Red Harbor: Class, Violence, and Community in Grays Harbor, Washington
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Red Harbor: Class, Violence, and Community in Grays Harbor, Washington by Aaron A. Goings M.A., Central Washington University, 2005 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY FACULTY OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES © Aaron A. Goings SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY SUMMER 2011 All rights reserved. However, in accordance with the Copyright Act of Canada, this work may be reproduced without authorization under the conditions for Fair Dealing. Therefore, limited reproduction of this work for the purposes of private study, research, criticism, review and news reporting is likely to be in accordance with the law, particularly if cited appropriately. APPROVAL Name: Aaron Goings Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Title of Thesis: Red Harbor: Class, Violence, and Community in Grays Harbor, Washington Examining Committee: Chair: Dr. Mary Ellen Kelm Associate Professor of History ____________________________________________ Dr. Mark Leier Senior Supervisor Professor of History ____________________________________________ Dr. Karen Ferguson Supervisor Associate Professor of History ____________________________________________ Dr. Geoff Mann Supervisor Associate Professor of Geography ____________________________________________ Dr. Gary Teeple SFU Examiner Professor of Sociology ____________________________________________ Dr. Elizabeth Jameson Professor of History University of Calgary Date Approved: July 27, 2011 ii Declaration of Partial Copyright Licence The author, whose copyright is declared on the title page of this work, has granted to Simon Fraser University the right to lend this thesis, project or extended essay to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. The author has further granted permission to Simon Fraser University to keep or make a digital copy for use in its circulating collection (currently available to the public at the “Institutional Repository” link of the SFU Library website <www.lib.sfu.ca> at: <http://ir.lib.sfu.ca/handle/1892/112>) and, without changing the content, to translate the thesis/project or extended essays, if technically possible, to any medium or format for the purpose of preservation of the digital work. The author has further agreed that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by either the author or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission. Permission for public performance, or limited permission for private scholarly use, of any multimedia materials forming part of this work, may have been granted by the author. This information may be found on the separately catalogued multimedia material and in the signed Partial Copyright Licence. While licensing SFU to permit the above uses, the author retains copyright in the thesis, project or extended essays, including the right to change the work for subsequent purposes, including editing and publishing the work in whole or in part, and licensing other parties, as the author may desire. The original Partial Copyright Licence attesting to these terms, and signed by this author, may be found in the original bound copy of this work, retained in the Simon Fraser University Archive. Simon Fraser University Library Burnaby, BC, Canada Last revision: Spring 09 ABSTRACT This thesis is a study of class struggle and class formation in Grays Harbor, Washington, between the 1890s and 1933. Grays Harbor was the most prolific lumber- producing and lumber-shipping region in the world during the first three decades of the twentieth century. It was also a center of unionism and radicalism, a place where trade unionists, socialists, and revolutionary syndicalists formed large and lasting institutions. Despite the size and strength of local worker’s organizations, divisions of race, ethnicity, gender, and ideology limited their effectiveness and opened them up to the employer attacks. Employers used strikebreakers, violence, labor spies, police, the courts, and blacklists to combat the trade union campaigns of the 1900s and the mass strikes led by revolutionary organizations during the 1910s, 1920s, and 1930s. By 1912 the largest and most dynamic workers’ organization on the Harbor was the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). The IWW led mass strikes in the region in 1912, 1917, and 1923. IWW halls in Grays Harbor also functioned as centers of culture and community, particularly for Finnish Americans, the largest ethnic group within the Grays Harbor IWW. Contrary to most of the historiography on the Pacific Northwest, the lumber industry, and the