and breeds a psychology of violence it is to be hoped that no member of the I. W. W. will so far lose control of himself as to attempt to retaliate in kind, but should such articles inflame the minds of the weaker minded workers to the extent that violence is returned for violence, the boss and his prostitute lackeys have only themselves to blame. One thing is certain. Whatever the outcome of the fight, the workers will have been educated to a better understanding of their relationship to the boss and they will have learned to hate the condition of slavery to that extent.

—————

[Emphasis and paragraph breaks added.]

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Hellraisers Journal: I. W. W. Men Arrive in Coalinga and Fresno to Help Out in the Struggle for Right to Picket or Speak

Janet RayeFrank Little
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Quote Frank Little, Fresno Jails Dungeons, FMR p6, Sept 2, 1910———-

Hellraisers Journal – Tuesday October 18, 1910
Coalinga (Near Fresno), California – I. W. W. Taking Part in Strike

From the Spokane Industrial Worker of October 15, 1910:

for HJ 10-18-1910 IW Oct 15, FMR Oct 4 cpy

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Hellraisers Journal: “The day draweth nigh. Soon is the town of Fresno, Cal., to feel the weight of the hand of the I. W. W.”

Janet RayeFrank Little
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Quote Frank Little, re Fresno Sure to Win, IW p4, Aug 27, 1910———-

Hellraisers Journal – Sunday October 16, 1910
Fresno, California – Town soon to feel hand of Industrial Workers of the World.

From the Spokane Industrial Worker of October 15, 1910:

FRESNO FIGHT FOR FREEDOM OF SPEECH
——-

IWW Spk FSF v Employment Sharks, IW p1, Apr 2, 1910
Industrial Worker of April 2, 1910

The day draweth nigh. Soon is the town of Fresno, Cal., to feel the weight of the hand of the I. W. W. This upstart city has taken upon itself the task of wresting from the workers the right of free speech and as a result hundreds of workers are in the vicinity of Fresno prepared at the signal to speak in spite of the “law and order” element of thugs and gum shoes.

Soon will the workers demonstrate to the boss that there are a few privileges, at least, that will not be surrendered.

The owners of halls in Fresno have refused to rent their buildings to the I. W. W. boys, but in spite of this obstacle all will be in readiness for the sounding of the call.

Let every worker in the north and west who can possibly do so go to Fresno and speak on the streets in accordance with the age-long inheritance of the Anglo-Saxon. Let us demonstrate to the boss that we will FIGHT before we will submit to the loss of the privilege of free speech.

ON THE WAY-TO FRESNO.

—————

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Hellraisers Journal: Frank Little Reports from Fresno Free Speech Fight; Why He Preferred Dark Cell to Forced Labor

Janet RayeFrank Little
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Quote Frank Little re Work Prisoners Scabs, IW p1, Oct 8, 1910———-

Hellraisers Journal – Monday October 10, 1910
Fresno, California – Frank Little Preferred Dark Cell to Forced Labor

From the Spokane Industrial Worker of October 8, 1910:

Fresno FSF, IW Masthead p1, Oct 8, 1910

FIRST ROUND GOES TO I. W. W.

Fresno, Cal., Sept. 27, 1910.

Editor Industrial Worker,

Was released from jail Sunday. Served 25 days, 15 days in solitary confinement on bread and water, 10 days in the black hole. September 17 the officials surrendered and turned me out in the corridor with the other prisoners and fed me the same. It was a complete victory. Am going to Coalinga oil fields tomorrow. Think we can get a local there. The tank builders are out on strike (A. F. of L.), but the sentiment is strong for industrial unionism.

Yours for action,
F. H. Little.

Have received notice to vacate hall. Are trying to run us out of town. Will have a hard time to get another.

—————

LITTLE SAYS HE PREFERRED DARK CELL.

Frank Little, organizer of the Industrial Workers of the World, has been released from the city jail after serving a sentence of 25 days for disturbing the peace. While in jail he was kept in solitary confinement because he refused to work in the court house yard with other prisoners.

Little lost none of his faithfulness to the I. W. W. cause while in prison and will renew at once his agitations. He will go to Coalinga tomorrow to hold meetings.

Little said today that he had two reasons for refusing to work while in jail. First, he said the man who will work while a prisoner is just the same as one who will “scab” during a strike. He believe the park work should be done by paid workmen.

Secondly, he said he believed that the park authorities would compel him to work harder than the others and might antagonize him to the extent that he would lose his temper and do something to bring a heavier sentence upon himself.

Little declare that the prison fare was unfit for man to eat. He said he intended to send a booklet to every voter in the county informing him of this, and that ultimately he would compel the sheriff to feed the prisoners better. Little registered several other complaints, which, however, he admitted that he had no means of proving were true.

—————

[Emphasis added.]

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Hellraisers Journal: Spokane’s IWW Agitators Bound for Fresno Free Speech Fight; Frank Little Speaks in Coalinga

Janet RayeFrank Little
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Quote Frank Little, Fresno Jails Dungeons, FMR p6, Sept 2, 1910———-

Hellraisers Journal – Thursday October 6, 1910
Fresno, California – Spokane Fellow Workers on Way to Free Speech Fight

From the Spokane Industrial Worker of October 1, 1910:

IW MastHd, p1, Oct 1, 1910

CRTN re Fresno FSF, IW p1, Oct 1, 1910

SPOKANE MEMBERS BOUND FOR FRESNO.

