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Hellraisers Journal – Saturday February 26, 1910
Spokane, Washington – The Affidavit of Fellow Worker J. C. Knust
From the Seattle Socialist Workingman’s Paper of February 19, 1910:
KNUST’S AFFIDAVIT
—–State of Washington, County of Spokane, ss.:
J. C. Knust, being first duly sworn on oath, deposes and says:
That I was arrested Nov. 3rd at the corner of Howard and First avenue by Officer Logan and a plain clothes man, while talking to a crowd of about 200 people.
They knocked my hat off, jerked me along, holding me by the shirt collar and choking me. When I protested they hit me over the head.
Officer Logan said: “I suppose you have been in this country about two weeks.” I told him I had fought for my country and thought I had the right to speak on the streets of Spokane.
When we reached the jail they shoved me into the booking window. I was taken into a dark cell 7 feet high by 6½ feet wide and six feet long, with 17 other men.
We were unable to lie down with so many in the cell. Those that did lie down had to do so with their heads to the wall and their feet to the center of the cell and with their feet on top of each other and higher than their heads. The man underneath was naturally restless with the heavy load from the others upon him and was always anxious to get to the top of the pile.
The air in the cell was foul, with no sanitary facilities, no soap, towels, etc.
At 6 in the evening and seven in the morning we were given food, but few of us could eat it. They kept cutting down what little grab we had, until there was hardly anything to speak of.
One day I was taken into Judge Mann’s kangaroo court and after a farce trial was sentenced to thirty days.
I tried to give a full statement of how I was arrested by the Cossacks of Spokane, when Judge Mann stepped in and refused to let me continue.
I then tried to swear out a warrant against Officer Logan for assault and battery, but Mann refused to issue the warrant.
I was placed back in the cell, where we spent an awful night, the groaning and crying of the men being terrible.
Many men fainted and many were taken out unconscious, but the jail or hospital above began to be filled up so fast from those below that the jailer refused to heed our cries.
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