Kristian Williams - Our Enemies in Blue - Police and Power in America

police attacks on picket lines, and unlawful arrests cannot be supplied here,but two case studies may offer some sense of the usual police role.THE LAWRENCE TEXTILE STRlKE: BREAD AND ROSES, BAYONETS AND CLOTHIn 1912, Massachusetts law reduced the workweek for women and children, fromfifty-six hours to fifty-four. The American Wo olen Company complied with theletter of the law, if not the spirit; it reduced the workweek, but also madecorresponding cuts in pay. In lawrence, Massachusetts, where 60,000 peopledepended on the earnings of the 25,000 textile workers, and where the averagewage was $8.76 per week, 25 cents more or less made an enormous differencein the workers' ability to feed their families:IH Thus, on January 11, when theworkers received their paychecks and discovered the reduction, they walkedout-fIrst at the Everett cotton mill, and the following day at the Washington mill.The Washington workers marched to the Wood mill, shut off the power, andcalled out the workers there. By that evening, 10,000 were on strike.l'> By the endof the month, the strike had spread to other industries, and 50,000 people (in atown of 86,000) were striking. ill One picket sign expressed the workers' positionclearly, capturing both the desperation of the moment and the hope for a betterfuture: 'We want bread and roses too."'!The repression of the strike was immediate and intense. Arbitrary arrestsand summary judgments became the order of the day, and many strikers weresentenced to one-year prison terms without ever having the opportunity to putforth a defense.42 Leaders were marked for more serious charges, and extrememeasures were taken to discredit the union. When dynamite was discovered ina cobbler's shop, police and press alike were quick to blame the strikers, thoughthere was no evidence to support such a conclusion. The tactic backfired. First,a school board member. John C. Rrppn, W rrp"tprl, tril"ct, cO!l.victed, a.'1 d fi.!1ed$500 for planting the dynamite.43 Then, Ernest W Pitman, president of PitmanConstruction Company, implicated himself and several other business leaders ina confession to the district attorney. Pitman revealed that the incident had beenplanned by one of the textile companies, leading to conspiracy charges againstFred E. Atteaux, the president of the Atteaux Supply Company, and William M.Wood, the president of the American Woolen Company.44Regardless of the scandal, union leaders were generally blamed for any violennot only the violence of the strikers, but that used against them as well. OnJanuary 29, when striking workers attempted to block the mill gates, the police andthe militia attacked, and a riot ensued. An Italian striker, Anna Lo Pizzo, was shotand killed. Witnesses identified the culprit as officer Oscar Bemoit, but two IWWleaders were arrested instead. Neither of the two men-Joseph Ettor and ArturoGiovannitti-had been present when the shooting occurred, but the complaintalleged that ''before said murder was committed, as aforesaid, Joseph ]. Ettor andAntonio [sic] Giovannitti did incite, procure, and counsel or command the said personwhose name is not known, as aforesaid, to commit the said murder .... "45 Thepolice later named Joseph Caruso as an accomplice and "Salvatore Scuito" as thegunman, though no one of that name was ever located.46Martial law was declared on January 30, the day after the shooting. ColonelE. leRoy Sweetser was given charge of twelve companies of infantry, two cavalry112