Jailed wobblies lead a revolt of prisoners against the squalid conditions in the Missoula County jail.

‘Prisoners Revolt in the Missoula Jail’ from the Industrial Worker. Vol. 5 No. 15. July 3, 1913.

For some time the prisoners confined in the county jail of Missoula have been dissatisfied with the bum quality of the food served, the accommodations, dirty blankets and the vermin which generally finds an ideal breeding ground in such “patriotic” institutions.

According to pretty reliable sources the management of the jail receives sixty cents for the keep of each prisoner. However, by applying the principles of strict economy it has succeeded in doing the stunt of feeding the men on a diet costing seven cents per day. The menu never changes. It consists of thin soup, a small piece of boiled beef, a spud or two and a cup of bootleg. This “bountiful repast” is served twice a day and unless the men are fast enough to grab the grub on record time they are likely even to miss part of it. Some Philistines claim that there must be some boodle somewhere, however it Is hard to believe such statements!

Last Sunday evening the discontent culminated in a noisy scene, when a bunch of men were arrested in the Milwaukee yards and were not given a single meal. Enraged at such an outrage the 61 prisoners, like one man, started to make things interesting and there and then proceeded to apply a dose of direct action on the furniture and windows, at the same time raising a howl of protest.

The fracas attracted a crowd and when it grew to large proportions several I.W.W. men, who had been arrested during the course of the strike, started to address the astonished audience through the bars. Without fear and in no uncertain tones the speakers graphically depicted the conditions existing in the jail. The management of the Institution was also severely criticised and the scathing exposure made a profound impression upon the impromptu listeners.

The sheriff and his deputies were at a loss as to what to do under the circumstances. Threats of turning the hose on had no effect and for four solid hours the uproar lasted. At last, after several windows bad been smashed and the noise showed no sign of abatement, the sheriff promised the men that roast meat would be served at least three times a week; the blankets washed and the sanitary conditions improved.

The following day 22 men, including several I.W.W. members who were going to be initiated into the mysteries of the new municipal rock pile, were released, the bed clothes were sent to a laundry and the quality of the food improved.

The papers and the authorities laid the blame on the I.W.W. pickets who were in jail at the time and, as a result, several were transferred, to the city Jail. They were told that their methods of agitation had mesmerised the other prisoners.

This original revolt accomplished much in the way of making the unsophisticated public acquainted with the rotten conditions which prevail in most of our “sacred” public Institutions— the jails.—Press Committee.

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/v5n15-w223-jul-03-1913-IW.pdf