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1916. Jack Miller was a survivor of the Everett Massacre where at least five members of the IWW were killed. The week before, Wobblies had been beaten fiercely by the sheriff's men for trying to speak on the streets of the Washington city in support of striking shinglemakers. Now they returned, determined to assert their rights. |
| We were singing when the Verona whistled, coming into Everett. When the boat came to the dock, there must have been a hundred or more men on the little forward deck. I saw Sheriff Don McRae standing there with one hand on his belt, near his pistol. He called out, "Who's your leader?" The reply came from the boat, "We're all leaders!" He said, "You can't land here." Someone said, "The hell we can't." And at that, McRae turned to face his deputies with a hand in the air as if he were signaling. The single shot came first, then a volley. Now all of the people on that forward deck, in a momentary panic, rushed to the starboard side. And the boat listed sharply. The railing broke, and several men went into the water. I guess we'll never know how many fell in. I know for sure that only one got back on the boat. Some people on the dock wanted to rescue those in the water. They were not allowed to by those drunken bastards, the deputies, who were shooting at the men in the water and shooting toward the boat. Volley after volley came out in continuous fire oft the dock. |
