28 January 1921: Letter from F.J. Dixon to Meighen

Dixon writes to Hugh Guthrie, Justice Minister and Arthur Meighen, now the Prime Minister, to remind them that Ivens, Queen and Armstrong, all of whom are MLA-elects, are still in jail and unless released:

We would emphasize at this time the discontent that is likely to be aroused in the minds of the voters who elected these men to public office, if they find their elected representatives are barred from performing their public function.

In case you're wondering ...

There IS more 1919 to come ! My plan was to do this blog in real time which, upon reflection, doesn't work so great for the post-strike period. Over the hols I might speed up the remainder of 1919 and 1920 which includes the trails.

6 November 1919: The Robson Report

The Robson Commission report is presented to the provincial government (for background and a link to the report).

Similar to the feds', Mathers Commission report of earlier in the year, Robson does not find much in the way of Bolshevik revolution. Rather, he concludes, the strike was a "protest against conditions" that workers faced and a "demand for relief":

"it is too much for me to say that the vast number of intelligent residents who went on strike were seditious or that they were either dull enough or weak enough to allow themselves to be led by seditionaries."

The government did not make the report public for another four months, after the trials of the strike leaders were complete.

General Strike Lecture 24 Sept '09

Here's an Upcoming Lecture:

"The Winnipeg General Strike: Writing About the Citizens' Committee of 1000"

by Tom Mitchell, Archivist & Historian, Brandon University

WHEN: Thursday, 24 September 2009, 7:30 PM
WHERE: Archives & Special Collections, 330 Dafoe Library, U of M
COST: Free

This event is sponsored by Archives & Special Collections and the Association for Manitoba Archives. All are welcome!

Exhibit: 1919 The Ripple Effect of Fear

Exhibit: Winnipeg's 1919 General Strike: The Ripple Effect of Fear

Martin Auditorium, Dalnavert Museum, 61 Carlton Street, Winnipeg.

This display, developed in commemoration of the 90th anniversary of the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike, showcases those who were in charge on either side and the consequences of the fear that gripped that era as witnessed in Winnipeg. Learn why this event was so significant at that time and what seeds were sown affecting our lives today.

7 September 1919: More Protest

More protests:

Legal Beagles Part 2: Royal Commissions

Another source of legal activity were the two main Royal Commissions happening in 1919.

Name: The Commission to Inquire into and Report upon Industrial Relations in Canada (often short-titled to the Royal Commission on Industrial Relations or the 'Mathers Commission')

Government: Dominion of Canada
Time of Activity: April - June 1919
Date of Report: July 1, 1919 (Tablled in House)
Chair: Thomas Graham Mathers
Detail: The Royal Commission to enquire into and report upon the causes and effects of the General Strike which recently existed in the City of Winnipeg for a period of six weeks, including the methods of calling and carrying on such strike


Name: The "Royal Commission to enquire into and report upon the causes and effects of the General Strike which recently existed in the City of Winnipeg for a period of six weeks, including the methods of calling and carrying on such strike" (often short-titled to the Royal Commission on the Winnipeg General Strike or 'The Robson Commission').

Government: Province of Manitoba
Time of Activity: July - November 1919
Date of Report: November 6, 1919 (not made public until March 20, 1920)
Chair: Hugh Amos Robson
Detail: That title sort of sums it up !

1 September 1919: Protests Renewed

The Winnipeg Eight are still being held in prison awaiting trial. Protests for their release grow louder. The largest protest to-date was held September 1, 1919 as described in this article in the September 5th Western Labour News (to see full article).

1919 Legal Beagles Part 1

The names of those who stood trial are still known, some celebrated, today. Post-strike there was another set of players to enter the arena: the legal teams. For them, these were not ordinary trials. They were a chance to make legal history.

