You ought to be out raising hell. This is the fighting age. Put on your fighting clothes.
-Mother Jones
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Thursday July 9, 1914
From The Ogden Standard: Joe Hill Chooses the Firing Squad
Joe Hill was brought before Judge Ritchie yesterday, under heavy guard. He was sentenced to be put to death with September 4th set as the date for execution. When given his choice of being hung or shot, Fellow Worker Joe Hill stated:
"I'll take shooting; I'm used to that. I have been shot a few times in the past and I guess I can stand it again."
JOSEPH HILLSTROM ELECTS TO BE SHOT
Salt Lake, July 9.-Remarking that he had been shot several times before and guessed he could stand it again, Joseph Hillstrom, convicted murderer of J G. Morrison, elected to die in front of a firing squad when called for sentence before Judge Ritchie in the district court yesterday.
Accordingly, the sentence was imposed, to be executed at the state prison September 4 between the hours of sunrise and sunset.
Motion of counsel for Hillstrom for a continuance of ten days for the filing of a motion for a new trial was granted, but the court denied a motion for continuance of the time for passing sentence. Another motion asking for a stay of execution until July 18 was granted. This will serve to keep the prisoner at the county jail pending arguments for a new trial. Otherwise he would have been taken to the state prison at once and placed in the death house to await the day of his death.
Six deputy sheriffs guarded Hillstrom yesterday on his way to and from the county jail.
Asked if he had any reason to give why sentence should not be passed upon him Hillstrom replied to the court.
"No. let it go at that."
"Under the statutes of this state." the Judge explained, "you have the right to choose whether you shall be hanged or shot, Mr. Hillstrom, which method do you elect?"
"I'll take shooting," was the answer. "I'm used to that. I have been shot a few times in the past and I guess I can stand it again."
By a slip of the tongue, Judge Ritchie, in pronouncing sentence, stated that Hillstrom should be shot by the warden of the state prison. The law provides that the sheriff of the county in which the crime is committed shall carry out the execution. The district attorney, E. O Leatherwood, called the attention of the court to the mistake and the court restated the sentence over the objection of counsel for Hillstrom, who entered an exception and apparently will use the judge's slip of the tongue in their attempts to gain a new trial.
Soren X. Christensen of counsel for the defense, said that he expected Judge 0. N. Hilton of Denver will come to Salt Lake to take part in the arguments tor a new trial and to aid in the appeal to the supreme court in case a new trial is not grained.
----------
SOURCE
The Ogden Standard
(Ogden City, Utah)
-of July 9, 1914
http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/...
IMAGE
"Shall this take place?" by Ernest Riebe
http://www.warresisters.org/...
Note: this cartoon by Ernest Riebe is likely from a date later than July 9, 1914. More research needed. Used here to represent the sentiments of Hill's fellow workers of the Industrial Workers of the World as they learned that the date was set for the execution of the rebel songwriter.
``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Wednesday July 9, 2014
More on IWW Cartoonist Ernest Riebe and Mr Block
Ernest Riebe was well known in his day as the creator, in 1912, of Mr. Block who soon became quite a familiar character in the IWW press.
Mr. Block by Ernest Riebe
```````````````````````````````````````````````````
For more on Ernest Riebe
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
For more on Mr Block
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
IMAGE
Mr Block Doesn't Believe in the IWW by Ernest Riebe
http://libcom.org/...
``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Mr Block - Utah Phillips
Mr. Block
Please give me your attention, I'll introduce to you
A man who is a credit to the "Our Red White and Blue"
His head is made of lumber and solid as a rock
He is a common worker and his name is Mr. Block
And Block he thinks he may be President some day
Chorus
Oh Mr. Block, you were born by mistake
You take the cake, you make me ache
Tie a rock on your block and then jump in the lake
Kindly do that for Liberty's sake!
Yes, Mr. Block is lucky; he got a job, by gee!
The shark got seven dollars for job and fare and fee
They shipped him to a desert and dumped him with his truck
But when he tried to find his job he sure was out of luck
He shouted, "That's too raw! I'll fix them with the law!"
Block hiked back to the city but wasn't doing well
He said "I'll join the union, the great AF of L".
He got a job that morning, got fired by the night
He said, "I'll see Sam Gompers and he'll fix that foreman right!"
Sam Gompers said, "You see, you've got our sympathy."
Election day he shouted, "A Socialist for Mayor!"
The "comrade" got elected, he happy was for fair
But after the election he got an awful shock
A great big socialistic bull did rap him on the block
And Comrade Block did sob, "I helped him get his job!"
The money kings in Cuba blew up the gunboat Maine,
But Bock got might angry and blamed it all on Spain.
He went right in the battle and there he lost his leg,
And now he's peddling shoestrings and walking on peg.
He shouts, "Remember Maine! Hurrah! To hell with Spain!"
Poor Block he died one evening, I'm very glad to state
He climbed the golden ladder up to the pearly gate
He said, "Oh Mister Peter, one thing I'd like to tell
I'd like to meet the Astorbilts and John D Rockerfell."
Old Pete said, "Is that so? You'll meet them down below!"
-Joe Hill, 1913
Lyrics from:
The Big Red Songbook
ed by Green, Roediger, Rosemont, Salerno
Charles H Kerr, 2007
An ad for a new [Little Red] songbook including "Mr. Block" appeared in the Industrial Worker, March 6, 1913. The designation Fifth Edition appears on the cover.
There are twelve new additions to the Little Red Songbook in the Fifth Edition, ten of them by Joe Hill.
``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````