IWW, this study shows that the Grays Harbor IWW was a mass movement with a large base of support in the community. This community support was a major reason why the IWW was able to fend off the attacks of employers and the state during the 1910s and 1920s, and maintain a large membership into the 1930s. A quantitative analysis of IWW members during the 1920s and 1930s reveals that it was composed of large numbers of skilled workers, members of the middle class, married men, single and married women, and children. As late as the 1930s the Wobblies iii still counted over six hundred members and supporters in Grays Harbor, hosted elaborate cultural festivities, and lent support to the numerous lumber strikes that occurred during this period. This thesis concludes with an examination of the IWW and Communist Party as the groups struggled for members and influence during the 1930s. Keywords: Industrial Workers of the World; Grays Harbor; unions; employers; Finnish Americans; Communist Party iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My greatest intellectual debt is to Mark Leier. Mark has been a kind, generous, and supportive senior supervisor and friend while I wrote this thesis, and I am deeply appreciative for all he’s done throughout this long process. Thanks as well to Karen Ferguson and Geoff Mann for serving on my committee and offering helpful tips along the way. A special thank you must go out to Betsy Jameson, who has been a great supporter of my work. I was honored to have her serve as the external examiner for this thesis. I owe a special debt of gratitude to my friends and fellow workers at Saint Martin’s University, who gave me an opportunity to teach and earn a living while I completed this project. I’d especially like to thank Roger Snider, Rex Casillas, David Price, and Brian Barnes for making Saint Martin’s such a nice place to work. For their extraordinary assistance in locating archival materials and translating Finnish-language documents, I want to thank Gary Kaunonen of Tapiola, Michigan, and Roy Vataja of Aberdeen, Washington. Thanks as well to Karen Blair of Central Washington University, who has been generous with her friendship and knowledge of Pacific Northwest History. My friends Kris Koski and Darren Struthers deserve my thanks for making me laugh and otherwise helping to keep me sane while I completed this project. I was able to fund much of my research and travel costs through a series of fellowships granted by Simon Fraser University. Other support for this project came from Finlandia University. Thanks as well to the interlibrary loan staffs at Saint Martin’s v University and Western Washington University who were able to meet almost all of my unusual microfilm requests. Without my family there is no way I could have completed this thesis. I am especially grateful to my parents, Chris and Mike, brothers Brad and Todd, and grandma Nina, whose support and guidance made this thesis possible. Thanks as well to the Archie, Goings, Utter, Clocksin, and Cardinal families for all the years of encouragement, and the good times in Humptulips and at Nina’s house. And, thank you to the AmRheins and Sheinbaums for welcoming me into your families. Finally, this thesis is dedicated to Jess, my loving companion and partner, who makes me smile every single day. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page APPROVAL…………………………………………………………..ii ABSTRACT………………………………………………………….iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………………………...v TABLE OF CONTENTS……………………………………………vii I INTRODUCTION ................................................................................ 1 II COOPERATIVE CAPITALISTS IN THE GRAYS HARBOR LUMBER INDUSTRY ....................................................................... 34 III “AS ONE MAN”: GRAYS HARBOR’S MILITANT MAJORITY OF EMPLOYERS ..................................................................................... 67 IV RACE, GENDER, GEOGRAPHY, AND UNIONISM IN GRAYS HARBOR, 1898-1910 ....................................................................... 100 V GRAYS HARBOR SHINGLE WEAVERS AND THE MAKING OF ONE [NOT VERY] BIG UNION ..................................................... 135 VI THE IMMIGRANT LEFT ON GRAYS HARBOR, 1900-1912 ..... 163 VII WOBBLIES IN THE COMMUNITY .............................................. 193 VIII WOBBLY PERSEVERANCE, COMMUNITY PRESENCE, AND MILITANCY, 1912-1917…..………………………………............236 IX EMPLOYERS, THE STATE, AND THE “W” CITY……………...264 X CUT OFF THE HEAD AND THE BODY WILL THRIVE: THE GRAYS HARBOR WOBBLY MOVEMENT, 1917-1923…...........295 XI WOBBLIES, WORKERS, AND VIOLENCE IN GRAYS HARBOR………………………………………………….338 XII HALL SYNDICALISM: FINNISH-AMERICAN WOBBLIES