Warren Knox Billings (July 4, 1893 – September 4, 1972) was a labor leader and political activist, who was convicted with Thomas Mooney of the San Francisco Preparedness Day Bombing of 1916. It is believed that the two were wrongly convicted of a crime they did not commit. Billings served 23 years in prison before being released in 1939 and finally being pardoned in 1961 by governor Edmund G. Brown.
Billings was born in Middletown, New York on July 4, 1893. His mother was of German ancestry and his father, William Billings, was born in Massachusetts. William Billings died in 1895, he left his wife and nine children without financial backing. Warren Billings moved in with his older sister whose husband would make Warren work until exhaustion, Warren would protest against the unfair treatment. After graduating in 1908 from public school, he went off and worked at a variety of jobs. In 1911 he was convicted and given a suspended sentence for possession of burglar's tools.[1]
Suspected dynamiteredit
In March 1913, Billings went to an employment agency for work. He was told there was an opening for a shoe liner at a shoe company that was on strike. He replied that he was no strikebreaker. This is when he was approached by a man outside the employment office who showed him a red card of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). He was invited to be a spy for IWW and accepted.[2] He would work in the factory to figure out how many shoes they were making. In this organization he met Thomas Mooney, who became his trusted advisor.
Billings was convicted and imprisoned for one year on a charge of possession of dynamite for the Pacific Gas & Electric strike in 1913. He was found with 60 sticks of dynamite, but testified that he was just ordered to bring a suitcase to a location but had no idea what was in it.[3]
His association with Mooney, who was a well known socialist and militant, strengthened the prosecution’s connection between Billings and the Preparedness Day bombing, which took place on July 22, 1916 in San Francisco. The bomb exploded at Steuart and Market Street, killing ten and wounding forty.[4] In the days leading up to the bombing, detective Swanson offered reward money to Billings in exchange for evidence that would convict Thomas Mooney, but Billings then let Mooney know about the plots against him.[5] The bombing took place during the height of anarchist violence in the United States by the Galleanistanarcho-communist movement of Luigi Galleani.
Trialedit
Billings was arrested along with Thomas Mooney and his wife Rena and a driver named Israel Weinberg. The trials of both Warren and Mooney were being followed extensively and it is alleged that the witnesses were coached by detective Swanson and by the prosecutors, D.A. Charles Fickert and deputy D.A. Eddie Cunha. Billings and Mooney were convicted and were sentenced to be hanged. Shortly after the socialist party tried to expel Mooney and Billings. There was world wide outrage and US President Woodrow Wilson got involved and asked California Governor William Stephens to step in and reduce their sentence to life imprisonment, or at least stay the impending execution. Later, in 1926 a Committee for Pardon was organized for him.[1]
In prisonedit
In 1918, Billings and Mooney’s sentence was changed to life imprisonment. Billings was active in prison as an assistant foreman in the prison shoe factory. He studied law and Latin. His studies in law would allow him to assist lawyers after his release. He also was in constant contact with a woman named Josephine Rudolph. He later married her in 1940. Mooney was let out of prison first and was pardoned. There were tensions between Mooney and Billings over money for Billings' pardon committee.
Release and later yearsedit
Mooney was released earlier than Billings, but in 1939 the Supreme Court, voted to free Billings without a pardon. He had served twenty three years, two months and twenty days in prison.[6] He went on to become chairman of Northern California Citizens Committee to Free Earl Browder in 1941. He was the chairman of the Vern Smith Defense Committee from 1947 to 1949. In 1955 he was a delegate at the AFL-CIO convention.[1] Finally, in 1961 Governor Edmund G. Brown pardoned him. He also owned a watch repair shop and died in Redwood City California on September 4, 1972.
See alsoedit
Arthur E. Briggs, Los Angeles City Council member, 1939–41, supported Mooney pardon which led to Billings pardon
^ abc"Warren K. Billings papers, 1899-1973". LOC Manuscript Division. The Library of Congress.
^Gentry, Curt (1967). Frame-up: The Incredible Case of Tom Mooney and Warren Billings. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. p. 52. OCLC 231139.
^Gentry, Curt (1967). Frame-up: The Incredible Case of Tom Mooney and Warren Billings. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. p. 57. OCLC 231139.
^"U.S. At War: Death of Tom Mooney". Time. Vol. 39, no. 11. March 16, 1942.
^Gentry, Curt (1967). Frame-up: The Incredible Case of Tom Mooney and Warren Billings. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. p. 78. OCLC 231139.
