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)
Another of the defendants, Ed Roth, who had been seriously wounded on
the Verona, gave an unshaken story of the outrage. Roth testified that
he had been shot in the abdomen at the very beginning of the trouble and
because of his wounded condition and the fact that there were wounded
men piled on top of him he had been unable to move until some time after
the Verona had left the dock. This testimony showed the absurdity of
McRae's pretended identification of the witness. Roth was a member of
the International Longshoremen's Association and had joined the I. W. W.
on the day before the tragedy.
John Stroka, a lad of 18, victim of the deputies at Beverly Park and a
passenger on the Verona, gave testimony regarding the men wounded on the
boat.
The next witness was Ernest P. Marsh, president of the State Federation
of Labor, who was called for the purpose of impeaching the testimony of
Mayor Merrill and also to prove that Mrs. Frennette was a visitor at the
Everett Labor Temple on the morning of November 5th, this last being
added confirmation of the fact that Clyde Gibbons had committed perjury
on the stand.
To the ordinary mind--and certainly the minds of the prosecution lawyers
were not above the ordinary--the social idealist is an inexplicable
mystery. Small wonder then that they could not understand the causes
that impelled the next witness, Abraham Bonnet Wimborne, one of the
defendants, to answer the call for fighters to defend free speech.
Wimborne, the son of a Jewish Rabbi, told from the witness stand how he
had first joined the Socialist Party, afterward coming in contact with
the I. W. W., and upon hearing of the cruel beating given to James
Rowan, had decided to leave Portland for Everett to fight for free
speech. Arriving in Seattle on November 4th, he took passage on the
steamer Verona the next day.
Prosecutor Black asked the witness what were the preparations made by
the men on the boat.
"Don't misunderstand my words, Mr. Black," responded Wimborne, "when I
say prepared, I mean they were armed with the spirit of determination.
Determined to uphold the right of free speech with their feeble
strength; that is, I never really believed it would be possible for the
outrages and brutalities to come under the stars and stripes, and I
didn't think it was necessary for anything else."
"Then when these men left they were determined?" inquired Black.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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