The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-01-14
WORKERS DONATE
r 0 R DEFENSE OF
BOUNDED |. W. ".
BY jim MecREARY,
worker Correspondent

button of SIS to the Richard (Blackie)
Ford defence fund was voted by Local
Union No. 36. Carpenters and Joiners
of America, of Oakland.
This was done thru the efforts of
Brother Perkins, who obtained per
mission by vote of the membership
to hold dutch auction" during the
good and welfare. Brother Perkins do.
mated silk scarf for the purpose and
was given a rising vote Of thanks for
having started the move. A further
donation was then voted from the con-
tingent fund, to make it $500.
Richard (Blackie) Ford was one of
two |. w. w. who delivered a talk to
several hundred men, women and chill
dren, who were employed on the burst
ranch at Wheatland, Cal, in 1918, ad-
vlsing them to strike to better their
working conditions, which were indie
scribably abominable.
A strike was voted and the next
day when large body of strikers
were assembled to discuss the situa-
ton, an automobile in which we're
four persons, dashed into the crowd
and simultaneously began firing,
either into the crowd or in the air,
but the result was the same.
In an instant there were four dead.
Two dead in the machine and two
dead in the crowd of striking hop
pickers. E. T. MAXWELL, district at
torney of Wuba county and Eugene
Riordan a deputy sheriff, were the
officers killed. Many witnesses have
since testified that both officials were
under the influence Of liquor when
they drove up.
Many men were later arrested,
charged with the killing of the Off
GERS. However nothing was ever said
about the two strikers that were kill
ed. The prosecution finally sifted
down the two men, Richard (Blackie)
Ford and Herman Suhr, who were
found to be members of the l. w. w.
and who had addressed the meeting
the day before.
Ford was tried and convicted of
killing District Attorney E. T. Man
we'll, and was sentenced to life in
prison, altho the state prosecution
did not even prove that Ford was in
the crowd when the shooting took
place.
In 1925 Ford applied for and was
granted a parole, after spending IL
long years in Folsom prison, during
which time he lost his family. Dis
trict Attorney Ray Maxwell. son of
the slain official, had Ford rearrested
and he is now on trial for his life,
charged with killing Deputy Sheriff
Eugene Riordan.
Among the rotten conditions against
which the hop pickers were in re-
volt were a total lack of sanitary
toilets. Approximately twenty-three
hundred men and women and their
families were employed as hop pick
ers on this ranch, and there were but
four small out door toilets thus re
ducing these people to the level OF
farm yard animals. Also there were
no cess pools or other means OF
taking care of the garbage for this
entire assembly, who were drawn
from every strata Of the poor work
ing class. Another thing that caused
complaint was an absolute lack OF
drinking water, in the fields. Think
Of working out in the California sun
100 to 100 degrees fahrenheit and nc
water to drink. The discomfort was
not ameliorated by the fact that a
nephew of the ranch owner was given
the concession" to peddle from a
huge sprinkling tank drawn by mules
mixture OF water and citric acid, for
sc a glass, called lemonade.
It is not worthy that this so-called
riot" caused the law called the
housing and immigration law" to be
looked up and given some degree OF
enforcement, as up to that time It had
lain dormant on the statute books
The international Labor Defense is
assisting with sympathy and financial
support.