‘Blood Shed in San Diego’ from Industrial Worker. Vol. 4 No. 8. May 16, 1912.

POLICE MURDERS IN SAN DIEGO—VIGILANTE OUTRAGES—BUSINESS MEN ASSAULTED BY POLICE—WORKERS DEPORTED

San Diego, Cali, May 9, 1912.—The climax in the free speech fight came Tuesday, May 7. As a result one unarmed worker was murdered by the police, the town was practically under martial law, workers were clubbed on the streets, and over one hundred deported.

Tuesday morning it was reported that 84 members of the Industrial Workers of the World who were coming to participate in the free speech campaign, had arrived in the city on a freight train and were at Old Town, about three miles from the heart of the city. The police excitedly sent out all the reserves and special policemen, who held up the train and took, from a box car 84 free speech fighters on their way to battle. The men were lined up and herded into an old schoolhouse.

At 2 o’clock it became apparent that the vigilante outrages would be repeated for the business men were hurriedly arming themselves with rifles and shot guns. At 3 o’clock Attorney Moore of the Free Speech League applied for a writ requesting the sheriff to take possession of the 84 prisoners. He also presented to the court an affidavit charging that it was the intention of the police to hand the men over to the “Vigilantes.” The writ was refused, the judge stating later in the evening he might grant a writ of habeas corpus. This was done at 8:45 p.m., too late to serve it.

Late that night, under cover of darkness, the police and the Vigilance Committee escorted the 84 Socialists and Industrial Workers out to the county line, and after tying them to trees, horsewhipping them and otherwise brutally treating them, they were told to “march north and keep going.”

Among the men thus deported were several members of the American Federation of Labor and the Socialist party.

At 7 o’clock Tuesday evening the men in town decided to make another attempt to speak on the streets. Accordingly 70 men went to the corner of Fifth and E streets and started to speak. The fifth man had mounted the rostrum when the reserve squad of the police charged the crowd which had gathered, clubbing indiscriminately. One small man named Citation was knocked down and jumped on by a Vigilante. Several citizens were injured and many speakers were arrested. During the melee on the street some policemen were heard to say that the I.W.W. hall would be raided that night, and word was sent by sympathizers to vacate the hall, which was done, and at 7:30 p.m. when four policemen appeared at the hall it was empty. The policemen came up to the doors and without demanding entrance, they poured a volley of shots into the building. They then broke into the hall and finding no one present they approached a group of I.W.W. men standing on the sidewalk around the corner. These men they proceeded to beat up, but did not arrest them.

They then went back to the hall and saw Joe Mickolasek, an I.W.W. who had just entered the building. According to Mickolasek’s dying statement the police immediately opened fire on him without any provocation. Mickolasek thereupon picked up an axe and although mortally wounded, attempted to defend himself. He wounded a policeman with the axe. The policeman who was hit with the axe was named Heddon. Thereupon Policeman Stevens opened fire upon Mickolasek. Nine shots took effect in Mickolasek’s body. During the excitement Policeman Stevens was shot in the shoulder. It is supposed that this was an accident, but Woodford Hubbard, a socialist organizer, was arrested charged with attempting to murder, although he was not in the crowd at the time of the shooting.

MOB VIOLENCE AT SAN DIEGO from Industrial Worker. Vol. 4 No. 9. May 23, 1912.

SAN DIEGO OUTDOES FORMER BRUTALITIES—BEN REITMAN TARRED AND FEATHERED—GREAT FUNERAL OVATION.

San Diego, Cal., May 13. Eighty-four men deported, beaten and robbed on Tuesday. Twenty-five more deported on Wednesday. The dragnet out and all I.W.W. men are being arrested and deported. Socialists are, being blacklisted by employers. A deep laid plot to murder all I.W.W. men last Tuesday night was unearthed today. The raid on the I.W.W. hall and the shooting that followed was a frame-up by the business men’s vigilance committee. The funeral of Joseph Mickolasek was held in Los Angeles today. Gigantic procession on principal streets with a red flag at the head. Emma Goldman is scheduled to make the funeral address. Police stop traffic to allow funeral parade of IW.W. Two men already are dead and two seriously injured in the hospital as a result of the free speech war to date. Police refuse to arrest men, contenting themselves with clubbing and deportations. The men in jail are being provided with legal defense by the free speech league to prevent them from being railroaded to the penitentiary. It must be understood that usual tactics cannot be pursued.

San Diego, Cal., May 13. A monster funeral demonstration over tfie body of Joseph Mickolasek, killed by the police in a raid On the Industrial Workers hall last Tuesday, was held today in Los Angeles. It was impossible to hold the funeral in San Diego, on account of police antagonism. Two men were arrested while arranging the funeral here on Saturday, Thomas Moore and William Rawlins. Moore is still in jail. The newspapers gloat over the fact that the funeral was not allowed in San Diego. The vigilantes are in complete control here. Wood Hubbard, socialist organizer, formerly of Oklahoma, is now in jail on a trumped up charge of conspiracy to murder. Both the socialist and the labor union headquarters have been raided and property taken. G.E. Fitzgerald, business agent carpenters’ union, was seized by the vigilantes, taken to police’ headquarters and threatened with death on account of his activities in organizing carpenters.

The Cooks’ union headquarters were entered, A.J. Van Bebber, business agent, arrested, insulted and threatened at the police Station but later released. Robert St. John, president electrical union, was kidnapped from his work assaulted by vigilantes committee and delivered to police. He was kicked and beaten in the police station by Detective Lopez; All out door meetings are suppressed. Workingmen are being picked up daily by police and vigilantes are deported. Over one hundred radicals deported last week. No socialist or labor papers can be sold on the streets. Albert Alexander, ten-year-old boy, was arrested on Friday night for selling the San Diego Herald. Men are being beaten for distributing hand bills advertising a socialist meeting. A vigilance committee surrounded the socialist hall on Sunday afternoon but did not raid hall. Among those deported are Julius Tumm and John Hummel, members of the Tailors union. The report is that they were tied to trees and whipped. The eight-four men who were deported last Tuesday reached Los Angeles today telling awful tales of brutality of police and vigilance committee. Twenty-five men who were deported on Wednesday reached Santa Ana today terribly bruised by drunken business men. John Hummel, union tailor, was beaten in the police station Wednesday by a drunken vigilante named Delacour. Detective Captain Jos Myers is reported to have aid on Saturday that it was only a question of hours before Kasper Bauer and Fred, H. Moore would be lynched. He is quoted, as saying that the police would not interfere.

The Catholics are seizing upon this occasion to arrange an anti-socialist demonstration. STANLEY M. GUE.

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.”