1923: May Day is Celebrated by Striking Workers in the U.S.

The following was excerpted by FW Kristin from a nearly illegible copy of the Industrial Worker from May Day, 1923. All mistakes are mine.

At the May Day Celebration in People’s Park, Renton Junction, Seattle, thousands of freezing, wet, and uncomfortable persons stood their ground and listened to a scathing indictment of capitalism by Elmer Smith.
The speaking was in the open air and the chill wind bent back the trees and made long furrows in the grass. An audience of workingmen huddled closer together and applauded once and again, and yet again as the speaker made his case against murderous, war-mad, profiteering capitalists.

By the time the argument was well underway the crowd had forgotten the bitter weather and was getting enthusiastic. . . .

Smith pointed out that the grip of the capitalist class is increasing and that their forces are being consolidated. In 1911 two percent of the people owned 50 percent of the wealth; in 1919 the same group owned 71 percent of the wealth, and Smith said under the tremendous concentrating effect of the war it is very likely that this had continued and been increased. . . .

Industrial Workers of the World celebrated May day in Portland at Ronse’s park. . . yesterday and continued in their defiant attitude toward local authorities.

Employment agencies, practically were closed, the managers, it is said, preferring to cease booking men for the woods rather than hear more of the enmity of the reds. Several hundred Wobblies carrying a banner which the police had taken away from them Sunday. . . and paraded. . . through the business section of the city.
Flying squadrons of dry crusaders emerged from I.W.W. headquarters at regular intervals and checked up on known bootlegging resorts that they had ordered to close.

As a result of the demonstration. . . by the I.W.W. Sunday federal officials began abatement proceedings which probably will close for the period of a year two notorious dives in the north end.

May day was peaceful in Portland. The only suggestion of a demonstration was when a small band of I.W.W. left the hall with the banner they had reclaimed from the police and started their parade. . . All wore red ribbons bearing the letters “I.W.W.” The police gave them no trouble.

The paraders, after winding through the north end, the business section and the south end, boarded cars for the park, where conventional red speeches were made.
The closing of the employment offices was accomplished without trouble or demonstration. The offices were not exactly closed, but when they opened in the morning none of those specializing in supplying men [for the] logging “camps” had any offerings for lumber workers. Several other offices, which supply farm help and miscellaneous jobs, were open for business.
The picnic and talkfest at the park drew the greater number of the north end’s unemployed men to the resort in the afternoon. The meeting was orderly. Leaders orated, picket speakers demanded the release of war prisoners the I.W.W.’s principal reason for calling the strike. Men, women, and children took part in the games, sang radical songs and joked at the expense of the police.
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LOS ANGELES, Cal. May 1 –
At the harbor district masters. . . . were endeavoring to find competent men to move their cargoes and congestion of other existing shipping continued but no acts of violence were reported. 2000 assembled peaceably in a water-front mass meeting and listened to speeches.

Overhead flew an airplane bearing the words “solidarity” from which fluttered thousands of strike circulars on the water below glided a red launch carrying [I.W.W. leaflets] to the ships of the harbor and. . . a red automobile marked “I.W.W” dashed here and there on similar errands. And hundreds of spectators, wearing red carnations looked on with interest.