The Lynching of Frank Little

The Lynching of Frank Little. . In June of 1917 a strike broke out in the aftermath of the deadly Speculator Mine disaster where 164 lives were lost. Frank Little, one of the "toughest, most courageous and impulsive" leaders of the Industrial Workers of the World came to Butte to support the strike and draw miners into the organization. The Industrial Workers of the World, an industrial union, was committed to the overthrow of the capitalist system by a working-class revolution. Little's speeches against the Anaconda Company, the draft and World War I were supported by many Butte miners but engendered fear among Company executives and others. Although the Company and local officials pushed for Little's arrest for "treasonable utterances," U.S. district attorney Burton K. Wheeler found insufficient evidence to indict. Early on the morning of August 1, six masked men entered Little's boarding house at 320 North Wyoming Street. They forced him, still in his underwear, to the waiting car outside. A short distance away, they tied Little to the back of the car and dragged him outside of town. He was severely beaten and hung from a railroad trestle. Pinned to his body was the message, "Others take notice, first and last warning," followed by the Montana Vigilante ultimatum, "3-7-77," Little was buried in Mountain View Cemetery with 6800 in the funeral possession, the largest in Butte's history. His tombstone reads, "Slain by the capitalist interests for organizing and inspiring his fellow men." No one was ever charged with the crime.