‘Hell is Popping in Minot, N.D.’ from The Industrial Worker. Vol. 5 No. 20. August 21, 1913.

A SECOND SAN SAN DIEGO IN NORTH DAKOTA. Jails Filled With Rebels—Free Speech Denied—Hell to Pay and No Pitch Hot

Minot, North Dakota, a little city in the heart of the great wheat belt, the distributing point of the wage slaves for the harvest fields, is in the throes of the greatest labor battle in the history of the state.

On July 24th, National Organizer Jack Law and Fellow-worker Jack Allen, of the Industrial Workers of the World, began organization work among the wage slaves here. As usual, their first efforts were treated with silent contempt by the master class, who flattered themselves that the message of “One Dig Union” would not appeal to THEIR slaves. But they had never been brought face to face with the revolutionary methods of the I.W.W. organization before. Street meetings were started Just across the corner from the Salvation Army (the JUNK corporation that robs children and cripples of pennies in the name of Christ, the rebel of nineteen hundred years ago). No sooner than the stentorian voice of Fellow-worker Law bad boomed out the first word of the message of emancipation, than the wage slaves who had gathered nightly around’ the “bass drum corps” faded away to bear the words of freedom.

Night after night, the crowd grew, until It seemed to the trembling plutes that the cheering of the aroused wage slaves could be heard to the four corners of the earth. It was then they began their damnable and usual tactics. Knowing that an attempt was to be made by the plutocrats to disrupt the meetings, the Iconoclast, a rebel Socialist sheet, in a savage editorial served notice on the city officials that “street meetings WOULD be held in Minot, the business Interests notwithstanding.”

For writing that editorial, the editor was “canned” by the yellow-bellies who owned the Iconoclast.  No sooner had the word gone forth that the “fighting editor” had been ousted, than the real fight began. President Davis, a fat-paunched slob, who had been elected at the last city election, by the perjured vote of every pimp, thug and yes man in the city, at once swore in as special police every rounder, pimp, plugger and moral prostitute that could be found.

No sooner had Organizer Law taken the box and began speaking, than there was a shower of chin whiskered eggs of ancient vintage, thrown from the roof of the Leland Hotel. None of the I.W.W.’s were touched by the shanghai berries, but several of the most “prominent citizens” were made to smell like a tribe of polecats in active operation.

The police strutted through the crowd, taut feeling the sentiment so strongly against them, satisfied themselves with advising the people to “behave,” being careful, however, to make no attempt to locate the curs who had thrown the eggs, the only arrests made that night were the managing editor of the Iconoclast and another Socialist, but on Sunday night, August 10, as soon as the street meeting began, the police got busy. Eleven of the local Socialists were arrested and twenty-seven I.W.W.s among the latter being Jack Law. Charges of obstructing the sidewalks and using obscene language were the charges preferred against all.

The Socialists who were released on bond, were permitted their freedom for $100 per. But Law and Allen, the only two of the I.W.W.s who accepted bail were held at $200. No trouble to find out which party the plutes are scared of, when one I.W.W. is held to be worth two yellow-bellies.

The only clubbing done up to the time of this writing, was dome by a pimp policeman who knocked the block half off a fighting Socialist painter, Geo. Jones. Threats of calling out the militia are being freely made by the K.C.’s and the one contractor, backed by three or four “business men, with business Interests.”

The police are scared stiff, and the thuggery element parade the streets with guns bulging from their pockets and, with language that blisters the paint on a freight car, order every one—men, women and children—to “move on, get hell outa here.”

There are about one hundred rebels, in the town now, but word has been sent by Law for all rebels in the Dakotas and eastern Montana to move on Minot at once. Local 84 (Minneapolis) sent 17 this evening (August 12) and it Is reported that, 50 are on their way from Duluth. The chief of police assisted by one businessman and nineteen pimps, drove twenty-two fellow workers 10 miles out on the prairie this afternoon, and are threatening to take Fellow-worker Law out and “beat him up.”

If the yellow element In the Socialist ranks get a few wallops over their skulls, their faith in a political Jesus will go glimmering. A dally “Free Speech” Bulletin will be published from this time on until the end of the fight. It will be edited by Fellow-worker Near and the situation will be handled without gloves.

ONE OF THEM.

The Industrial Union Bulletin, and the Industrial Worker were newspapers published by the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) from 1907 until 1913. First printed in Joliet, Illinois, IUB incorporated The Voice of Labor, the newspaper of the American Labor Union which had joined the IWW, and another IWW affiliate, International Metal Worker.The Trautmann-DeLeon faction issued its weekly from March 1907. Soon after, De Leon would be expelled and Trautmann would continue IUB until March 1909. It was edited by A. S. Edwards. 1909, production moved to Spokane, Washington and became The Industrial Worker, “the voice of revolutionary industrial unionism.”

PDF of original issue: https://archive.org/download/v5n20-w228-aug-21-1913-IW/v5n20-w228-aug-21-1913-IW_text.pdf