member to be active at all times, and especially on election. day, in behalf of his class and of himself as a member thereof." 1

Neither side was wholly successful. By way of compromise it was finally agreed that the clause containing the rather distasteful word "political" should stand unaltered, but that an additional clause should be appended at the end of the Preamble. This new clause reads: "Therefore, without endorsing or desiring the endorsement of any political party, we unite under the following constitution." " Political action was still recognized and no less emphatically endorsed than before, but all political activities would now be subject to very definite constitutional restrictions as to the relations between the Industrial Workers of the World and the political parties.

3

2

It would seem that, if politics was to be discounted in the preamble, the discussion of that subject in the local union should surely be subject to restriction if not absolute taboo. This was President Sherman's attitude. He thought

that literature bearing on any complexion of a political nature should be barred from any economic industrial meeting, and that all organizers [of] . . . . the Industrial Workers of the World shall enforce such principles. . . . Your president does not hesitate to say that, in his belief, if the Industrial Workers

1 Proceedings, Second I. W. W. Convention (1906), p. 309.

2 For discussion of the change in the preamble and on political action in general, cf. ibid., pp. 305-313. The amended preamble is printed in full in the Proceedings, p. 614, and in a pamphlet entitled, Industrial Workers of the World-Preamble and Constitution, published by the Detroit faction. Cf., also, appendix ii.

'Spargo to the contrary notwithstanding. He writes: "At the second convention, September, 1908 the preamble was amended and all emphasis on the need for political action omitted," Syndicalism, Socialism and Industrial Unionism, p. 208.

of the World is not kept clear from all political agitation for the next few years to come . it will be impossible to build up an industrial organization. . . .

1

The convention did not agree with him. No doubt this was partly due to the fact that the majority of the delegates could not persuade themselves to tolerate any suggestion (be it ever so wise a one) made by President Sherman. Moreover, it must have been realized that such a prohibition of political literature or political discussion could really never be enforced; that on the contrary it would even stimulate such discussion. However this may be, the committee on good and welfare submitted under this head the recommendation that "in local unions at least ten minutes be given to the discussion of economic and political questions at each meeting." This resolution was endorsed by the convention.2

The famous Moyer, Haywood and Pettibone case occupied much of the attention of the second convention. At the time of the convention these three men (of whom the two former were members and officers of the Western Federation of Miners-then the Mining Department of the I. W. W.) were imprisoned in the Ada County jail at Boise, Idaho, charged with the murder of ex-Governor Steunenberg of that state. This great labor case, culminating in 1907 in the trial and acquittal of the three men, makes up one of the most interesting and dramatic chapters in the annals of the labor movement. It was an event which deeply concerned the Industrial Workers of the World, and was a really potent factor in shaping the subsequent history of that organization. The story of the judicial deportation

'Report of the General President, Proceedings, Second I. W. W. Convention (1906), p. 44-45.

2 Ibid., p. 573.

of these three men had of course become known to the world long before the 1906 convention of the I. W. W., but none the less a brief recital of the event and the part taken by the I. W. W. therein was incorporated in President Sherman's report to the convention. Some excerpts from this report are here quoted. It should be remembered that, at the time of the deportation and trial of these officials of the Western Federation of Miners, that organization was a part of the Industrial Workers of the World, and that (with the exception of Pettibone) these men were, at least formally, I. W. W. men, though they were referred to almost constantly as officials of the Western Federation of Miners. It pains me to report [said President Sherman] that on Saturday evening, February 17th,1 Brother Charles H. Moyer, President of the Department of Mining; Brother William D. Haywood, Secretary of the Department of Mining; and Geo. A. Pettibone, ex-member of the Western Federation of Miners, were kidnapped by officers of the state of Idaho and, on the same date, at 11:30 o'clock P. M., were forcibly placed on a special train and taken from the state of Colorado and placed in jail in the state of Idaho, charged with murder. This was done without giving the accused brothers an opportunity for a defense or hearing. They were arrested at night and were given no opportunity to notify their families, friends or legal advisers of their condition.2

The Industrial Workers of the World was among the first to come to the defense of the indicted men. The General Office in Chicago immediately sent out thousands of circular letters throughout the country asking for contributions; large amounts were turned over to the Special Defense Fund from the General Defense Fund of the I. W.

1 This should be the 19th.

2 Proceedings, Second I. W. W. Convention (1906), p. 47.

1

W., and finally a total of $10,982.51 was raised. This, labor's common extremity, did actually, though but temporarily, achieve that miracle (to appear later in San Diego and Lawrence) of I.W.W.'s, Socialists, Socialist Laborites, Anarchists, and "Pure and Simplers," even, coöperating in a common activity. The I. W. W. was the first to organize protest meetings, and secured the services of Clarence S. Darrow for the legal defense. The slogan “Shall our brothers be murdered?" was reiterated on every hand and made the watchword of the defense.

The situation was still a desperate one at the time of the 1906 convention. The men were still held in jail awaiting trial. It seems to have been the general belief that they were to be "railroaded" to the penitentiary or the gallows, and the conduct of the prosecution as well as the postponement of the trial, all tended to strengthen that belief. The delegates at the convention decided to turn fifty per cent of the per-capita tax of the Mining Department into the Moyer-Haywood Defense Fund. Some of the delegates undoubtedly exaggerated the influence of the I. W. W. in the Moyer-Haywood affair. Thus William E. Trautmann asserted on the floor of the convention that

Money and the best legal talent would not have been able to save the lives of Charles H. Moyer, William D. Haywood, Geo. A. Pettibone and Vincent St. John; their dead bodies would... bear testimony to the outrages perpetrated by the class controlling the resources of this land, and all institutions of oppression, were it not for the vigilance of the few. . .

1A term applied to members of and believers in what Samuel Gompers had called the " pure and simple trade union "-the conventional type of unionist who will have nothing to do with radicalism and accepts implicitly the capitalistic régime.

2 Vincent St. John, who had been organizing for the I. W. W. in the Coeur d'Alene district of Idaho, was arrested at about the same time.

men of the I. W. W., who, facing all the calumnies of the public press threw their lives into the scale in order to raise the issue. We must prevent the judicial murder.1

The jailing of Haywood, especially, one of the most aggressive and influential organizers of the I. W. W., deeply affected the members of that body and really subtracted much from their strength. It was generally felt among laboring men and women that Moyer and Haywood were jailed because they were members of the Industrial Workers of the World, or because they were Socialists. A letter written by Haywood in the Ada County jail on the day that the second convention opened in Chicago indicates the active interest he continued to take in the organization even during his imprisonment. It is here given in part:

ADA COUNTY JAIL,

BOISE, IDAHO, SEPT. 17, 1906.

TO THE OFFICERS AND DELEGATES OF THE SECOND ANNUAL CONVENTION OF THE INDUSTRIAL WORKERS OF THE World. Comrades and Fellow Workers:

While you have been in convention today, I have devoted the hours to a careful review of the proceedings of the initial convention of the I. W. W. and of the conference that issued. the Manifesto leading up to the formation of the organization which has . . . rekindled the smouldering fire of ambition and hope in the breasts of the working class of this continent. ... [Quoting here from his own letter to the fourteenth convention of the Western Federation of Miners] organized industrially, united politically, labor will assume grace and dignity, horny hand and busy brain will be the badge of distinction and honor, all humanity will be free from bondage, a fraternal brotherhood imbued with the spirit of independence and freedom, tempered with the sentiments of justice and love of

1 In his report to the convention, Proceedings, Second I. W. W. Convention (1906), pp. 70-1.