Tag: September 1918

Hellraisers Journal: From The Liberator: John Reed and Art Young with Eugene Debs in Terre Haute, July 4th, Part II

Janet RayeEugene Victor Debs
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I have no country to fight for;
my country is the earth;
I am a citizen of the world.
-Eugene Victor Debs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hellraisers Journal, Sunday September 8, 1918
Terre Haute, Indiana – John Reed and Art Young with Debs on July 4th

From The Liberator of September 1918:

With Gene Debs on the Fourth

By John Reed
[Part II]
—–

EVD, w Reed n Young, Liberator, Sept 1918

It was on the Fourth of July that Art Young and I went to Terre Haute to see Gene. Barely a month before, the terrible rumor had gone round, chilling all our hearts- “Gene Debs is going back on the party!” That lie he nailed in the ringing statement published in the New York Call, and the Wallings, the Simonses, the Bensons cringed under the lash of his words…. Then came his tour through the middle states, menaced everywhere with arrest, violence, even lynching…and Debs calmly speaking according to schedule, fearless, fiery and full of love of people…. Then his Canton speech, a clear internationalist manifesto, and the Cleveland arrest.

“Gene Debs arrested! They’ve arrested Gene!” people said everywhere, with a shock, a feeling of pity, of affection, of rage. Nothing that has happened in the United States this year has stirred so many people just this way. The long sentences given to conscientious objectors, the suppression of the Socialist press, the indictment of editors, lecturers, Socialist officials under the Espionage and Sedition Acts-people didn’t seem to be deeply moved by these things; but the arrest indictment of Gene Debs-of Gene Debs as a traitor to his country! That was like a slap in the face to thousands of simple people-many of them not Socialists at all-who had heard him speak and therefore loved him. Not to mention the hundreds he has personally befriended, helped or even saved from every sort of evil….

“Gene Debs arrested! Our Gene! That’s going too far!”

Continue reading “Hellraisers Journal: From The Liberator: John Reed and Art Young with Eugene Debs in Terre Haute, July 4th, Part II” →

Hellraisers Journal: From The Liberator: John Reed and Art Young with Eugene Debs in Terre Haute, July 4th, Part I

Janet RayeEugene Victor Debs
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I have no country to fight for;
my country is the earth;
I am a citizen of the world.
-Eugene Victor Debs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hellraisers Journal, Saturday September 7, 1918
Terre Haute, Indiana – John Reed and Art Young with Debs on July 4th

From The Liberator of September 1918:

With Gene Debs on the Fourth

By John Reed
[Part I]
—–

EVD, w Reed n Young, Liberator, Sept 1918

“WHAT’LL it be, Mr. Sparks?” asked the drug-clerk, with the familiarity of common citizenship in Terre Haute, Indiana, and the respect due to a successful politician.

“Gimme a nut sundae, George,” said the lawyer, who lived around the corner on Sycamore street. Sparks is not his real name. He was dressed up in a new grey suit, adorned with a small American flag, buttons of the First and Third Liberty loans, and a Red Cross emblem. “Reg’lar Fourth o’ July weather, hey George?”

Through the windows of the drug-store Eighth Street looked extremely animated; with families trooping toward the center of the town, flags aslant in children’s hands, mother and pa in holiday attire and sweating freely; with patriarchal automobiles of neighboring farmers, full of starched youngsters and draped with bunting. Faintly came the sound of an occasional fire-cracker, and the thin strains of martial music from the parade. A hot, sticky wind blew occasional puffs of yellow dust up the street.

“Yes, we got a spell of heat all right,” responded George. “We’re going to close the store pretty soon and go up town to see the p’rade.” He scooped ice-cream and went on gossiping. “They say Gene Debs has got arrested up to Cleve-land….”

Everyone in the place stopped talking and looked up.

“Yes,” said the lawyer in a satisfied tone. “Ye-e-es, I guess from what the papers say Gene stepped over the line this time. I guess they’ll shut him up now.”

