North American Aviation Strike

Photograph by the Los Angeles Times   Labor activists picket the North American Aviation plant in a photo published June 6, 1941.

One of the first challenges in studying the 1941 North American Aviation strike is using The Times as source material. The newspaper had been a vocal opponent of organized labor since the 19th century and became even more strident after the 1910 bombing of The Times Building by union activists. The motto “True Industrial Freedom” appeared on the nameplate for years and “TRVE INDVSTRIAL FREEDOM” is carved into the building.   Given its other pronouncements, I wouldn’t expect The Times editorial page to be impartial, but news stories ought to be a different matter. Here’s what I consider an example of dubious reporting. This April 17, 1941, Times story leads with the statement that a UAW contract proposed for North American Aviation workers would forbid "barring of Communist Party members." Further down, the story quotes the precise wording of the contract, which is a far broader statement forbidding discrimination on the basis of race, color, creed, political affiliations “or nativity of his parents or ancestors.”  Notice that it doesn’t mention anything about gender. In this era, of course, loyalty oaths were supposed to weed out subversives – but that’s another story.

Memorial Day, 1941

Memorial Day, 1941: “The crowd rose to its feet in acclaim to two troops of Boy Scouts marching along behind their unit banners and the national ensign. “The boys were all Japanese. “But none carried themselves more proudly than these boys of Los Angeles Scout Troops 197 and 379. “And who could say that he was a better American than 16-year-old Yoneo Nakashima, color-bearer of Troop 197?”   History will provide an ugly answer to that question in a few months.

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 8, 1941

May 8, 1941: John J. McNamara, one of the key figures in the 1910 bombing of the Los Angeles Times and the bombing of the Llewellyn Iron Works , dies in Montana. His brother James had died in prison on March 8. Lee Shippey goes home from the hospital and writes about the marvels of health insurance because healthcare is so expensive. The United States Navy not only supervises all technical details in naval films but reserves the right to censor the completed pictures for entertainment and moral quality, Jimmie Fidler says.

Found on EBay – Louis Adamic

Louis Adamic’s “The Word of Satan in the Bible” has been listed on EBay in a lot of 40 Little Blue Books published by E. Haldeman-Julius. This is an intriguing item from Adamic, best known for “Dynamite,” which is frequently cited for its account of the 1910 bombing of The Times. Bidding on this lot starts at $23.99.

Times Columnist Harry Carr Dies

Jan. 11, 1936: Harry Carr, longtime columnist of “The Lancer” and one of the best-known writers in the history of The Times, dies of a heart attack at the age of 58. Carr’s death brought an outpouring of tributes and recollections from the business community and in Olvera Street. Carr wrote “Old Mother Mexico”  (1931), “Los Angeles: City of Dreams” (1935) and “Gin Chow’s First Annual Almanac” (1932). Carr was The Times’ utility reporter on major events and covered the Republican National Convention of 1908 and the Los Angeles premiere of “Madame Butterfly” the same year. He was on the staff when The Times was bombed in 1910, but wrote nothing about it in "Los Angeles: City of Dreams." One of the few details in "Los Angeles" about Gen. Harrison Gray Otis is an incident in which Otis staunchly defended Carr against charges that a story was inaccurate. Carr also covered boxing. Here’s an excerpt of his coverage of the James Jeffries-Jack Johnson “Battle of the Century.”  "The 'battle of the century' made me think of nothing so much as the butchery of an old bull. "When, at the end of the 15th round, old Jeff lay, half through the ropes, smeared with blood, the light all gone out of his eyes, stricken and helpless, I half expected him to give the 'moo' of a dying bull. "When the moving pictures are shown I think you will see a strange thing -- that Jeffries lay in the exact attitude of the statue ‘The Dying Gladiator,' as he was being counted out, with this addition: The group will have another figure, a tigerish, fierce black giant standing over the bleeding gladiator, his terrible fists waiting. "I felt sorry for poor, old Jeff, but most of my pity went out to the black man. "I never before saw any human soul so shaken with fear. "When the fight began Johnson was so frightened that his face was a deathly, ashen gray. His lips were dry and his eyes were staring with a sort of horrified terror. He seemed utterly friendless. "Out of that enormous pack of humanity I saw only one face that turned up to him in sympathy. That was the drawn, tragically beautiful face of the white woman who is Johnson's wife." ALSO  “Madame Butterfly” premieres in Los Angeles, 1908  “The Battle of the Century” on the Daily Mirror, 1910 “Old Mother Mexico” at archive.org

Money Given to Families of Times Bombing Victims

Dec. 20, 1910: The Times reports on the distribution of money that was donated by the people of Los Angeles for families of The Times bombing victims. Although some modern writers insist The Times was a hated institution in this era, the amount of money collected for the families indicates a fair degree of support and sympathy. For example, $2,992.96 [$68,056.36 USD 2009] was given to Leola Harvey-Elder, the widow of Assistant City Editor Churchill Harvey-Elder, who died of his injuries after leaping from the burning building.

