Tag: J. J. Walsh

Hellraisers Journal: Ben Fletcher, John Walsh and Walter Nef, IWW Class War Prisoners, Freed by President Harding

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
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Quote Matilda Robbins ed, Ben Fletcher, p132 PC—————

Hellraisers Journal – Friday November 3, 1922
Fellow Workers Fletcher, Walsh and Nef Freed from Leavenworth Penitentiary 

From The Washington Times of November 1, 1922:

THREE I. W. W. PRISONERS
PAROLED BY PRESIDENT

IWW, Ben Fletcher ed, 13126 Leavenworth, Sept 7 or 8, 1918
Fellow Worker Ben Fletcher

The sentences of Walter T. Nef, Ben Fletcher and John Walsh, political prisoners, have been conditionally commuted by President Harding, it was announced at headquarters of the amnesty committee here today.

The men are from Philadelphia, but were sentenced with other I. W. W. members from Chicago.

The commutation is conditional upon their future good behavior. They must be law abiding in future and “not encourage or be connected with lawlessness” of any sort, otherwise they can be recommitted to prison by the President without hearing. The fact that the men were given such conditional pardons was criticised by the amnesty committee in making the announcement.

Fletcher and Walsh were serving ten years and Nef twenty.

———-

IWW, John Walsh, 13147 Leavenworth, Sept 7 or 8, 1918Fellow Worker John Walsh

———-

Walter T Nef, Lv Pen 13110Fellow Worker Walter T. Nef

[Photographs and emphasis added.

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Hellraisers Journal: Editorial from the Baltimore Sun: “Belated Justice”-at Long Last for IWW Philadelphia Longshoreman

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
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Quote Ralph Chaplin, Prison Reveille, Lv New Era p2, Apr 4, 1919—————

Hellraisers Journal –Friday October 20, 1922
Fellow Workers, Fletcher, Nef and Walsh, Offered Belated Justice

From the Baltimore Sun of October 18, 1922:

BELATED JUSTICE.

IWW Local No 8 MTW Button, Feb 1917

Exactly six months ago it was announced by the Department of Justice that the cases of four Philadelphia longshoremen, imprisoned under the Espionage act, were being subjected to individual review. At that time it was admitted by the Administration that evidence was not available to disprove the assertions of many men of reputation, the former United States District Attorney in Philadelphia for one, that their war records were blameless. In particular their work in the responsible duty of loading munitions for overseas was shown to be of the most patriotic character.

On Monday three of these men were offered liberty on condition that “they will be law abiding in the future.” Those three, whose names should be well known to SUN readers, are Walter T. Nef, former secretary-treasurer of the Marine Transport Workers of Philadelphia; John J. Walsh and Benjamin H. Fletcher, members of the same union. All are members of the I. W. W. Three Swedish workmen, likewise said to be members of this organization, were also offered liberty-to be deported.

When we remember the number of political prisoners still in jail we see no reason to congratulate the Government on this belated act of justice. Imprisoned under a Democratic administration and held in jail by its Republican successor, they are free at last-after all of the few bomb-plotters and German spies ever convicted under the Espionage act have been given liberty. Apparently nothing illegal was ever proved against these men. Simply because they were members of the I. W. W. they were held five years in prison. And at the end Mr. Daugherty, over-busy with injunctions, found six months necessary to “review their cases.”

Considering the whole ignoble history of the Espionage act, it is perhaps scarcely surprising that the Department of Justice could not let them go without that final insult about being good in future.

—————

Solidarity w MTW of Philly, Messenger p396, Apr 1922

[Photographs and emphasis added.]

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Hellraisers Journal: Six IWW Class-War Prisoners Offered Liberty: Fletcher, Nef, Walsh, Johannsen, Stenberg and Ahlteen

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
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Quote Matilda Robbins ed, Ben Fletcher, p132 PC—————

Hellraisers Journal –Thursday October 19, 1922
Six Fellow Workers, Chicago-Group Class-War Prisoners, Offered Liberty

From the Baltimore Sun of October 17 1922:

PRISONERS OFFERED LIBERTY
———-
Six Convicted Of Espionage May Go
Free If They Accept Condition.

IWW, Ben Fletcher ed, 13126 Leavenworth, Sept 7 or 8, 1918
Fellow Worker Ben Fletcher

Washington, Oct. 16.-Six men serving sentences imposed after conviction of the espionage act have been offered conditional executive pardons, the Department of Justice announced today, the condition in the case of three, who are aliens, being deportation, and in the others that “they will be law-abiding in the future.”

The men to whom the offer of clemency has been made are Walter T. Nef, former secretary-treasurer of the Marine Transport Workers [I. W. W.], Philadelphia; John J. Walsh and Benjamin H. Fletcher, members of the same union, and Ragner Johannsen, Siegfried Sternberg [Sigfried Stenberg] and Carl Ahlteen, formerly of Minneapolis, but natives of Sweden. The last three are alleged to have been members of the I. W. W.

No, hint as to whether any or all of the prisoners will accept the conditions has been received by the Government agencies in charge of their cases, it was said tonight. Both Nef and Fletcher made individual applications for pardons, but Walsh was one of 52 prisoners in Leavenworth who refused to sign such petitions.

[Photograph and emphasis added.]

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Hellraisers Journal: Justice Dept. Considers Amnesty for Nef, Fletcher, Walsh and Doree of Philadelphia Marine Transport Union

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
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Quote Matilda Robbins ed, Ben Fletcher, p132 PC—————

Hellraisers Journal – Saturday April 22, 1922
Washington, D. C. –  Amnesty Possible for Fletcher, Nef, Walsh and Doree

From the Baltimore Sun of April 20, 1922:

HdLn Amnesty Move for Fletcher Nef Walsh Doree, Blt Sun p13, Apr 20, 1922

(From The Sun Bureau.)

