Tom Lassiter made his living by selling newspapers at a little stand on a
street corner. Tom is blind, a good soul and well liked by the loggers.
But Tom has vision enough to see that there is something wrong with the
hideous capitalist system we live under; and so he kept papers on sale
that would help enlighten the workers. Among these were the "Seattle Union
Record," "The Industrial Worker" and "Solidarity." To put it plainly, Tom
was a thorn in the side of the local respectability because of his modest
efforts to make people thing. And his doom had also been sealed.
Early in June the newsstand was broken into and all his clothing,
literature and little personal belongings were taken to a vacant lot and
burned. A warning sign was left on a short pole stuck in the ashes. The
message, "You leave town in 24 hours, U.S. Soldiers, Sailors and Marines,"
was left on the table in his room.
With true Wobbly determination, Lassiter secured a new stock of papers and
immediately re-opened his little stand. About this time a Centralia
business man, J.H. Roberts by name, was heard to say "This man (Lassiter)
is within his legal rights and if we can't do anything by law we'll take
the law into our own hands." This is precisely what happened.
On the afternoon of June 30th, Blind Tom was crossing Tower Avenue with
hesitating steps when, without warning, two business men seized his
groping arms and yelled in his ear, "We'll get you out of town this time!"
Lassiter called for help. The good Samaritan came along in the form of a
brute-faced creature known as W.R. Patton, a rich property owner of the
city. This Christian gentleman sneaked up behind the blind man and lunged
him forcibly into a waiting Oakland automobile. The machine is owned by
Cornelius McIntyre who is said to have been one of the kidnapping party.
"Shut up or I'll smash your mouth so you can't yell," said one of his
assailants as Lassiter was forced, still screaming for help, into the car.
Turning to the driver one of the party said, "Step on her and let's get
out of here." About this time Constable Luther Patton appeared on the
scene. W.R. Patton walked over to where the constable stood and shouted to
the bystanders, "We'll arrest the first person that objects, interferes or
gets too loud."
"A good smash on the jaw would do more good," suggested the kind-hearted
official.
"Well, we got that one pretty slick and now there are two more we have to
get," stated W.R. Patton, a short time afterwards.
Blind Tom was dropped helpless in a ditch just over the county line. He
was picked up by a passing car and eventually made his way to Olympia,
capital of the state. In about a week he was back in Centralia. But before
he could again resume his paper selling he was arrested on a charge of
"criminal syndicalism." He is now awaiting conviction at Chehalis.
Before his arrest, however, Lassiter engaged Elmer Smith as his attorney.
Smith appealed to County Attorney Herman Allen for protection for his
client. After a half-hearted effort to locate the kidnappers--who were
known to everybody--this official gave up the task saying he was "Too busy
to bother with the affair, and, besides, the offense was only 'third
degree assault' which is punishable with a fine of but one dollar and
costs." The young lawyer did not waste any more time with the County
authorities. Instead he secured sworn statements of the facts in the case
and submitted them to the Governor. These were duly acknowledged and
placed on file in Olympia. But up to date no action has been taken by the
executive to prosecute the criminals who committed the crime.
"Handle these I.W.W. cases if you want to," said a local attorney to Elmer
Smith, counsel for one of the banks, "but sooner or later they're all
going to be hanged or deported anyway."
[Illustration: Where Barnett's Rifle Was Supposed to Have Been Found
Eugene Barnett was said to have left his rifle under this sign-board as he
fled from the scene of the shooting. It would have been much easier to
hide a gun in the tall brush in the foreground. In reality Barnett did not
have a rifle on November 11th and was never within a mile of this place.
Prosecutor Cunningham said he had "been looking all over for that rifle"
when it was turned over to him by a stool pigeon. Strangely enough
Cunningham knew the number of the gun before he placed hands on it.]
Smith was feathering a nest for himself--feathering it with steel and
stone and a possible coil of hempen rope. The shadow of the prison bars
was falling blacker on his red head with every passing moment. His
fearless championing of the cause of the "under dog" had won him the
implacable hatred of his own class. To them his acts of kindness and
humanity were nothing less than treason. Smith had been ungrateful to the
clique that had offered him every inducement to "come in with us". A
lawyer with a heart is as dangerous as a working man with his brains.
Elmer Smith would be punished all right; it would just be a matter of
time.
The indifference of the County and State authorities regarding the
kidnapping of blind Tom gave the terrorists renewed confidence in the
efficacy and "legality" of their methods. Also it gave them a hint as to
the form their future depredations were to take. And so, with the implied
approval of everyone worth considering, they went about their plotting
with still greater determination and a soothing sense of security.