Walter Pue, in a paper titled Cowboy Jurists & the Making of Legal Professionalism said of this era in Prairie law:

"Lawyers combined agendas which were explicitly moral and reforming with a profound restructuring of their profession. Their efforts to reform the curriculum of formal legal education was part of a cultural project, but so too was their desire to attain self-regulation, monopoly, professional independence, and plenary disciplinary powers."

Who were some of these lawyers ? Here are a few of the key players. Note that by going to their bios you may see the outcome of some of the trials yet to appear here !

Citizens Committee of 1000 lawyers:

Alfred Joseph "A.J." Andrews - Was mayor in 1898-99. He led the team for the Committee.

Issac Pitblado At the time he was a member and cousel for the Committee as well as the head of the Manitoba Law Society. The Isaac Pitblado Lectures have been held annually for almost 50 years.

Travers Sweatman - (no image) Famous for having defended Thomas Kelly during the Manitoba Legislative Scandal. He would later become a judge (source) nominated by A.J. Andrews (source)

James Bowes Coyne A member of the Aikins firm

Winnipeg Trades and Labor Council lawyers

Thomas J. Murray K.C. (no image) Represented Moses Chartinoff

Marcus Hyman - Defended the 'radical aliens', those born outside Canada, facing deportation by the the Board of Inquiry. Later in life he became an MLA and introduced The Manitoba Defamation Act (1934) - the first Canadian group libel law, and the only one until 1970 (source).

E.J. Murray (no image)

Reference:
All that I could find on-line were written by those on the side of labour. If anyone has a link to something from the other side or from a legal point of view please share !

"Repressive Measures": AJ Andrews, the Committee of 1000 and the Campaign Against Radicalism after the Winnipeg General Strike

"Legal Gentlemen Appointed by the Federal Government": the Canadian State, the Citizens' Committee of 1000, and Winnipeg's Seditious ConspiracyTrials of 1919–1920.

27 August, 1919 - The Newsstand

The Strikers' Defence Bulletin was published in August to cover the trials and appeal for financial help. This is the only known copy to survive. It provides coverage of some of the proceedings, including the statements of some of the arrested.

August 1, 1919: The Winnipeg Eight

Source

Following those arrested and what happened to them will be the next section of this blog. I will try to follow as many as I can, though there is less detail available on-line as there was for the actual strike itself.

One group that I certainly will follow are "The Winnipeg Eight". These strike leaders, who by now were household names, were all arrested / had warrants issued for their arrest on June 17, 1919. They faced multiple charges of sedition.

Sent to Stoney Mountain (see above photo) to await their trials as of August 1 they were still waiting in jail.

Those eight are:

William Ivens
Born: Barford, England, 1878

Former Methodist minister. Editor of the Western Labour News. Arrested June 17 on multiple counts of seditious conspiracy.

Robert Boyd "R.B." Russell
Born: Glasgow, Scotland, 1888

OBU delegate, union leader and member of Central Strike Committee. Arrested June 17 on multiple charges of seditious libel.

Richard J "Dick"Johns

Born: Cornwall, England, 1889.
CPR Machinist, Manitoba leader for the OBU. Arrest warrant issued June 17, (while he was in Montréal). Charged with seditious conspiracy.

John Queen

Born: Lanarkshire, Scotland, 1882

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Alderman for Ward 5 (North End). Member of Social Democratic Party and business agent / advertising manager for the Western Labor News. Arrested June 17 on multiple charges of sedition.

Abram Albert "A.A." Heaps

Born: Leeds, England, 1885

Member of Social Democratic Party, oversaw operations for the strike committee. Arrested June 17, 1919 on charges of sedition.

George Armstrong

Born: 1870 Scarborough, Ontario, 1870

Union Organizer, member of Socialist Party, prominent Marxist. Arrested June 17 on seven counts of seditious conspiracy

Roger Bray

Born: Sheffield, England

Butcher, Lay Methodist preacher, spokesman for returned soldiers and leader of veterans’ parades. Arrested June 17 on multiple charges of seditious conspiracy

William A. (Bill) Pritchard

Born: Salford, England, 1888.
B.C.-based, editor of socialist newspaper and OBU delegate. Warrant issued for arrest for sedition, captured on a train in Calgary while returning to B.C.

