Missoula in Missoula County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)

Free Speech Corner

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, May 11, 2018

1. Free Speech Corner Marker

Inscription. In autumn 1909, Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) organizers Elizabeth Gurley Flynn and Jack Jones arrived in Missoula, soon followed by there comrade Frank Little. After renting space for a union hall, they took to the streets, determined to spread "the glad tidings of a great revolutionary union" to Missoula's working class. From this corner, they demanded union hiring halls for timber workers while preaching the destruction of capitalism, worker control of production and workplace-centered democracy. On September 28, 1909, the police arrested Little and Jones for violating Missoula's long-ignored ban of public speaking. Flynn immediately put out a call for additional speakers. Her goal was to fill the Missoula jail and cost the city so much money and trouble that it would agree to allow the IWW to continue organizing. During the next week, over seventy IWW speakers were arrested, including the pregnant Flynn. On October 8, faced with overflowing jails, increasing expenses, and a growing public relations nightmare, the city council capitulated. The IWW had secured its right to speak, a lasting victory for the First Amendment.

Erected by Montana Historical Society.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Civil Rights

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• Labor Unions • Women. In addition, it is included in the Montana National Register Sign Program series list. A significant historical date for this entry is September 28, 1909.

Location. 46° 52.218′ N, 113° 59.73′ W. Marker is in Missoula, Montana, in Missoula County. It can be reached from the intersection of North Higgins Avenue and West Front Street, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 111 North Higgins Avenue, Missoula MT 59802, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Western Montana

and in Glacier Country.

It is also in the American Mountain West

and in the Lewis & Clark Corridor.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Rocky Mountains,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once Rupert’s Land

and also the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Headquarters Building and Daily Company Annex (within shouting distance of this marker); BPOE Lodge #383 (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Danger Ahead! (about 600 feet away); Name That River (about 600 feet away); A Shortcut (about 600 feet away); Northwest Passage (about 600 feet away); Studebaker Building (about 600 feet away); Gleim Building II (about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Missoula.

Also see . . .
1. Elizabeth Gurley Flynn -- Spartacus Educational. Converted by her parents to socialism, she was only 16 when she gave her first speech, What Socialism Will
Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, May 11, 2018

2. Free Speech Corner Marker
Do for Women , at the Socialist Club in Harlem. As a result of her political activities, Flynn was expelled from high school. (Submitted on September 16, 2018, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.)

2. Frank Little -- Spartacus Educational. Little joined the Industrial Workers of the World in 1906 and took part in the free speech campaigns in Missoula, Fresno and Spokane and was involved in organizing lumberjacks, metal miners and oil field workers into trade unions... In the summer of 1917, Little was helping organize workers in the metal mines of Montana. This included leading a strike of miners working for the Anaconda Company. In the early hours of 1st August, 1917, six masked men broke into Little's hotel room in Butte. He was beaten up, tied by the rope to a car, and dragged out of town, where he was lynched.

(Submitted on September 16, 2018, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.)

Elizabeth Gurley Flynn image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Unknown

3. Elizabeth Gurley Flynn

Frank Little image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Unknown

4. Frank Little

Copper Trust to the Press: "It's all right, pal; just tell them he was a traitor." Solidarity (11th image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Solidarity

5. Copper Trust to the Press: "It's all right, pal; just tell them he was a traitor." Solidarity (11th

Solidarity (11th August, 1917)

Credits. This page was last revised on September 16, 2018. It was originally submitted on September 16, 2018, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 822 times since then and 35 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on September 16, 2018, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.