There are no limits to which powers of privilege will not go to keep the workers in slavery.
-Mother Jones
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Tuesday November 2, 1915
Salt Lake City, Utah - Major Myton, Slayer of Fellow Worker Horton, Hailed as Hero
The photographs above are from the November edition of
Sunset Magazine. Note how the Industrial Workers of the World is portrayed as a dangerous organization against which the Governor of Utah bravely stands. Yet we find that it is the President of I. W. W. Local 69 who has been gunned down in the streets of Salt Lake City while not one official of the state nor of the city has been in any way harmed.
Meanwhile, Major H. P. Myton, who shot down Fellow Worker Roy J. Horton in cold blood, is being treated as hero by prominent citizens of Utah. The local area Elks Club is planning to mount a defense campaign for him. This is the same Elks Club where Judge Morris L. Ritchie, who presided over the trial of Joe Hill, and District Attorney Elmer O. Leatherwood, the prosecutor in the case, are enrolled as members.
The effort to justify the murder of President Horton has now been extended to the front of The New York Times. It seems, according to the Times, that the I. W. W. leader got what he deserved when he was summarily executed by "Major" Myton:
SALT LAKE, Oct 31-Resenting attacks on law and order and insults heaped on peace officers by a gang of Industrial Workers of the World, Major H. P. Myton, a prominent Utah politician and former United States Army officer, shot and killed Roy J. Horton, an I. W. W. leader, at an early hour this morning...
The killing last night is the first tragedy to result from the demonstrations which have formed part of the propaganda instituted by the I. W. W. in behalf of Joseph Hillstrom, the "hobo poet," who is sentenced to be executed on Nov. 19 for murder.
From The Ogden Standard of November 1, 1915:
MYTON FACING MURDER CHARGE
Salt Lake, Nov. 1-Major H. P. Myton, who, early yesterday morning, shot and killed Roy J. Horton, a member of the I. W. W., following an altercation on West Second South street, will appear before Judge C. W. Morse of the district court at 1:30 this afternoon for hearing upon a writ of habeas corpus which was sued out yesterday afternoon by Myton's attorney, Judge M. M. Warner.
Attorney Warner stated, following the service of the notice upon the chief of police, that several persons who witnessed the shooting, and who saw Horton strike Major Myton, will be in court this afternoon, prepared to give evidence if needed in the proceedings.
Friends Flock to Jail.
Major Myton spent a quiet day in the city jail yesterday, except so many friends called during the day that it became necessary to deny anyone admission to his cell later in the afternoon, as the prisoner became very tired and was ordered by his physician to retire to his cot and endeavor to secure some much-needed sleep. Jailor Dick Beynon declared that the city jail has never held a prisoner upon whom so many people called in a single day. No fewer than a dozen leading attorneys of Salt Lake City called at police headquarters during the forenoon and volunteered their services in defending Major Myton.
No new features in connection with the shooting were unearthed by the police yesterday, though several eye-witnesses were interviewed.
It has been learned that the dead man's father, Charles W. Horton, lives at Penn Yan, N. Y., and a telegram has been sent informing him of his son's death.
[Photograph added.]
From The New York Times of November 1, 1915:
I. W. W. LEADER SHOT BY
UTAH POLITICIAN
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Former Army Officer the Quicker with Gun
in Clash in Salt Lake Street.
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HILLSTROM CASE INVOLVED
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Dead Man Was Active in Organizing Demonstrations
against "Hobo Poet's" Execution.
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Special to the New York Times.
Ritchie in 1900, nominated
to judicial ticket of Republican Party,
Elks Lodge Member.
`````
Elmer O Leatherwood, District Attorney
3rd Judicial District of Utah,
Elks Lodge Member.
`````
SALT LAKE, Oct. 31-Resenting attacks on law and order and insults heaped on peace officers by a gang of Industrial Workers of the World, Major H. P. Myton, a prominent Utah politician and former United States Army officer, shot and killed Roy J. Horton, an I. W. W. leader, at an early hour this morning.
Myton was arrested and is held on a charge of murder in the first degree. Habeas corpus proceedings have already been instituted to obtain his release.
