Jack Battuello Memoir #1 - University of Illinois Springfield

Jack Battuello 6
Q. Those are the areas that--even with my Limited knowledge I know
and of course you from personal involvements recall--where same of
the very violent confrontations have taken place in the history of
the TWW. Would you like to describe some of those events?
A. Yes. During the time when I worked in the harvest fields in
Oklahoma, in Kansas, South Dakota, North Dakota and up into Saskatchewan,
Canada, there was much hostility towards the IWW, on thc part
of the farmers. There were many occasions when the farmers acted co
suppress the IWW by ruthlessly arresting the members of the ZWW, by
beating them up, by many other abuses. It's hard to believe, it's
hard to believe some of the things that occurred during that period.
There was times when they would apprehend J'WWs, search them and find
an IWW card on their persons. Then the farmers woul,d form a gauntlet
and strip the victim of his clothes and make him run the gauntlet,
all the while he was bcing beaten, running through the gauntler.
There was one occasion when they compelled the victim to run the
gauntlet, all the while being beaten and they were not satisfied with
that form of brutality. They caused him to run aver a railroad guard,
which was a construction of stcel with points to keep the cattle from
going into, going across onto he Lracks, caused him to run over this
obstruction, this pointed obstruction, barefooted while he was being
beaten again.
In the logging camps, there wasn't a week passed that rhere wasn't
some confrontation. Many of them, like in the Verona case that
happened in Vancouver, British Columbia, Vancouver, Washington,
Shahamus, Washington, in which the IWW hall was invaded by a marching,
demonstrating American Legion parade. The hall was broken into, the
IWW members were shot and two of them were killed and the ringleaders--
1 believe four in number--were sent to the penitentiary. At this
moment I can't give you all of the details, but I would recommend to
anyone who is interested in this problem, in chis phase of the IWW,
to read the book, the pamphlet, "The Blood-Stained Trail."
Q. Were you at all involved, or were you familiar with, the vigilante
action in Bisbee, Arizona when some twelve hundred IWW members,
miners, were gathered up at gunpoint, placed on a train and taken out
for illegal detention in the desert?
A. No, I was not in that state when rhat occurrence happened. f'm
knowledgable about that affair, I know all about it. I know some
members that were shanghaied into the desert, beaten up and Left to
die.
Q. Havc you ever had a chance to meet the martyrs of the Wobblies--
Frank Little, Joe Hill or any other people--who had died in the struggle
of the Industrial Workers of the World?
A. I di.d not know Joe Hill personally. hll I know about Joe Nil1
Jack Battuello Memoir -- Archives, University of Illinois at Springfield