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Labor spy report by Agent #106 to Broussais Beck, December 14, 1919
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| Title | Labor spy report by Agent #106 to Broussais Beck, December 14, 1919 |
| Author | Unknown |
| Date of Publication | 1919 |
| Notes | In this report to Broussais Beck on December 14th, 1919, "Agent #106" describes his attendance at a meeting held by the Class War Prisoners Defense Committee at the I.L.A. hall. The first speaker, a man named Bens, denounces the "frame-up" of the "Centralia affair" (the event later known as the Centralia Massacre). He insists that the workers must stand by the accused Industrial Workers of the World (I.W.W.) members who were only exercising their right to defend their home from invasion, and warns that "they have already lynched one innocent fellow worker". Paul K. Mohr then stands to address the crowd, identifying himself as "a 100% American" who has never been a member of the I.W.W., but believes everyone should stand with them in this case. Mohr informs the audience that he had lived in Washington since before statehood, and is a pioneer in the state's labor movement. He asserts his right to free speech, and insists that the I.W.W. is not being attacked because it is "worse than any other class of workingmen", but rather because their members are the most educated. He encourages the A.F. of L. members to learn from the I.W.W. members, and asks the I.W.W. to focus its educational efforts on people outside both unions, insisting that the A.F. of L. is not the enemy of the I.W.W. After Mohr's speech, the event concludes with a collection for the defense of the workers in Centralia: over $90.00 is raised. |
| Contextual Notes | Broussais Coman Beck (1886-1936) was a prominent Seattle businessman and rowing enthusiast. He was educated at the University of Washington and at Yale, graduating from the latter university in 1911. He returned to Seattle later in the 1910s to work as the store manager for the Bon Marche. In the wake of the Seattle general strike of 1919, Beck paid spies to infiltrate the labor movement in Seattle, and received frequent reports from his agents (often accompanied by clippings or ephemera relating to labor organizations) in 1919 and 1920. Due to the information acquired through these reports, the Bon Marche was centrally important to the alliance of Seattle employers who organized against labor, a group called the Associated Industries of Seattle -- and, consequently, the Bon Marche became the target of increased pressure and boycotts by organized labor in this time period. |
| Subjects (LCSH) | Beck, Broussais C., 1886-1936; Labor movement--Washington (State)--Seattle; Labor unions--Washington (State)--Seattle; Business intelligence--Washington (State)--Seattle; Union busting--Washington (State)--Seattle; Industrial Workers of the World; Centralia Massacre, Centralia, Wash., 1919 |
| Geographic Coverage | United States--Washington (State)--Seattle |
| Digital ID Number | PNW00888 |
| Ordering Information | To order a reproduction or inquire about permissions contact: photos@u.washington.edu. |
| Digital Collection | Pacific Northwest Historical Documents
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| Repository | University of Washington Libraries. Special Collections Division. |
| Repository Collection | Broussais C. Beck papers. Accession No. 0155-001. Box 1/18 |
| Object Type | Typescript
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| Physical Description | 1 leaf; 28 x 21.5 cm. |
| Digital Reproduction Information | Scanned from original text or image at 150 dpi saved in TIFF format, resized and enhanced using Adobe Photoshop, and imported as JPEG2000 using Contentdm software's JPEG2000 Extension. 2011. |
| Restrictions | For information on permissions for use and reproductions please visit UW Libraries Special Collections Reproduction & Use page: http://content.lib.washington.edu/sc-use.html |
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