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| Title | Labor spy report by Agent #17 to Broussais Beck, June 7, 1919 |
| Author | Unknown |
| Date of Publication | 1919 |
| Notes | In this report to Broussais Beck on June 7th, 1919, "Agent #17" summarizes what he's learned from spending "practically the last thirty days throughout the lumber camps in the near vicinity of Seattle", principally the Bordeaux and Mason County logging camps. #17 reports that conditions are very poor, and that the loggers are divided in three factions: the Loyal Legion of Loggers and Lumbermen, the Industrial Workers of the World (I.W.W.), and the Serbians. He reports that the Serbians are radicals and constantly agitate, and identifies their leader as a Serbian man named "John Snow" or John Sevanski, who also organizes for the I.W.W. Another I.W.W. organizer is Otto Sache, who #17 reports was once locked up in Seattle after making some public speeches "of a radical nature". Sache has informed him that the I.W.W. are "going to cause trouble" in the camps in July in an attempt to get the six-hour day. #17 records a few additional details about Sache, including his claims about how widespread the I.W.W.'s influence is, and specifically his claim to be responsible for the "tie-up" at the Clear Lake Lumber Company. |
| 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; Loggers--Labor unions--Washington (State); Lumber trade--Washington (State); Loyal Legion of Loggers and Lumbermen; Industrial Workers of the World |
| Geographic Coverage | United States--Washington (State)--Seattle |
| Digital ID Number | PNW00906 |
| 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 1/24 |
| Object Type | Typescript
|
| 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 |