Continue reading “Hellraisers Journal: From The Liberator: John Reed and Art Young with Eugene Debs in Terre Haute, July 4th, Part I” →

Hellraisers Journal: The Liberator Calls for Contributions to Debs Defense Campaign: “The Million Dollar Fund”

Janet RayeEugene Victor Debs
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I have no country to fight for;
my country is the earth;
I am a citizen of the world.
-Eugene Victor Debs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hellraisers Journal, Friday September 6, 1918
“Debs Is Arrested! What will you do for him”

From The Liberator of September 1918:

Debs Defense, Liberator p36, Sept 1918

Continue reading “Hellraisers Journal: The Liberator Calls for Contributions to Debs Defense Campaign: “The Million Dollar Fund”” →

Hellraisers Journal: From The Liberator: John Reed and Art Young Cover the Chicago IWW Trial, Part IV

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
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Remember, this is the only
American working-class movement which sings.
Tremble then at the I. W. W.,
for a singing movement is not to be beaten.
-Jack Reed
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hellraisers Journal, Thursday September 5, 1918
Chicago, Illinois – “Take care, most arrogant master-class…”

From The Liberator of September 1918:

Part IV of John Reed’s coverage of Chicago I. W. W. trial with drawings by Art Young-

The Social Revolution In Court
By Art Young And John Reed

—–

Chg IWW Trial by A Young, Documents Seized, Liberator Sept 1918
—–

Day after day, all summer, witness after witness from the firing-line of the Class Struggle has taken the stand, and helped to shape the great labor epic; strike-leaders, gunmen, rank and file workers, agitators, deputies, police, stool-pigeons, Secret Service operatives.

I heard Frank Rogers, a youth grown black and bitter, with eyes full of vengeance, tell briefly and drily of the Speculator mine fire, and how hundreds of men burned to death because the company would not put doors in the bulk-heads. He spoke of the assassination of Frank Little, who was hung by “vigilantes” in Montana, and how the miners of Butte swore to remember…. (In the General Headquarters of the I. W. W. there is a death mask of Frank Little, blind, disdainful, set in a savage sneer.)

Oklahoma, the tar-and-feathering of the workers at Tulsa; Everett, and the five graves of Sheriff McRae’s victims on the hill behind Seattle… all this has come out, day by day, shocking story on story. I sat for the better part of two days listening to A. S. Embree telling over again the astounding narrative of the Arizona deportations; and as I listened, looked at photographs of the miners being marched across the arid country, between rows of men who carried rifles in the hollow of their arms, and wore white handkerchiefs about their wrists.

Continue reading “Hellraisers Journal: From The Liberator: John Reed and Art Young Cover the Chicago IWW Trial, Part IV” →

Hellraisers Journal: From The Liberator: John Reed and Art Young Cover the Chicago IWW Trial, Part II

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
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Remember, this is the only
American working-class movement which sings.
Tremble then at the I. W. W.,
for a singing movement is not to be beaten.
-Jack Reed
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hellraisers Journal, Tuesday September 3, 1918
Chicago, Illinois – “Big Bill Haywood, with his black Stetson…”

From The Liberator of September 1918:

Part II of John Reed’s coverage of Chicago I. W. W. trial with drawings by Art Young-

The Social Revolution In Court
By Art Young And John Reed

Chg IWW Trial by A Young, Haywood etc, Liberator Sept 1918
—–

In the early morning they come over from Cook County Jail, where most of them have been rotting three-quarters of a year, and march into the court-room two by two, between police and detectives, bailiffs snarling at the spectators who stand too close. It used to be that they were marched four times a day through the streets of Chicago, hand-cuffed; but the daily circus parade has been done away with.

Now they file in, the ninety-odd who are still in jail, greeting their friends as they pass; and there they are joined by the others, those who are out on bail. The bail is so high-from $25,000 apiece down-that only a few can be let free. The rest have been in that horrible jail-Cook County-since early last fall; almost a year in prison for a hundred men who love freedom more than most.

On the front page of the Daily Defense Bulletin, issued by headquarters, is a drawing of a worker behind the bars, and underneath, “REMEMBER! We are in HERE for YOU; You are out THERE for US! ”

There goes Big Bill Haywood, with his black Stetson above a face like a scarred mountain; Ralph Chaplin, looking like Jack London in his youth; Reddy Doran, of kindly pugnacious countenance, and mop of bright red hair falling over the green eye-shade he always wears; Harrison George, whose forehead is lined with hard thinking; Sam Scarlett, who might have been a yeoman at Crecy; George Andreytchine, his eyes full of Slav storm; Charley Ashleigh, fastidious, sophisticated, with the expression of a well-bred Puck; Grover Perry, young, stony-faced after the manner of the West; Jim Thompson, John Foss, J. A. MacDonald; Boose, Prancner, Rothfisher, Johanson, Lossiev….

