100 years ago: Troops establish presence as Wobblies descend on St. Maries

About 52 Fort George Wright soldiers and 55 Idaho Home Guard soldiers arrived in St. Maries to keep order in the aftermath of the previous day’s Wobbly riot in which the Benewah County sheriff was knocked down and beaten.

More Wobblies also arrived by train, which heightened the tension. There were now 400 Industrial Workers of the World members in St. Maries. The Spokane Daily Chronicle reported that the Wobblies put out a call for more members to converge on St. Maries and “it is feared that every boat and train will bring more disturbers.”

Ironically, a number of Wobblies were also attempting to leave on the same trains – presumably those who might be facing charges in the previous day’s rioting – and authorities refused to let them enter the trains.

‘“Every avenue of escape from the city is guarded,” according to authorities.

Those authorities were still trying to decide what to do with those Wobblies. “It is suggested that they be turned over to the military,” said the paper.

Meanwhile, Wobbly official W.W. Nelson, the cause of the riot, had been moved from the jail in St. Maries to the jail in Coeur d’Alene. The riot occurred when a crowd of Wobblies was told that Nelson’s trial was being moved to Coeur d’Alene, upon which they attempted unsuccessfully to break him out of the St. Maries jail.

Tensions were high all over North Idaho. Other Wobblies were in jail awaiting trial in both Moscow and Sandpoint, and officials of both cities feared trouble when those trials got underway. The farmers of Latah County “have been asked to supply the Moscow Home Guard with arms.”