‘Hell Popping in Tonopah, Nevada’ by H.E. McGuckin from Voice of the People. Vol. 3 No. 29. July 30, 1914.

When the flying squadron came into Nevada, the masters did not think they were worth the trouble of bothering with, but before many weeks’ had passed they began to change their minds. After we organized the Hotel and Restaurant Workers No. 111, and forced the bosses to come through with the eight hour day and an increase in wages, they began to get next to theirself’s.

On the night of the 11th of July a bunch of drunk’s came down from the Celtic boarding house which had been boycotted, stopping in front of the Union Hall, they began to tear down notices of boycotts, which had been placed there. One man, Nick Skoll, one of the rebels, resented action of the thugs and as more of them jumped on him and began to beat him up, Fellow Worker Pancner who was standing close by came to his rescue, the thugs upon seeing Pancner come for them and began to cry: Lynch him; Get a rope! ect.

Pancner seeing the position he was in and knowing the drunks intended to carry out their threat, decided to protect himself and fired into the crowd, hitting one man in the leg. The thugs began to beat it when they saw that they were not going to have it all their own way. They ran in all directions like a bunch of sheep. Pancner was arrested on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon and intent to kill; he was tried in the Justice Court and turned lose on a plea of self defense, he was re-arrested on a bench warrant and will be made to appear before the highercourt on the 17th of July, but all this is only a bluff to cover up the real issue.

Fellow Worker McGuckin who was in Goldfield at the time organizing a local, upon hearing of the trouble came at once to Tonopah. He had no sooner got here then he was pinched along with G.E. Stevens, on a charge of inciting to riot. This charge was dismissed and another charge placed against McGuckin; on a charge of criminal anarchy. lie comes up for trial at 2 o’clock, 17th of July.

Fellow Workers, the bosses of this state are going to do everything in their power to put the I.W.W. on the bum. Are you going to let them. Good soap boxers can do well here, and active rebels who are willing to fight are needed in this state. We the rebels of Tonopah are going to fight them to the finish. The masters have sent out an alarm and brought in a bunch of gunmen. Now we send out an alarm and we want all you foot-loose rebels to answer it. Help keep Nevada on the I.W.W. map and in the near future we will make this state a stronghold of the one big union. This is not a free speech fight but a fight for control of the job. Come on you rebels let’s show the masters of Nevada the kind of a fight we are capable of making.

H.E. McGUKIN, Organizer, Local No. 111, Pro tem

The Voice of the People continued The Lumberjack. The Lumberjack began in January 1913 as the weekly voice of the Brotherhood of Timber Workers strike in Merryville, Louisiana. Published by the Southern District of the National Industrial Union of Forest and Lumber Workers, affiliated with the Industrial Workers of the World, the weekly paper was edited by Covington Hall of the Socialist Party in New Orleans. In July, 1913 the name was changed to Voice of the People and the printing home briefly moved to Portland, Oregon. It ran until late 1914.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/lumberjack/140630-voiceofthepeople-v3n26w077.pdf