^Gentry, Curt (1967). Frame-up: The Incredible Case of Tom Mooney and Warren Billings. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. p. 430. OCLC 231139.
Further readingedit
ACLU, The Story of Mooney and Billings. 2016-06-26 at the Wayback Machine New York: American Civil Liberties Union, 1928.
Cockran, William Bourke (1917). (PDF). Chicago: Chicago Federation of Labor. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-04-04. Retrieved 2017-12-09.
Minor, Robert (1917). The Frame-up System: Story of So-called Bomb Trials in San Francisco. San Francisco: International Workers' Defense League. hdl:2027/uc1.31175035184137.
People v. Billings - Crime No. 667 - 34 Cal. App. 549 [Pacific Reporter]. Vol. 168. West Publishing Co. September 6, 1917. pp. 396–402 – via HathiTrust Digital Library.
Federal Commission Condemns Frame-Up. San Francisco: International Workers' Defense League. 1918. hdl:2027/uc1.31175035182883.
Mooney, Thomas J.; Billings, Warren K.; Chafee Jr., Zechariah; Pollak, Walter H.; Stern, Carl S. (1932). The Mooney-Billings report: Suppressed by the Wickersham Commission. New York: Gotham House. pp. 1–243. OCLC 808312546.
Johnson, Jeffrey A. (August 24, 2017). The 1916 Preparedness Day Bombing: Anarchy and Terrorism in Progressive Era America. Routledge. pp. 1–198. ISBN978-1317204008.
warren, billings, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, november,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Warren Billings news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message Warren Knox Billings July 4 1893 September 4 1972 was a labor leader and political activist who was convicted with Thomas Mooney of the San Francisco Preparedness Day Bombing of 1916 It is believed that the two were wrongly convicted of a crime they did not commit Billings served 23 years in prison before being released in 1939 and finally being pardoned in 1961 by governor Edmund G Brown Warren K BillingsBornWarren Knox Billings 1893 07 04 July 4 1893Middletown New YorkDiedSeptember 4 1972 1972 09 04 aged 79 Redwood City CaliforniaOccupationsLabor LeaderPolitical ActivistWatchmakerKnown for1916 Preparedness Day BombingCriminal status1939 Release1961 PardonSpouseJosephine RudolphParentWilliam BillingsCriminal chargeDetonation of explosivePlanting homemade bombPenaltyCapital punishmentPartner s Rena HermannIsrael WeinbergEdward NolanThomas MooneyDetailsVictims50DateJuly 22 1916CountryUSAState s CaliforniaLocation s San FranciscoTarget s Public paradeKilled10Injured40WeaponsHomemade bombDate apprehendedJuly 26 1916Imprisoned atFolsom State Prison Contents 1 Biography 1 1 Early life 1 2 Suspected dynamiter 1 3 Trial 1 4 In prison 1 5 Release and later years 2 See also 3 References 4 Further readingBiography editEarly life edit Billings was born in Middletown New York on July 4 1893 His mother was of German ancestry and his father William Billings was born in Massachusetts William Billings died in 1895 he left his wife and nine children without financial backing Warren Billings moved in with his older sister whose husband would make Warren work until exhaustion Warren would protest against the unfair treatment After graduating in 1908 from public school he went off and worked at a variety of jobs In 1911 he was convicted and given a suspended sentence for possession of burglar s tools 1 Suspected dynamiter edit In March 1913 Billings went to an employment agency for work He was told there was an opening for a shoe liner at a shoe company that was on strike He replied that he was no strikebreaker This is when he was approached by a man outside the employment office who showed him a red card of the Industrial Workers of the World IWW He was invited to be a spy for IWW and accepted 2 He would work in the factory to figure out how many shoes they were making In this organization he met Thomas Mooney who became his trusted advisor Billings was convicted and imprisoned for one year on a charge of possession of dynamite for the Pacific Gas amp Electric strike in 1913 He was found with 60 sticks of dynamite but testified that he was just ordered to bring a suitcase to a location but had no idea what was in it 3 His association with Mooney who was a well known socialist and militant strengthened the prosecution s connection between Billings and the Preparedness Day bombing which took place on July 22 1916 in San Francisco The bomb exploded at Steuart and Market Street killing ten and wounding forty 4 In the days leading up to the bombing detective Swanson offered reward money to Billings in exchange for evidence that would convict Thomas Mooney but Billings then let Mooney know about the plots against him 5 The bombing took place during the height of anarchist violence in the United States by the Galleanist anarcho communist movement of Luigi Galleani