Continue reading “Hellraisers Journal: From The Liberator: John Reed and Art Young Cover the Chicago IWW Trial, Part II” →

Hellraisers Journal: From The Liberator: John Reed and Art Young Cover the Chicago IWW Trial, Part I

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
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Remember, this is the only
American working-class movement which sings.
Tremble then at the I. W. W.,
for a singing movement is not to be beaten.
-Jack Reed
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hellraisers Journal, Monday September 2, 1918
Chicago, Illinois – “Small on the huge bench sits a wasted man…”

From The Liberator of September 1918:

Part I of John Reed’s coverage of Chicago I. W. W. trial with drawings by Art Young-

The Social Revolution In Court
By Art Young And John Reed

Chg IWW Trial by A Young, Prosecution, Liberator Sept 1918
Chg IWW Trial by A Young, Defense, Liberator Sept 1918
—–

IN the opening words of his statement why sentence of death should not be pronounced upon him, August Spies, one of the Chicago martyrs of 1887, quoted the speech of a Venetian doge, uttered six centuries ago-

“I stand here as the representative of one class, and speak to you, the representatives of another class. My defense is your accusation; the cause of my alleged crime, your history.”

The Federal court-room in Chicago, where Judge Landis sits in judgment on the Industrial Workers of the World, is an imposing great place, all marble-and-bronze and mellow dark wood-work. Its windows open upon the heights of towering office-buildings, which dominate that court-room as money-power dominates our civilization.

Over one window is a mural painting of King John and the Barons at Runnymede, and a quotation from the Great Charter:

“No freeman shall be taken or imprisoned or be disseized of his freehold or liberties or free customs, or be outlawed or exiled or any otherwise damaged but by lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land-

“To no one will we sell, to no one will we deny or delay right or justice….”

Continue reading “Hellraisers Journal: From The Liberator: John Reed and Art Young Cover the Chicago IWW Trial, Part I” →

Hellraisers Journal: Fellow Workers at Chicago IWW Trial Draw Big Fines and Long Prison Sentences from Landis

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
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Why should the temporary withdrawal
of a hundred members seriously affect
the welfare of a group composed
of nearly 100,000 laborers in
the United States alone?
-Big Bill Haywood
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hellraisers Journal, Sunday September 1, 1918
Chicago, Illinois – Judge Landis Imposes Severe Sentences

From The Chicago Daily Tribune of August 31, 1918:

HAYWOOD GIVEN 20 YEAR TERM;
93 SENTENCED
—–
Big Fines and Prison Sentences
for the I. W. W.
—–

BBH Sentenced, Bst Glb p1, Aug 31, 1918

William D Haywood, “uncrowned king” of the Industrial Workers of the World, and ninety-two other principal officers and organizers, convicted of conspiracy to overthrow the American war program, were sentenced to terms ranging from one to twenty years in the federal prison at Leavenworth, Kas., and given heavy fines by Federal Judge K. M. Landis yesterday.

With Haywood fourteen of his principal aids must spend twenty years in prison; thirty-three others of the organization leaders must spend a maximum of ten years in prison; thirty-three others a maximum of five years, and twelve others one year and one day. Two of the defendants escaped with ten day sentences in the county jail, while the case against two others was continued.

The combined prison sentences of the defendants aggregates 807 years and 20 days.

Added to this prison penalty is a total of $2,300,000 in fines assessed against the ninety-three prisoners. Individual fines ranged from $20,000, the minimum, up to $30,000.

In Jail Here Till Friday.

The defendants were permitted to remain in the county jail until next Friday before they will be removed to the federal prison. In the meantime, George F. Vandeveer, chief counsel for the “Wobbles,” announced a writ of supersedeas will be asked of the Court of Appeals and petition will be made for enlargement upon bail. Ninety days’ time was granted in which to file bills of exception on behalf of the convicted men.

Continue reading “Hellraisers Journal: Fellow Workers at Chicago IWW Trial Draw Big Fines and Long Prison Sentences from Landis” →