A letter from one of the Spokane bunches of free speech agitators states that they expect to be in Portland part of the current week. All who are bound for Fresno should call at the I. W. W. headquarters along the road and inquire as to where the different forces are. It is suggested that there be no Fourth of July fireworks, but that everything be done quietly and as unostentatiously as possible. This, of course, until all is ready for action. There is nothing to be gained by the spread-eagle style. Saw wood until all is ready for action.

—————

From The Fresno Morning Republican of October 4, 1910:

I. W. W. AGITOR IN WRONG AT COALINGA
——-
Little Makes Speech at Socialist Meeting…
——-

COALINGA, Oct. 3.— F. H. Little, the I. W. W. member, who recently served a jail sentence in Fresno for disturbing the peace, made a speech in Coalinga, Friday evening, on Front street, and made an address at a Socialist meeting at the city hall here Sunday afternoon. The authorities have intervened against his speeches on the streets, and Little says he has wired Seattle for other members of the organization to come to Coalinga. Little has made the statement that he will speak on the street here again and in that case, it is expected that he will at once be placed under arrest, for ignoring the altitude of the authorities…

[Emphasis added.]

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Hellraisers Journal: From the Industrial Worker: IWW to Support Free Speech Fight-“Go to it, fellow workers of Fresno!”

Janet RayeFrank Little
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Quote Frank Little, Fresno Jails Dungeons, FMR p6, Sept 2, 1910———-

Hellraisers Journal – Tuesday September 13, 1910
Fresno, California – Free Speech Fight Is On; Call Goes Out to Rebel Workers

From the Spokane Industrial Worker of September 10, 1910:

IWW Fresno FSF, All Aboard f Fresno, IW p1, Sept 10, 1910

FREE SPEECH MUST BE WON IN FRESNO
——-

Industrial Worker:

F. H. Little sentenced before a perjured jury to 25 days in jail. A police conspiracy to get Organizer Little out of town. Police used three false witnesses against fellow workers. We have sworn out warrant against one for perjury. Jury composed of Bourgeois, cockroaches and real estate grafters. Jury hung on two-fourth acquitted. Little in dungeon for refusing to work.

The above telegram received from Fresno, Cal., is conclusive evidence that Fresno is in need of a dose of the same medicine that was administered to Spokane last winter. It will be remembered that the lads from Fresno and California in general were among the foremost of the militant agitators and it is now up to the workers of the Northwest to go to Fresno and help to regain free speech. Many of the mistakes of the last fight will be avoided, as it is wise to profit by our past mistakes.

Furthermore, each man should operate on the principle of “let not your right hand know what your left is doing.” While all will work together, there will be no coughing up to the police. Remember, if cross-questioned in the sweat box, that “I forgot everything I ever knew.” Likewise, “I disremember, I don’t know.” No worker is obliged to cough up all he DON’T KNOW just because a courteous thug in brass buttons asks him how about it. And it is not a mark of nerve or bravery to boast of various things concerning the organization, but only of being used as a means of information by the gum shoe brigade. Give them a run for their money. If they want to know things, let them go to the trouble of investigating. Let them read our literature. Above all, let there be no compromise. A compromise with the boss is always a surrender of points that do not need to be surrendered. If the boss has the upper hand, he will not compromise, and if he does not hold the best cards let us play the hand out. Why compromise when the boss is ready to compromise? If he will compromise, he will surrender. Let us MAKE HIM SURRENDER.

Go to it, fellow workers of Fresno! The whole national organization , every rebel in the country, the power of the workers’ press, all are with you. We can’t lose-for we have nothing to lose. We will win, for we will play on their pocket book and their dislike for publicity.

—————

[Emphasis added.]

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Hellraisers Journal: Frank Little Leaves Dark Fresno Dungeon, Will Work in Park on Orders of I. W. W. Headquarters

Janet RayeFrank Little
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Quote Frank Little, Fresno Jails Dungeons, FMR p6, Sept 2, 1910———-

Hellraisers Journal – Monday September 12, 1910
Fresno, California – Fellow Worker Frank Little Leaves Dark Dungeon Cell

From The Fresno Morning Republican of September 9, 1910:

I. W. W. ORDERS LITTLE TO
WORK IN THE PARK

——-

“Martyr” Will Join Gang of Trusties
This Morning; Leaves Dark Cell.
——-

Frank Little Thrown in Fresno Tank, FMR p10, Sept 3, 1910

When Park Superintendent Woods takes his gang of trusties from the county jail at 8 o’clock this morning for the regular daily duties in the court house park, F. H. Little, the I. W. W. member, who is serving twenty-five days for disturbing the peace, will be among the workers.

Last night, Secretary W. F. Little of the local order of Industrial Workers of the World, received a telegram from headquarters in Chicago ordering F. H. Little, the “martyr,” to vacate the dark cell in the jail and go to work in the park.

Upon receipt of the telegram, a few members of the local I. W. W. held a conference and concurred in the action. The news was transmitted to “Martyr” Little, who was asked to abide by the action of general headquarters. Twice since his incarceration, F. H. Little has refused to work in the park. Upon his refusal the day jailer put Little on a diet of bread and water in the dark cell for intervals of four days with a square meal on the fifth day.

—————

[Newsclip added: Fresno Morning Republic of September 3, 1910.]
[Emphasis added.]

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