Strike! The Musical July 30th - August 5th

July 30th - August 5th, 2009

The first annual run of Strike! at Winnipeg's Canwest Performing Arts Centre at the Forks, Winnipeg. Show times for this 8-show limited engagement are 8:00 PM daily with an additional 2:00 PM Sunday matinée on August 2nd.

For More Info

Reconstruction from the Viepoint of Labor

After the strike, J.S. Woodworth released Reconstruction From the Viewpoint of Labor.

The time has come now when we must figuratively sit down and ask ourselves two questions: 1. what do we want and 2. how are we going to get it.

Citizens Committee Briefing Book

In 1920 the Citizens Committee of 1000 published a 30 page briefing booklet about the strike.

A goal of the Committee was to share "best practises" with other communities that are, or may, deal with large-scale labour unrest. During and after the strike members would make presentations (see earlier entry for Moose Jaw).
This booklet outlines the history of the strike from their point of view. It also provides great detail about the organization and activities of the committee. The final section is a detailed "how to" guide when it comes to dealing with unrest and how to set up a civilian government should the unrest turn to a general strike.

Workers' Defence Fund and Liberty Bonds

Set up after the arrests during the strike, the Workers' Defence Fund appealed for money to go toward court costs. This is from the June 26 Enlightener:

Eventually your donation would get you a paper "bond".

Front and back of bond. Source

July 20, 1919: Defence Fund Fundraisers

From Western Labour News, July 11, 1919

17 July 1919 - The Robson Commission

While the trials were going through the courts the Justice H.A. Robson's Royal Commission was sputtering to get started.

Manitoba Free Press 17 July 1919

July 1919 - 'The Robson Commission'

The "Royal Commission to enquire into and report upon the causes and effects of the General Strike which recently existed in the City of Winnipeg for a period of six weeks, including the methods of calling and carrying on such strike" (often short-titled to the Royal Commission on the Winnipeg General Strike or "The Robson Commission") was created in July 1919 by the Manitoba Government and chaired by Hugh Amos Robson.

The report, which can be read in it's entirety here, was underway but would not report back to the Province until November 6, 1919 and the report would not be made public until March 29, 1920 (I won't release the results until then either !).

Image source and a more detailed bio:
The Court of Queen's Bench of Manitoba, 1870-1950 By Dale Brawn, Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History

July 1919 - Woodsworth's Incarceration In His Own Words

Woodsworth was arrested the night of June 21st. In July 1919, while out on bail, he wrote of his time at Stony Mountain.

Arrest Watch: 7 July 1919

From the Alberta Non-Partisan, July 7, 1919, Page 12
Life and Work: The arrested Strike Leaders and Democracy

The strike is not done yet ! A musical interlude !

Just taking a breather until mid-July. There are trials and other aftermath still cover !

If you did not catch the outdoor performance of Danny Schur's Strike The Musical, or if you did and you are till tapping your toes, you can catch excerpts on Weds July 8 from Noon to 1 pm at Centre Court, Portage Place.

This is all in aid of the full length theatrical debut from Jul 30 - Aug 5 at the Canwest Performing Arts Centre (Theatre for Young People) venue at The Forks. Info for that can be found here.

2 July 1919 - War Vets Resume Meetings

As they promised at the beginning of the strike, the Imperial Veterans did not meet until a week after the end date of the strike.

Arrest Watch - Raw Data

Over the weeks a number of people were arrested - perhaps hundreds.

