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Enlarge cover image for The Centralia tragedy of 1919 : Elmer Smith and the Wobblies / Tom Copeland ; introduction by Albert F. Gunns. Book

The Centralia tragedy of 1919 : Elmer Smith and the Wobblies / Tom Copeland ; introduction by Albert F. Gunns.

Copeland, Tom, 1950- (Author).

Summary:

On November 11, 1919, the citizens of Centralia, Washington, gathered to watch former servicemen, local Boy Scouts, and other community groups march in the Armistice Day parade. When the marchers swung past the meeting hall of the Industrial Workers of the World, a group of veterans broke ranks, charged the hall, and were met by gunshots. Before the day was over, four of the marchers were dead and one of the Wobblies had been lynched by the mob. Through a wealth of newly available primary source material including previously sealed court documents, FBI records released under the Freedom of Information Act, and interviews with surviving witnesses, Tom Copeland has pieced together the events of that day and has traced the fate of the men who were accused and convicted of murdering the marchers. Copeland focuses on Elmer Smith, the local attorney who advised the Wobblies that they had the right to defend their hall against an anticipated attack. Although he never belonged to the I.W.W., Smith sympathized with their interests, championing the rights of working people and speaking on their behalf. He was originally arrested with the Wobblies and then took up their cause in the courts, beginning a life-long struggle to free the men who were charged with murdering the Centralia marchers. The fight lasted for fourteen years, during which Smith endured insults, threats, arrest, disbarment, and reinstatement. Copeland recounts Smith's run for political office, his speeches throughout the Northwest, and his unyielding support for the workers' cause. In 1932 he died at the age of forty-four. The book is a balanced treatment of the Centralia tragedy and its legal repercussions written by a practicing lawyer. It is also a compelling human drama, centering on the marginal life of an industrial frontier labor lawyer; a study of radical politics of the 1920s; and a depiction of conditions of life in the lumber camps and towns. It is thus biography as well as legal, political, and social history.

Record details

  • ISBN: 0295972114
  • ISBN: 9780295972114
  • ISBN: 0295972742
  • ISBN: 9780295972749
  • Physical Description: xv, 233 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 25 cm
  • Publisher: Seattle : University of Washington Press, ©1993.

Content descriptions

General Note:
"A Samuel and Althea Stroum book."
Bibliography, etc. Note:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 219-226) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:
Prologue: The determined advocate -- "I'm looking for trouble" -- Timber beasts and soldiers -- Lawlessness leads to bloodshed -- The essence of law and order -- On the prisoners' bench -- Lest we forget -- The kicking jackass -- Acid in a Wobbly shoe -- Get Thomas Jefferson -- The lumberjack and the mule -- The spirit of persecution -- The conscience of the legion -- "I have a feeling of being optimistic" -- Epilogue: The light at the end of the tunnel.

Search for related items by subject

Subject:
Smith, Elmer, 1888-1932.
Industrial Workers of the World > History.
Industrial Workers of the World.
Centralia Massacre (Washington : 1919)
Smith, Elmer, 1888-1932.
Industrial Workers of the World.
Trials (Murder) > Washington (State)
Trials (Riots) > Washington (State)
Riots > Washington (State) > Centralia > History.
Centralia Massacre, Centralia, Wash., 1919.
Lawyers > Washington (State) > Biography.
Lawyers.
Riots.
Trials (Murder)
Trials (Riots)
Washington (State)
Washington (State) > Centralia.
Genre:
Biographies.
Biography.
History.

Available copies

  • 2 of 2 copies available at Northwest Indian College.

Holds

  • 0 current holds with 2 total copies.
Show Only Available Copies
Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status Due Date
Lummi Library KF 221 .M8 C67 1993 02446 Stacks Available -
Lummi Library PNW KF 221 .M8 C67 1993 243883 PNW Available -
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24514. ‡aThe Centralia tragedy of 1919 : ‡bElmer Smith and the Wobblies / ‡cTom Copeland ; introduction by Albert F. Gunns.
260 . ‡aSeattle : ‡bUniversity of Washington Press, ‡c©1993.
300 . ‡axv, 233 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : ‡billustrations ; ‡c25 cm
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337 . ‡aunmediated ‡bn ‡2rdamedia
338 . ‡avolume ‡bnc ‡2rdacarrier
500 . ‡a"A Samuel and Althea Stroum book."
504 . ‡aIncludes bibliographical references (pages 219-226) and index.
5050 . ‡aPrologue: The determined advocate -- "I'm looking for trouble" -- Timber beasts and soldiers -- Lawlessness leads to bloodshed -- The essence of law and order -- On the prisoners' bench -- Lest we forget -- The kicking jackass -- Acid in a Wobbly shoe -- Get Thomas Jefferson -- The lumberjack and the mule -- The spirit of persecution -- The conscience of the legion -- "I have a feeling of being optimistic" -- Epilogue: The light at the end of the tunnel.
520 . ‡aOn November 11, 1919, the citizens of Centralia, Washington, gathered to watch former servicemen, local Boy Scouts, and other community groups march in the Armistice Day parade. When the marchers swung past the meeting hall of the Industrial Workers of the World, a group of veterans broke ranks, charged the hall, and were met by gunshots. Before the day was over, four of the marchers were dead and one of the Wobblies had been lynched by the mob. Through a wealth of newly available primary source material including previously sealed court documents, FBI records released under the Freedom of Information Act, and interviews with surviving witnesses, Tom Copeland has pieced together the events of that day and has traced the fate of the men who were accused and convicted of murdering the marchers. Copeland focuses on Elmer Smith, the local attorney who advised the Wobblies that they had the right to defend their hall against an anticipated attack. Although he never belonged to the I.W.W., Smith sympathized with their interests, championing the rights of working people and speaking on their behalf. He was originally arrested with the Wobblies and then took up their cause in the courts, beginning a life-long struggle to free the men who were charged with murdering the Centralia marchers. The fight lasted for fourteen years, during which Smith endured insults, threats, arrest, disbarment, and reinstatement. Copeland recounts Smith's run for political office, his speeches throughout the Northwest, and his unyielding support for the workers' cause. In 1932 he died at the age of forty-four. The book is a balanced treatment of the Centralia tragedy and its legal repercussions written by a practicing lawyer. It is also a compelling human drama, centering on the marginal life of an industrial frontier labor lawyer; a study of radical politics of the 1920s; and a depiction of conditions of life in the lumber camps and towns. It is thus biography as well as legal, political, and social history.
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61020. ‡aIndustrial Workers of the World ‡xHistory.
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