‘The Battle of Mexicali’ by F.A. Compton from Industrial Worker. Vol. 3 No. 5. April 27, 1911.

THE BATTLE OP MEXICALI— WHERE GENERAL WM. STANLEY MET DEATH— A TASTE OF FREEDOM.

Mexicali, Mexico, April 10, 1911.  Editor Industrial Worker, Spokane, Wa.

Fellow Worker:

I have never contributed to your columns, but hope that this will find a place there, as the capitalist press is so misrepresenting the results of the battle here on the 8th inst. Of course they want to discourage the slaves all that they can in order that they might steal what they have not already stolen in Mexico.

On the morning of the 8th we marched out of this town and encountered the “regulars” about three miles south of here. Our forces amounted to about 80 men, all well armed. The enemy’s forces consisted of 400, and they also had two rapid fire guns.

At 10:30 a. m. our scouts encountered them and firing continued ceaselessly until sunset. We drove them from the ditch as the day advanced and when nightfall called us to our stronghold, viz.: Mexicalla, we retreated in good order with no dead and two wounded. One has died and the other is sure of recovery.

This town is well fortified and we are in undisputed possession. We can and will hold it till the war is over. All the slaves here are free men for the first time in their lives, and you can imagine how they enjoy it.

It is difficult to ascertain the exact losses of the enemy, but a press correspondent that visited this camp yesterday told me that he counted eleven graves and that their general acknowledged that many dead and 12 wounded, but he remarked that the quarters for the wounded looked as though there were at least 30 or 40 wounded.

There are a great many I.W.W. in our ranks and I presume that more will arrive  daily.

The “Los Angeles Times” is the grossest liar in the U.S.A. Of course General Otis’ C. & M. ranches are in the territory that we occupy and I guess he thinks that by whipping us in his columns Diaz will assist  him in stealing some more down here, but it  won’t be long till they won’t have anything  to lick us with but the newspaper columns.

I trust that this will reach you all O.K.  and that it will clear up the situation a little. With best, wishes for the success of the “Worker” and yourself. I am, Yours for liberty,

F. A. COMPTON, Local 141. I.W.W.

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 full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/industrialworker/iw/v3n05-w109-apr-27-1911-IW.pdf