I am creating an 'arrest watch' list from names taken from articles trying to match them up with their outcomes. Due to the numbers I will not reference every article that I found them in but here is a sampling of some of them:

Manitoba Free Press June 25, 1919

20 June 1919

Telegram Jun 27, 1919

June 17, 1919

Winnipeg Telegram June 18, 1919

Winnipeg Telegram June 23, 1919

Manitoba Free Press June 23, 1919

1 July 1919 - 'The Mathers Commission'

The Commission to Inquire into and Report upon Industrial Relations in Canada, often short-titled to the Royal Commission on Industrial Relations or the 'Mathers Commission' was struck in March 1919 by the Borden Government. It's chair was Thomas Graham Mathers, Chief Justice of Manitoba.

The Commission's mandate was to inquire and report back on the following:

(1) To consider and make suggestions for securing a permanent improvement in the relations between employers and employees. (2) To recommend means for ensuring that industrial conditions affecting relations between employers and employees shall be reviewed from time to time by those concerned, with a view to improving conditions in the future. (source)

Between April and June 1919 the Commission visited 28 municipalities and heard from 486 witnesses. The Winnipeg dates were May 10 - 13, 1919. The labour side wanted little part in a government inquest and there was not a great deal of representation. The side of industry, however, took advantage of the hearings to air their grievances. (see Conflict in Winnipeg p 107)

Of course the Commission was still in process when the Winnipeg General Strike took place. By the time it's final report was ready and tabled in the House is was July 1, 1919.

Their findings included the fact that the 'chief causes of discontentment were: unemployment, the rising cost of living, long working hours, lack of collective bargaining rights, the housing shortage, restrictions on freedom of speech and the press, and unequal educational opportunities'. (source)

Related:
The Commission Report (also printed as a supplement to the Labour Gazette, July 1919) is not yet available online.

Photo source and more detailed bio of Mathers:
The Court of Queen's Bench of Manitoba, 1870-1950: a biographical history

Saturday, 28 June 1919

The Winnipeg Telegram publishes it's final strike edition. Interestingly, under the headline "World Rejoices at Peace", it carries a story about the formal end of the war and a call for 'peace' in the city as well:

"Now that the strike is officially over let us make reasonable haste to make sure that it is over at the earliest possible moment".

Friday, 27 June 1919 - The Newsstand

The Western Labor News returns to the newsstand !

- It begins with a front page story detailing why the strike was called off. The majority of the Strike Committee felt that an absolute victory at this point was 'hopeless'.

- The paper appeals for funds to continue operating.

Winnipeg Telegram Strike Edition

- Man accidentally shot during riot seeks restitution from city.

- In an editorial, they warn that there is 'still danger'

- and the streetcars are ready for service.
- It's expected that 180 of the 220 members of the police force will be reinstated. The other 40 are still being considered.

Manitoba Free Press

Reports that while one committee has wound down
another is continuing it's work assisting other centres in the West still having labour disputes:

Thursday, 26 June 1919 - The Newsstand

The Enlightener

- Reports that indignation is being expressed by many over the calling off of the strike and that they will "demand a statement from their representatives on the general Strike Committee as to their high handed action in calling off the General Strike".

- Railway workers, late comers to the strike, will be voting on a motion to keep the strike going.

Winnipeg Telegram Strike Edition

- Reports that strike leaders would instead focus on constitutional means to get their way by running more Labor candidates in the next civic election.

- Acting Chief Newton's reorganization of the police force is coming along and will be a "model force" once completed. Former police can apply for their jobs and each will be considered on a case by case basis.

The New York Times

Arrest Watch - 25 June 1919

Over the course of the strike a number of arrests were made. The two main batches were on June 17/18 and June 21/22. The proceedings of these trial will be followed daily along with other events.

A summary of all those arrested will appear here in a couple of days.

