The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1917-02-02
EVERETTS INDUSTRIAL WARFARE

( bystanders in the crowd received the
same gentle ministration from the
business end of club as did the Of
Tending |. w. VS..
Again the law of physical force was
working in full order and breeding the
same brood of children, bitterness,
contempt for constituted authority,
retaliation, revenge. Think what you
will of the |. w. w. and his doctrines,
you cannot kill his beliefs with a
club. That has never worked out yet
and never will. He believed, zealously,
Fundamentally, in his philosophy, and
he believed that if the constitution of
the United States gave him anything
which he seriously doubted-it gave
him right to express that belief
without let or hindrance. Those who
would curb the freedom of expression
of such men totally misunderstood the
psychology Of the crusader, be he re-
ligiOus or economist.
Stories began to filter out of brutal
beatings in the jail where they were
confined; of men being taken to the
city limits, stripped and severely
beaten. A boat load of them headed
for Everett one day and were inter
cepted by Sheriff McRae, who is re-
ported to have put a shot through the
pilot house Of the boat upon refusal
to obey the command to heave to.
The Beverly Park Occurrence.
Events moved swiftly up to the
night of October 80, when some forty
|. w. VS.. landed at the dock from
Seattle. They were met at the dock
by members of the citizens posse and
taken by automobile to Beverly Park,
an interurban station not far outside
the city limits Here the icrcumstan-
tial story goes that somebody sug-
gested they run the gauntlet. They
were accordingly compelled to run
down the roadway to the track be-
tween two lines of Infatuated men.
Then they were headed for Seattle and
told never to return. Hearing Of this
occurrence, | accompanied several
gentlemen, including prominent min
lister of the gospel of Everett, next
morning to the scene The tale of
that struggle was plainly written.
The roadway was stained with blood.
The blades of the cattle guard were
so stained and between the blades
were the fresh imprint of shoe where
plainly one man in his hurry to escape
the shower of blows, missed his foot
ing in the dark and went down be-
tween the blades. Early that morning
workmen going into the city to work
picked up three hats from the ground,
still damp with blood. There can be
no excuse nor no eXtenuation of such
an inhuman method of punishment.
1t is not the duty of a peace officer
to administer physical punishment to
prisoner unless resisting arrest,
even though the prisoner be charged
with murder. For what have we
courts and criminal statutes if citi-
Zens temporarily clothed with the
semblance of authority, may take it
upon themselves to administer cor
poral punishment
This incident was without doubt the
eliminating one in a series of brutal
manhandlings that directly brought
about the terrible tragedy of Novem-
Der 5, resulting in the loss of human
life. 1t aroused the tiger in men, al
ready smarting under sense of in
justice, and they determined that they
would fight it out. Hence the call
for volunteers and the openly declared
purpose of coming to Everett the fol-
lowing Sunday and assert their right
to speak upon the streets of that city.
The law of physical force still at
work, you see.
The Battle of November Fifth.
HC oCOIy VI DlOOuy ouIludy
has been an oft-told tale. l would
weary you with repetition of mere
words. You know it as we'll as I. l
hope / never live to see such an &C.
currence again. The passions loosed
in the breasts of men and women, the
lust for revenge, the curses and revil-
ings heard upon every hand, were
more sickening and heartbreaking
than could be the sight of any number
of dead men. The lost sanity, the re-
version to savagery, the shattered be-
lief in the sanctity of law, seeds of
bitter enmity, mistrust and suspicion,
these were the fruits of. the law of
physical force.
Seventy-four of the passengers of
the Inflated Verona lie in the Sno-
homish County Jail awaiting trial for
murder in the first degree. 1t is be-