Found on EBay – W.W. Robinson

A copy of W.W. Robinson’s “Bombs and Bribery,” about the 1910 bombing of the Los Angeles Times, has been listed on EBay. This book is usually listed at a steep price because it was a limited edition of 300 copies, adapted by Robinson from a chapter in his much more available book “Lawyers of Los Angeles.” Bidding on this copy starts at $99.99 or Buy It Now for $149.99. In all honesty, I wouldn’t pay that kind of money for “Bombs and Bribery.” You can find it online for much less. As with everything on EBay, an item and vendor should be investigated thoroughly before submitting a bid. ALSO W.W. Robinson on Daily Mirror

Thanksgiving 1910

Thanksgiving 1910: President Taft declares the annual holiday. “The records of population and harvests which are the index of progress show vigorous national growth and the health and prosperous well-being of our communities throughout this land and in our possessions beyond the seas. “These blessings have not descended upon us in restricted measure but overflow and abound. They are the blessings and bounty of God." The Times’ School for Housewives says: As Thanksgiving day is the family festival, we lay aside the latest fads and "wrinkles" that belong to present-day whims and have the good, old-fashioned dishes in which we rejoiced as children. We dispense with French entrees, elaborate salads and many courses. We feel that on this occasion "old things are best" and turn with delight from what is known as "fancy cooking" to the roast turkey and homemade pies. On the menu: Cream of corn soup, oyster pie and Spanish rice.  On the jump, a Bethany College football player is charged with murder after a West Virginia player dies of head injuries,  and a Thanksgiving editorial notes: “Standing beside the blackened walls of The Times, and under the sheltering wings of the brave old eagle that symbolizes its dauntless spirit, we breathe a prayer for the repose of our murdered dead.” Also on the Daily Mirror: Thanksgiving 1908 Women Postpone Thanksgiving Dinner to Meet Militant Feminist, 1909 Thanksgiving With a Microwave, 1975

Death Threats Sent to Grand Jury Investigating Times Bombing

 

 

Oct. 27-28, 1910: Threatening letters are sent to five members of the Los Angeles County Grand Jury investigating The Times bombing – or were they? The foreman of the grand jury tells the Herald that the story is utterly untrue.  Although the foreman said he planned to demand a correction from the paper in question, nothing further was ever published in The Times.

The Times Gets an Emergency Makeover

The Times Page 1 nameplate on Sept. 15, 1910, before the bombing. The Times nameplate, Oct. 15, 1910, after the bombing         Part II, Sept. 15, 1910, before the bombing. Part II, Oct. 15, 1910, after the bombing.

Oct. 15, 1910: I pulled up an Oct. 15 issue of the paper and immediately noticed the new headline font. The Times was being published at its auxiliary plant in what is now Chinatown but had to buy all new cases of type. Notice that an artist re-created the Page 1 nameplate and simplified the Part II nameplate. In 1913, The Times will again alter the nameplate to show the destruction of the old building and add the new building.

Violent Brawl Averted in Darrow Trial

June 25, 1912: And here we have the battle of the inkwell in the trial of Clarence Darrow. Dist. Atty. John D. Fredericks loses his temper and tries to throw a four- or five-pound inkwell at defense attorney Horace Appel over “a succession of sneers and covert attacks.” Defense attorney Earl Rogers and bailiff Martin Aguirre prevent Fredericks from throwing the inkwell, with Rogers suffering a deep gash to the wrist. It was followed by another outburst the next day by Rogers: Fredericks’ remarks are on the jump.

Pages of History

Los Angeles Times file photo Clarence Darrow addresses the jury in one of his two trials on charges of trying to bribe jurors in the McNamara brothers’ case.

For the last week, I have been reading the transcripts of People vs. Clarence Darrow, which were digitized by the Los Angeles County Law Library and are available from the University of Minnesota’s Law Library. WARNING: The transcripts consist of 90 PDF files in a 400-megabyte portfolio, so downloading them will put a load on your computer and printing them out could take days and consume 8,000 sheets of paper. But if you are patient, you will be rewarded. Reading the transcripts is like being in court and hearing the long speeches and nearly continuous objections of Darrow’s defense team of Earl Rogers and Horace Appel, two brilliant attorneys whose lives disintegrated like powerful engines that were run too hard for too long. Rogers is known today through a few books, and Appel is completely forgotten, so the transcripts provide a record of their speeches and examples of their courtroom tactics. And then there are the random outbursts:    The prosecution generally comes off well in the transcripts and Dist. Atty. John D. Fredericks – referred to as Capt. Fredericks because of his rank in the California National Guard  -- and Deputy Dist. Atty. W. Joseph Ford seem to be well-matched to Rogers and Appel. The major tactical mistake, based on my reading to date, is that Fredericks brought in too many witnesses in an attempt to show Darrow’s unrelenting determination to win the case -- by bribery and coercion if necessary. The defense won and Darrow was found not guilty – but if even half of the testimony is true, it paints a damning portrait of one of America’s legal heroes as a ruthless, corrupt man.    The transcripts are also a window on the past in countless ways. Much of the action focuses on a ranch outside El Monte, with a barn and a water tower. People ride streetcars and go into saloons with swinging doors. The courtroom is small, crowded and hot, so the judge moves the trial into a bigger courtroom in the Hall of Records. The transcripts fill three boxes, so they aren’t easy reading – but there are many treasures to be discovered. Thanks and a tip of the hat to John Aloysius Farrell for reminding me that the transcripts are  online. I stumbled across the University of Minnesota Law Library’s Clarence Darrow website early in my research and it had slipped my mind.