The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-09-17

AS circumstances require, the American Legion
"A pretends to be neutral in the class war; not inter
ested in politics, nonpartisan in both strikes and
election campaigns. When the workers Of France
thru their militant organ, L'Humanite, conducted
vigorous campaign Of truth-tellng against the Amer
lean Fascist they brand the Legion, the editors
of that leading French Communist paper were visited
by one Ovid Daily of the Legion, who argued with
them, and told the A. P correspondent with whom he
had contact, that the Legion was not only not anti
labor but had 'laboring men in it's ranks"
This is the regular camouflage of the American
Legion whenever it finds itself called to account for
its many crimes. This air of injured innocence has
fooled American labor to the point where it actually
has permitted such creatures "Col" Berry of the
printers union to hold office in the A. F. of L. and
also in the Legion, to speak to A. F. of L.
tons in the Of the Legion
There are many cases to be cited which abun-
dainty dsprove the Legion argument of neutrality
towards labor, and expose it's character tool of
the American capitalist class, but of them do
so, better than the Centraia There the open
fascist character of the Legion exhibted-on
the field of actual battle.
CentraIia is a lumber town of Washington Dur
ing the the lumber barons, always a greedy
bunch ran wild The price of spruce to private COM
panes scared from SIG per thousand to SIG, and
the government paid 81 200 per thousand feet.
Not content with this terrific rake-off, the
panes insisted on bitter exploitation Of their oggers
But the workers struck under the leadership of
/. w.
for better hours, wages and conditions, became
real power in the woods of the Northwest. The
union compelled the furious and resisting lumber
hogs to make change from ten eleven hours
work per day to eight, to grant a fifty per cent
increase in wages, to provide real food instead of
slop, and clean Numbered bedding instead of blankets
the worker had to carry himself, and without
facilities for washing.
In the course of this useful activity, the I. W. w
established hall in Centralia, Washington, and a
local branch of, the Lumber Workers Industrial
Union of the l. w. W.
On Memorial Day, 1918, the local business men,
officials of the Eastern Railway and Lumber Co..
the Elks Club and various of their gunner con-
spired to raid the I. W. w. hall They smashed it
up, nearly killed it's inmates, and took away the
furniture. James Churchill, proprietor of glove
factory boasts that he got the typewriter and used
it in his office.
The hall was re-established, on another location
The work of organization continued Bear in mind
that this strictly laber-vegsus fight
The |. W. W. was the only union in the woods of
any account in point of size 1t was waging fight
for better conditions, and it being prosecuted
for that reason.
The first raid having been insufficient to stop the
work of organization, greater and more serious
was planned, almost openly planned, in the
"Elks Club" in the offices of the lumber companies
among the business It so publicly arranged
that the I. w. w. knew all about it, consulted
lawyers to their rights told that their house
was their castle and could be defended, and agreed
to stand their ground They issued a statement to
the public, announcing this
The American Legion placed at the disposal
of the raiders by its local leaders. Lieut.. Warren
o. Grimm a member of the u S. expedtionary
force in Siberia, and commander of Centralia Post
of the American Legion, took active leadership Of
the proposed raid on the l. w. W. hall The Legion
naires posted in the of the first Armistice
Day parade. They carried ropes for hanging the
I. w. w, and waved other weapons. The parade
passed the w. W. hall it's march, turned around,
marched back, and the Legionnares, at the signal
to charge, broke ranks and rushed upon the hall.
There followed a fight in which three of them
killed while batterng down the door of the hall.
One was Lieut.. Warren o. Grimm.
Inside of the hall were seven loggers: Bert Faux
ner, Wesley Everest Ray Becker Britt Smith, Mike
Sheehan James McInerney and Tom Morgan. Faux