Hellraisers Journal: Part III-Report on Everett’s Industrial Warfare by E. P. Marsh, President Washington State F. of L.

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You ought to be out raising hell.
This is the fighting age.
Put on your fighting clothes.
-Mother Jones

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hellraisers Journal, Saturday February 17, 1917
From Everett Labor Journal: Report on Industrial Warfare, Part III

E. P. Marsh, Pres WA FoL, Everett Labor Journal, July 23, 1915, small

Over a period of three weeks, from January 26th to February 9th, The Labor Journal of Everett, Washington, published the “Report on Everett’s Industrial Warfare,” by E. P. Marsh, President of the Washington State Federation of Labor, which report he had delivered on Monday January 22, 1917, the first day of that bodies annual convention. Hellraisers Journal republished Part I of that report on Thursday; we offered Part II yesterday, and we conclude the series today with Part III of the Marsh Report.

EVERETT’S INDUSTRIAL WARFARE, PART III

EVERETT’S INDUSTRIAL WARFARE;
REPORT OF PRESIDENT E. P. MARSH
—–

Everett Massacre, Fingers Donated to Lumber Trust, WCS

Shingle Weavers Declare
a Truce

A dangerous situation existed in Everett after the battle of November 5. Public feeling ran high and anything might have happened. Half a thousand citizens were under arms enraged at the Industrial Workers of the World and deadly determined to stamp out their organization in Everett. It is no exaggeration to say that, literally thousands of the working people of Everett were just as enraged toward the members of the Commercial Club who participated in the gun battle. I felt that the time had come when something simply had to be done to ease off the tense situation. As an instance of how high feeling ran let me tell you that on the following morning the mayor of the city appeared on the picket line with a high power rifle and told the union pickets that he had every reason to believe that an attempt might be made by snipers to pick them off. He asked them to scatter as much as possible, make no demonstrations whatever and declared he would defend them with his own life if necessary.

Within an hour after the battle I was in touch with Governor Lister over the situation. He advised me that he had sent the state adjutant general to Everett and would cancel all his remaining campaign engagements and come to Everett and personally take charge of the situation if I thought it necessary. One after another I got in touch with prominent ministers, attorneys and others whom I thought would act and suggested that a conference be immediately called to discuss the situation. On Monday morning a representative gathering met. Several of the most prominent men of affairs, in the city attended that conference. International President Brown, State Labor Commissioner Younger and Federal Mediator Blackman were also in attendance.

Continue reading “Hellraisers Journal: Part III-Report on Everett’s Industrial Warfare by E. P. Marsh, President Washington State F. of L.”

Hellraisers Journal: From the Seattle Union Record: IWW Not to Blame for Everett’s Bloody Sunday

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Song on his lips, he came;
Song on his lips, he went;—
This be the token we bear of him,—
Soldier of Discontent!
-Charles Ashleigh

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Hellraisers Journal, Tuesday November 14, 1916
Everett’s Bloody Sunday: Making Facts Known in Interest of Justice

From the Seattle Union Record of November 11, 1916:

I. W. W. NOT TO BLAME FOR FIGHT
—–

Prominent Attorney Investigating Case Believes
“Citizens Committee” Is Entirely at Fault
in Everett Affair
—–

By THOMAS R. HORNER

IWW Label, 2nd Conv, Sept 17-Oct 3, 1906

So many untruthful statements have been published concerning the I. W. W. trouble last Sunday [November 5th], at Everett, that in the interest of justice the facts should be made known, and when the facts are known the public will see that the blame of the trouble rests wholly on the “Citizen’s Committee,” organized by the mill owners to put down by force and bloodshed the Shingle Weavers and Longshoremen’s strike at that place.

The I. W. W. did not go armed to Everett. They were admonished by their leaders to go unarmed. There may have been a very few who had weapons, but the vast number were without them. This statement is proved by a circumstance that cannot successfully be denied:

When the shooting occurred the boat had just been tied to the dock alongside, and about twenty feet from the broad side of the warehouse. There is unanswerable proof there were at least three parties of deputies entrenched so as to be comparatively safe themselves, yet so they could rake the boat from three angles.

Only Few Bullets From Boat

It is plain that practically all the shots that were fired from the direction of the boat must have struck the warehouse; yet the warehouse shows that only a very few bullets came from that direction. But the riddled condition of the boat shows that the vigilantes fired hundreds of times. Moreover, the splintered sides of the warehouse show that a number of shots were fired blindly from the inside of the north warehouse, where some of the vigilantes were ambushed, thus giving good grounds for the belief that when the trouble started they became panic-stricken and began madly to fire through the board sides, and possibly wounding their own men. At the same time they were firing blindly into a regular passenger steamboat without even distinguishing between “the dreaded” I. W. W.’s and the other passengers and members of the crew who were on board the Verona.

Continue reading “Hellraisers Journal: From the Seattle Union Record: IWW Not to Blame for Everett’s Bloody Sunday”

Hellraisers Journal: Mayor Gill of Seattle Comes to Defense of IWWs After Everett’s Bloody Sunday Massacre

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You ought to be out raising hell.
This is the fighting age.
Put on your fighting clothes.
-Mother Jones
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hellraisers Journal, Friday November 10, 1916
Seattle, Washington-Mayor Gill Blames Everett Officials

Mayor Hiram C Gill, Seattle Archives

From the pages The Seattle Daily Times of November 8, 1916, we find Mayor Gill’s surprising defense of the some 250 members of the Industrial Workers of the World who were marched to jail in Seattle following the Massacre in Everett last Sunday. The Times characterizes the Massacre as a “riot” caused by the I. W. W.’s “invading” Everett, and is outraged by the humane treatment afforded the union men by Mayor Gill.

MAYOR GILL SAYS I. W. W.
DID NOT START RIOT
—–
Seattle Executive Places Blame
for Sunday Tragedy on
Citizens of Everett
-Gives Prisoners Tobacco.
—–

Providing the I. W. W.’s, whose attempted armed invasion of Everett last Sunday resulted in seven deaths and injuries to forty-nine persons, with every comfort possible, Mayor H. C. Gill yesterday afternoon personally directed the carrying of 200 warm blankets and an assortment of tobacco to the 250 prisoners now held in the city jail.

In this manner Gill replied to criticism in Seattle and Everett for not having stopped the I. W. W.’s from going to the Snohomish County city. He supplemented this today by assailing Sheriff Donald McRae, of Snohomish County, and the posse of special deputies [deputized company gunthugs] who met the invading I. W. W.’s at the boat.

Continue reading “Hellraisers Journal: Mayor Gill of Seattle Comes to Defense of IWWs After Everett’s Bloody Sunday Massacre”