Hellraisers Journal – Thursday November 10, 1910 Fresno, California – I. W. W. Free Speech Fight Has Been Postponed
From the Spokane Industrial Worker of November 9, 1910:
FRESNO FIGHT POSTPONED —————
Industrial Worker October 19, 1910
Fellow Workers: The fight for free speech has been postponed. On the 2d. of November the boys all came out of jail. Their excuse was that there were not enough men. It is true, the men were coming in awful slow, but they were coming. Public sentiment was changing in our favor, and if the men had stuck we would have won out.This fight is important and we must win or the I. W. W. will feel the painful consequences all over the west. Until we erase this blot from our crimson banner we must hang our heads in shame. If they can suppress our street meetings, they can also suppress our hall meetings and will hound us at every step.
We are not going to try to coax or persuade anyone to take part in this fight. If this fight is won it will be won by Industrial Unionists. The Industrial Unionist is the man who practices a large part of what he preaches. He does not walk around with a chip on his shoulder, telling the timid and modest members what he knows and what he would do in each and every case and what a splendid fighter he is. No, he is sadly lacking in these eminent virtues. Somehow he can never spare the time for it. Some few have a faint suspicion that he is too busy practicing or trying to practice Industrial Unionism. About half the men who went to jail here are pretty fair Industrial Unionists.
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.” ————
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.
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