The killing last night is the first tragedy to result from the demonstrations which have formed part of the propaganda instituted by the I. W. W. in behalf of Joseph Hillstrom, the "hobo poet," who is sentenced to be executed on Nov. 19 for murder.
Horton, an ex-convict, was a leader of the local organization. Last Winter he led a parade of 1,500 men to the State Capitol, were a demand was made on the Legislature for money with which to feed unemployed members.
It is feared that the killing of Horton will precipitate the outrages threatened in letters received by State officials. It is known that some of the most desperate members of the Industrial Workers of the World have gathered in Salt Lake. What plans are under way to prevent the execution of Hillstrom are not known, however.
Horton and a number of associates were standing on a street corner in the centre of the business district when Myton passed by, according to the account of the fight, Horton, who recognized Myton as a former jailer, made vicious remarks about officers of the law and said they should all be killed. Myton went to his room near by, got his gun and returned to the street, where Horton was awaiting him.
Pointing his finger at Myton, Horton said, "Yes, I mean you," and struck Myton in the face, at the same time drawing his revolver, Myton fired three times and Horton fell to the pavement dead. Two bullets had pierced his lungs and one penetrated his heart. Horton's associates who had witnessed the shooting then fled and police arrested Myton.
Myton is well known throughout the State, having figured in politics here for twenty years. Some of the most prominent attorneys in the city, incensed over the attack on Myton, visited him in the city prison today and volunteered their services. The Elks Lodge has also appointed a committee to handle the case for this organization, and, if possible, to obtain the immediate release of Myton.
The State, county and city officials are now taking every precaution to prevent demonstrations, and it is entirely possible that the street meetings of the I.W. W., during which violent attacks have been made on the State, will be prohibited in the future.
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[Photographs added.]
~~~~~~~~~~
SOURCES
The Man Who Never Died:
The Life, Times, and Legacy
of Joe Hill, American Labor Icon
-by William M. Adler
Bloomsbury Publishing USA, Aug 30, 2011
https://books.google.com/...
The Ogden Standard
(Ogden, Utah)
-Nov 1, 1915
https://www.newspapers.com/...
The New York Times
(New York, New York)
-Nov 1, 1915
http://query.nytimes.com/...
IMAGES
Sunset Magazine, Nov 1915,
UT Gov Spry, Joe Hill
https://books.google.com/...
IWW Logo on Local 69 banner,
Deseret Evening News, Aug 13, 1913
https://books.google.com/...
Morris L. Ritchie, Republican judicial ticket,
Salt Lake Herald, July 29, 1900
http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/...
Elmer O Leatherwood, DA,
3rd Judicial District of UT, 1908-1916
https://en.wikipedia.org/...
The IWW is coming
http://libcom.org/...
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Information from Archie Green via Gibbs Smith:
The Industrial Worker of March 6, 1913 announced that the new edition of the I. W. W. songbook (Little Red Songbook) would include eleven new songs. That edition of the songbook was designated as the Fifth Edition on the front cover. Nine of the eleven new songs were by Joe Hill, including "The White Slave" on page 32.
The White Slave -Lucas Stark
THE WHITE SLAVE
By Joe Hill
( Air: "Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland")
One little girl, fair as a pearl,
Worked every day in a laundry;
All that she made for food she paid,
So she slept on a park bench so soundly;
An old procuress spied her there,
She came and whispered in her ear:
CHORUS
Come with me now, my girly,
Don't sleep out in the cold;
Your face and tresses curly
Will bring you fame and gold,
Automobiles to ride in, diamonds and silk to wear,
You'll be a star bright, down in the red light,
You'll make your fortune there.
Same little girl, no more a pearl,
Walks all alone 'long the river,
Five years have flown, her health is gone,
She would look at the water and shiver,
Whene'er she'd stop to rest and sleep,
She'd hear a voice call from the deep:
Girls in this way, fall every day,
And have been falling for ages,
Who is to blame? You know his name,
It's the boss that pays starvation wages.
A homeless girl can always hear
Temptations calling everywhere.
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