The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1920-01-05
PLACE
OF v. v. WORKERS
Lumber Camps offer Best of
Opportunities to Spread
Hateful Doctrine.

SEATTLE, Wash. Jan. s. CBy IN
~ternational News Service. Twenty
thousand members Of the Industrial
Workers Of the World are employed In
the lumber mills and logging camps Of
the Pacific Northwest, according to
figures compiled by Z. L. Abbey. sec
retary-manager of the Loyal Legion Of
Loggers and Lumbermen.
The reason for the inroads made in
this section Of the country by the /
W. W. is not that Washington, ore
gon, Idaho and Montana citizens are
easier 10 bluff, but because in this
part OF the United States the |. W.
w. find themselves at home ia the
great timber lands This is the Opin-
ion of the officials OF the American
Legion posts in Chehalis and Cen
traia, Wash,
In the logging camps the l. w. w.
finds employment ever ready. There
Is no heckling over arrangements for
Jobs, lie simply comes in, works. draws
his pay, and departs TO spend II,
At present the /. W. W. agitation
has struck a less strenuous pace, but
the citizens Of the Northwest, through
the American Legion, do not feel that
the agitation has by any means per-
manently subsidized. They look upon
the Industrial Worker of the World
as incorrigihle, 80 palpabiy ignorant that
he fears no law, and SO unappreCiative
OF the better things in life that he is
death-defying,
War has been declared on the l.. W.
w, in the Northwest. In the ma
jority of towns, such as Walla Walla,
Prosser, Pasco and North Yakima,
Wash, a delegation OF citizens meets
an aggregation of /, w, w. when they
come into the town by train and sees
to it that they do not linger there
long.
The majority Of '~'wobblies'' are en-
ployed IN the lumber camps in the
state Of Washington, and the balance
are scattered through Oregon and
Idaho. with a small filtering of their
kin in Montana,
The Americanization Of the lumber
industry is the self imposed task Of
the Loyal Legion of Loggers and Lum-
bermen. At a great gathering In Port
land recently the organization adopted
resolutions calling for immediate and
continuous action looking to ~eradica-
ton Of the red" element from the
three Northwestern states, which are
within its jurisdiction.
Employers of labor generally and
lumber operators in particular are
called upon by the Loyal Legion to
ItluSft W ttllIlp1 ilCiilbNi2 VI hAN II "
W. organization, Many of the logging
camps in Washington are declared by
Secretary Abbey to be 100 per cent l.
| W. w, and pressure Is being brought
TO bear on the operators of these camps
to assist In stamping out the organiza-
ton, -,
There are two groups of ''wobblies'
the extreme radicals, among the lat
ter being those known as the chi
cago !. W, W." and those of more
moderate views, allying themselves with
the Detroit" group. The Chicago"
wobblies are said to preach the doc
trine of direct action, and from Their
number are recruited the trouble max
ers who have caused the destruction
Of life and property in many OF the
Industrial c~enters Of the Northwest dur
ing the past few months,
Perhaps one Of the most effective
weapons the l, w. w. make use of In
the mills and lumber camps is the
strike on the job" In brief. this prac-
tice is to stay on the payrolls Of a
company as long as possible without
case, go to their appointed stations n
the mills and camps and put In a full
eight hour day with ~'loafing," or, at
least, doing as little work as possible,
They are usually sullen In demeanor
and are very sensitive. taking atfront
at fancied grievances. The majority
of |. w. w. men are unmarried, espe-
cially among the extreme radical group,
They are said to be as a result of this
lack of home ties without recognized
moral Obligations and therefore an
added menace to the country. The
men lead a nomadic life, wandering
about from camp to camp, leaving in
their path a frightened countryside.
The membership of the Loyal Legion
Of Loggers and Lumbermen Ia now APP
proximately $4,000, according to their
| secretary's report. At their Portland
meeting recently they went on record
as favoring collective bargaining, the
open shop and the eight hour day.