The Everett Massacre: A history of the class struggle in the lumber industrySmith, Walker C.
History
The Everett Massacre: A history of the class struggle in the lumber industry
Smith, Walker C.
Industrial Workers of the World; Lumbering -- Washington (State); Lumbermen -- Washington (State)
James Orr then told of having his money stolen by the officials so they
might pay the fares of twenty-two deported men, and John Ovist followed
with the tale of the slugging he had received upon the same occasion
that Feinberg, Roberts and Henig were assaulted.
Attorneys George W. Loutitt and Robert Faussett, of Everett, stated that
the reputation of McRae for sobriety was very bad. Both of these lawyers
had resigned from the Commercial Club upon its adoption of an open shop
policy.
Thomas O'Niel testified regarding street meetings and other matters in
connection with the case. Cooley asked the witness how many people
usually attended the meetings.
"It started in with rather small meetings," said the witness, "and then
every time, as fast as they were molested by the police, the crowd kept
growing until at last the meetings were between two and three thousand
people."
The witness said he had read considerable about industrial unionism, and
tho he was shocked at first he had come to believe in it.
"Until now you are satisfied that their doctrines taken as a whole are
proper and should be promulgated and adopted by the working class?"
inquired Cooley.
"In this way," answered O'Niel, "it was not the I. W. W. literature that
convinced me so much as the actions of the side that was fighting them."
"That is, you believe they were right because of the actions of the
people on the other side?" said Cooley.
"Yes," responded the witness, "because I think there are only two people
interested in this movement, the people carrying on the propaganda and
the people fighting the propaganda, and I saw the people who were
fighting the propaganda use direct action, sabotage, and every power,
political and industrial, they used it all to whip this organization,
and then I asked myself why are they fighting this organization. And the
more deeply I became interested, the more clearly I saw why they were
doing it, and that made me a believer in the I. W. W."
Mrs. Louise McGuire followed this witness with testimony about injuries
she had received thru the rough treatment accorded her by citizen
deputies engaged in breaking up a street meeting.
W. H. Clay, Everett's Commissioner of Finance, was brought on the stand
to testify that he was present and active at the conference that
resulted in the formation of the citizen deputies.
John Berg then related his experiences at the time he was taken to the
outskirts of Everett and deported after McRae had kicked him in the
groin until a serious injury resulted. Owing to the fact that the jury
was a mixed one Berg was not permitted to exhibit the rupture. This
witness also told his experience on the "Wanderer" and his treatment in
the jail upon his arrest.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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