Washington, April 19.-In the face of a renewed effort, led by the American Civil Liberties’ Union, to secure the pardon or commutation of sentences of 113 so-called political prisoners who still are in Federal prisons, it was learned today that the Department of Justice has no thought of recommending amnesty for the group. It is willing, however, to take up individual cases in the usual way, it is said. Apparently only Presidential intervention can accomplish general amnesty, and of that there is no sign. 

Four cases are now concretely before the department-those of Walter T. Nef, Ben Fletcher, John J. Walsh and Edward F. Doree. They were members of the Marine Transport Workers’ Union, of Philadelphia, which is affiliated with the I. W. W. They were sentenced to prison by Judge Landis, in Chicago, because of their activity in the I. W. W., although, it is asserted by their friends, they had been wholly loyal to the Government in their work at Philadelphia.

No Evidence Yet Of Disloyalty.

Investigation made thus far by the Department of Justice has failed to disprove contentions of champions of Nef, Fletcher, Walsh and Doree that the Transport Workers’ Union in Philadelphia, which Nef, dominated and which embraced practically all of the dock workers in Philadelphia, performed its work with complete loyalty to the Government.

Dr. Frederick Edgerton, of the University of Pennsylvania, a champion of the men, has said that the Philadelphia dock workers did better than those anywhere else. 

Dr. Frederick Edgerton has said that enormous quantities of munitions were shipped from Philadelphia during the war without a single accident at the dock or on any ship loaded at the dock; that many accidents occurred at other ports, and ships loaded elsewhere were taken to Philadelphia and reloaded. He also asserted that there was no strike in 1917 among the Philadelphia longshoremen, although strikes occurred elsewhere; that Nef used his influence against a strike, and also intervened against strikes in Boston and Baltimore; that many of the members of the Philadelphia union entered the service and that the members of the union bought $115,000 of Liberty bonds.

Thinks Record Should Count.

All of this, according to Dr. Edgerton and others, should outweight any significance that may attach to the activity of the four men in the central organization of the I. W. W., which led to their indictment and conviction with a large number of others, under the Espionage act, on charges of conspiracy. And it seems that Government officials, so far as they have gone into these cases, have no evidence that the men were not helpful to the Government at Philadelphia or that they were guilty of any overt acts elsewhere.

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Hellraisers Journal: From N. Y. Rebel Worker: “The Spirit of Our Class War Prisoners” & “Discipline” at Leavenworth

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
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Quote Frank Little re Guts, Wobbly by RC p208, Chg July 1917———-

Hellraisers Journal – Wednesday April 23, 1919
Leavenworth Penitentiary – Rebels Behind Bars Remain Strong

From the New York Rebel Worker of April 15, 1919:

THE SPIRIT OF OUR CLASS WAR PRISONERS.

The Portland Fellow Workers send $285.75 to be equally divided among the boys in the Leavenworth Penitentiary, but the rebels confined therein decided unanimously to send same to the general office as the organization is in need of ready cash at present.

This is the spirit of the men who fought for us, and for whom we are now fighting, and their message is organize, organize some more.

———-

[Emphasis added.]

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Disciplinary Reports from Leavenworth Penitentiary

J. A. MacDonald, No. 13133

IWW, J. A. MacDonald, 13133 Leavenworth, Sept 7 or 8, 1918

January 24, 1919
Became sarcastic and ridiculed the laws and system of Government of the United States. Isolation on restricted diet and removed as school teacher.

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Hellraisers Journal: Chicago IWW Trial: “Free speech is necessary to social change and to maintain freedom.” -J. A. McDonald

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
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“Yaas,” said the farmer reflectively,
“all the I.W.W. fellers I’ve met
seemed to be pretty decent lads,
but them ‘alleged I.W.W.’s’ must be holy frights.”
-Little Red Songbook, 1919
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hellraisers Journal, Sunday August 11, 1918
Chicago, Illinois – J. A. McDonald on Free Speech and Freedom

Report on the Chicago I. W. W. Trial from Harrison George:

John A. McDonald, IWW, ISR Jan 1918

John A. McDonald, editor of the “Industrial Worker,” occupied the chair for some length of time. He told of the origin of his ideas and how his experiences in the southern timber strike had made an I. W. W. of him.

[He said:]

The experience of all thinkers in the past is that free speech is necessary to social change and to maintain freedom.

[Photograph added.]

Trial Notes: Tuesday July 30, 1918:

On the morning of July 30, Chas. Thompson and Corporal Reynolds were recalled by Vanderveer. They told the jury that when leaving the court room the day before they had been arrested and detained by Department of Justice men in the office of Hinton G. Clabaugh. Over Nebeker’s strenuous objection they told of this attempt to intimidate defense witnesses and said that other soldier witnesses might be fearful of coming to testify. It was rumored about the court that Judge Landis had told Nebeker privately that if another soldier witness would be treated that way he would dismiss the case by a directed verdict. Following this, three Finnish witnesses were called in support of Laukki’s story that the registration trouble in Minnesota was a Finnish issue solely.

Fred Jaakkola, also an editor of “Industrialisti,” and a defendant, contradicted a government witness by proving by a church certificate that he was not a “slacker,” having been born in 1885. Nebeker in a nasty-mannered examination of the big, stolid Finn, thought to get an acknowledgement that Finlanders called a “slacker” a martyr or a hero. “Slacker” had been mentioned and Nebeker said, “You know what I mean by a slacker, don’t you?” “Yes,” said Jaakkola. “By the way,” said Nebeker, “what do you Finns call a slacker?’” “We call it ‘Vitkastelija,’” replied Jaakkola, and everybody laughed. And that was all the answer Nebeker got.

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