Trial edit Billings was arrested along with Thomas Mooney and his wife Rena and a driver named Israel Weinberg The trials of both Warren and Mooney were being followed extensively and it is alleged that the witnesses were coached by detective Swanson and by the prosecutors D A Charles Fickert and deputy D A Eddie Cunha Billings and Mooney were convicted and were sentenced to be hanged Shortly after the socialist party tried to expel Mooney and Billings There was world wide outrage and US President Woodrow Wilson got involved and asked California Governor William Stephens to step in and reduce their sentence to life imprisonment or at least stay the impending execution Later in 1926 a Committee for Pardon was organized for him 1 In prison edit In 1918 Billings and Mooney s sentence was changed to life imprisonment Billings was active in prison as an assistant foreman in the prison shoe factory He studied law and Latin His studies in law would allow him to assist lawyers after his release He also was in constant contact with a woman named Josephine Rudolph He later married her in 1940 Mooney was let out of prison first and was pardoned There were tensions between Mooney and Billings over money for Billings pardon committee Release and later years edit Mooney was released earlier than Billings but in 1939 the Supreme Court voted to free Billings without a pardon He had served twenty three years two months and twenty days in prison 6 He went on to become chairman of Northern California Citizens Committee to Free Earl Browder in 1941 He was the chairman of the Vern Smith Defense Committee from 1947 to 1949 In 1955 he was a delegate at the AFL CIO convention 1 Finally in 1961 Governor Edmund G Brown pardoned him He also owned a watch repair shop and died in Redwood City California on September 4 1972 See also editArthur E Briggs Los Angeles City Council member 1939 41 supported Mooney pardon which led to Billings pardon California courts of appeal Charles Fickert Communists in the United States Labor Movement 1919 37 Dreyfus affair Fremont Older Labor spying in the United States Labor unions in the United States Union violence in the United States Wickersham CommissionReferences edit a b c Warren K Billings papers 1899 1973 LOC Manuscript Division The Library of Congress Gentry Curt 1967 Frame up The Incredible Case of Tom Mooney and Warren Billings New York W W Norton amp Company p 52 OCLC 231139 Gentry Curt 1967 Frame up The Incredible Case of Tom Mooney and Warren Billings New York W W Norton amp Company p 57 OCLC 231139 U S At War Death of Tom Mooney Time Vol 39 no 11 March 16 1942 Gentry Curt 1967 Frame up The Incredible Case of Tom Mooney and Warren Billings New York W W Norton amp Company p 78 OCLC 231139 Gentry Curt 1967 Frame up The Incredible Case of Tom Mooney and Warren Billings New York W W Norton amp Company p 430 OCLC 231139 Further reading editACLU The Story of Mooney and Billings Archived 2016 06 26 at the Wayback Machine New York American Civil Liberties Union 1928 Cockran William Bourke 1917 A Heinous Plot An Expose of the Frame up System in the San Francisco Bomb Cases Against Billings Mooney Mrs Mooney Weinberg and Nolan PDF Chicago Chicago Federation of Labor Archived from the original PDF on 2018 04 04 Retrieved 2017 12 09 Minor Robert 1917 The Frame up System Story of So called Bomb Trials in San Francisco San Francisco International Workers Defense League hdl 2027 uc1 31175035184137 People v Billings Crime No 667 34 Cal App 549 Pacific Reporter Vol 168 West Publishing Co September 6 1917 pp 396 402 via HathiTrust Digital Library Federal Commission Condemns Frame Up San Francisco International Workers Defense League 1918 hdl 2027 uc1 31175035182883 Mooney Thomas J Billings Warren K Chafee Jr Zechariah Pollak Walter H Stern Carl S 1932 The Mooney Billings report Suppressed by the Wickersham Commission New York Gotham House pp 1 243 OCLC 808312546 Simkin John September 1997 Mooney Billings Case Spartacus Educational Simkin John September 1997 Warren Billings Spartacus Educational Johnson Jeffrey A August 24 2017 The 1916 Preparedness Day Bombing Anarchy and Terrorism in Progressive Era America Routledge pp 1 198 ISBN 978 1317204008 1916 Preparedness Day Parade Bombing 1916 1933 Photographs California Digital Library Bancroft Library Warren K Billings Portraits 1929 1962 San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection San Francisco Public Library Allan Teichroew and David Mathisen Warren K Billings Papers PDF nbsp This article incorporates text from this source which is in the public domain Portals nbsp Anarchism nbsp Law nbsp Organized labour nbsp San Francisco Bay Area Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Warren Billings amp oldid 1173558694, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