For June 25:

Manitoba Free Press

Wednesday, 25 June 1919 - The Newsstand

Today's official labour paper is The Enlightener and the Front Page says it all:
The Winnipeg Telegram Strike Edition
- On their front page calls the strike "a miserable failure"


Then spend a bit of time correcting items from yesterday:

- Norris publicly denies that a strike commission, as reported yesterday.
- Justice Robson denies knowledge that he has been appointed to the commission

Winnipeg Free Press
Is a little less angry-sounding in their main editorial. They call it a waste of one of the nicest summers in memory and:

"...if the citizens - all the citizens - of this town could get a human view of each other, if they could see the children swelter and suffer because of adult foolishness and wrongheadedness - the citizens of Winnipeg might agree to damn the strike and abolish it forthwith"

Wednesday, 25 June 1919 - Western Impact

With the announcement of the end of the Winnipeg General Strike, sympathetic strikes in Winnipeg began to loose steam.

In Saskatoon and Victoria they are waiting for official word. Edmonton would call their strike off for June 27th. Calgary's had already begun to peter out and ended last night. Brandon tried to keep it going with another strike vote tomorrow but by the end of June they, too, ran out of steam.

Free Press June 25 1919

Tuesday , 24 June 1919 - The Newsstand

Winnipeg Telegram Strike Edition

- Reports that the death toll is rising from the riots. Steve Schezerbanowicz, shot in the legs, has died from gangrene infection at General Hospital. From East Selkirk, Schezerbanowicz has been residing at 232 Lizzie Street during the strike.

There is also the story of Robert Murdock, a worker at the pumping plant, was severely beaten by a group of up to 30 men. He was found in Cecil Rhodes School yard and brought to General Hospital. The story references that this is not the first mass attack on a worker and implies that strikers may be behind it.

- Justice H.A. Robson is believed to be named to the commission looking into the causes of the strike,something that labour had asked for. Ottawa still stands frim on NOT dealing with the matter any further until the strike is called off.

- The editorial supports the "suppressing" of the Western labor News after seeing yesterday's edition. Many stories were printed merely to incite people intor rioting. They were even advertising illegal meetings !

The Western Star

Is the labour paper today after the Labor News was shut down. The below notice was sent and acting editor J.S. Woodworth, who was sitting in for the arrested Ivens, was himself arrested on Main Street near the McLaren Hotel.
- This is the final eddition that had them cut off.

- A defence fund has been created for those arrested.

Monday, 23 June 1919 - The Newsstand

Western Labour News

- Is Defiant. The headline screams: STRIKE UNBROKEN
- Outlines their version of what happened on Bloody Saturday
- Declares that the strike is ready to sizzle, not fizzle

The Winnipeg Citizen

- Does not publish again after June 20

The Winnipeg Telegram

- Has talk of additional arrests:

-

Monday, 23 June 1919 - The Riot Act

Bloody Saturday - The Fallout

- The immediate aftermath was nearly 100 arrests (this partial list from Manitoba Free Press 23 June 1919):

This is a list of those injured enough to be admitted to General Hospital (Telegram, 23 June). The lone immediate death was that of Mike Skodelik (later identified as Mike Sokolowski) of Henry Avenue. Steve Schezerbanowes of East Selkirk who was shot in the legs would die days later from infection.
- Minister Robertson declares that the Federal government will not resume negotiations until the strike is called off. He also distances the feds from what took place: "It was purely an action of the provincial and civic authorities" he tells the Telegram.

- Streetcar service was called off after the riot in what the Telegram called a "grim mistake" as it shows a sign of weakness.

Bloody Saturday - In the Mayor's Words

This statement was issued the night of Bloody Saturday and published Monday June 23rd in the Telegram:

Sunday, 22 June 1919 - The International Newsstand

Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 22 June 1919

New York Times, 22 June 1919

- Also an in-depth feature "Bolshevism in Winnipeg"

Chicago Tribune, Front Page:

Winnipeg, Man., June 21.- Winnipeg, strike torn since May 15, is under martial law tonight. After bloody fighting this afternoon between thousands of strikers and the city and provincial police, in which one man was killed, several injured probably fatally, and more than a score hurt...