The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1922-11-07
PASS
BY WORD OF MOUTH
I. w. w. NO LONGER TEACH
SABOTAGE IN BOOKS. SUR
PRISE WITNESS HEARD.

SACRAMENTO, Cal Testimony
that the industrial workers OF the
world no longer teach sabotage in
books and pamphlets, but pass the in
structions by word of mouth" was
given in superior court here today by
W. Z. Townsend who said he for
merly was a lieutenant OF William
(Big Bid Haywood, of the |, w. w.
Townsend was a surprise" witness
for the prosecution of ten admitted
members of the organization who are
on trial charged with violation OF the
California criminal syndicalism law.
Townsend was on the stand most OF
the day. He testified that he, as a |
trusted assistant of Haywood, had OBJ
tanned employment on at least two
railroads during the world war with
instruction to blow them up; that he
had served in various branches of the
military service, including the marines
at Mare Island Cal; that during the
war several hundred members OF the
|. W. w. were employed at Chicago
packing house, where many OF them,
acting as inspectors, passed canned
meats he said were unfit for consump-
ton and likely would poison the troops
in France, for whom they were des-
tined and that the l. W. w. carried
on an extensive system OF sabotage
in the harvest fields OF the middle
west.
In their sabotage of the harvest
fields, Townsend testified, harvesters
were destroyed, hay fields fired, and
harvested wheat often destroyed by
placing the bundles of wheat upside
down so that kernels of wheat drew
moisture from the ground and sprout-
ed.
, All OF these facts, Townsend relat-
ed. are a part OF a general plan and
crews of men are assigned to the work
OF destruction.
Townsend testified that during the
period he belonged to the |. w. w,
from 1909 to 1921, he had joined vari-
Gus branches of the military service
eleven times.
Regarding his being stationed as a
marine at Mare Island, Townsend
said
In my company of forty-eight men
eight OF them had carried the |. w.
w card. The plan OF the, |. W. W.:
is to gain friends in all branches OF
industry and the government so that
when the industries are taken over
there will be no trouble
Later Townsend testified: The l..
w. w. sought to place its members IN
responsible positions so that they
might help from within. Through
HAYWOOD | became a special railroad
agent on the Rock Island and Santa
Fe railroads.
The plan was, | could help blow
up the railroads. But | never carried
out my plans, as the government got
busy and | was arrested by the depart
ment Of justice"
The Industrial Workers Organiza-
ton, Townsend testified, maintains
flying squadrons" which are really
gunner who ride up and down on the
trains" They beat up the train crews,
threaten them and even seek to coax
them into allowing |. w. w. mem
bers to ride on the trains.
Townsend testified he had quit the
organization because he believed II
was wrong.
In reply to questions by Assistant
District Attorney Reomo Hughes, rel
alive to the desire of Haywood to con-
troll the fighting branches of the ser
vice, Townsend testified:
Haywood compimented me on
my work while in the army, navy and
marines, and he told me that it was
important to control Uncle Sans gun
men. Another time he said: If | had
$4,000 men like you ! would show
this damned country what | could
do
During his testimony Townsend re-
lated how sabotage is carried on in
the lumber districts OF the northwest.
He repeated testimony that has been
given at other trials, that spikes are
driven into logs so that they will de
stroy the saws in the mills. Townsend
declared he had worked in the lumber
camps where sabotage was practlced.