Wesley Everest
Encyclopedia
Wesley Everest was a member of the Industrial Workers of the World
(IWW) and a World War I
veteran. He was lynched during the Centralia Massacre
after killing Ben Cassagranda and Earl Watts and wounding others in what the union called self-defense.
After serving in World War I, Everest worked in Centralia, Washington
as a lumberjack
. He also was a member of the Industrial Workers of the World. During the celebration of Armistice Day
in 1919, members of the American Legion
attacked the IWW Union Hall, although it is debated who initiated the incident. The result was a fight that resulted in deaths of four men, two of whom were killed by Everest.
It was said that Everest uttered the words, "I fought for democracy in France
and I'm going to fight for it here. The first man that comes in this hall, why, he's going to get it."
Everest was arrested and held in jail. During the evening of November 11, Everest was turned over to the lynch mob by jail guards, had his teeth smashed with a rifle butt, was castrated, lynched three times in three separate locations, and then his corpse was riddled with bullets before it was disposed of in an unmarked grave.The official coroner's report listed the victim's cause of death as suicide. No one was charged for the crime.
Wesley Everest (1890 in Newberg, Oregon - November 11, 1919 in Centralia, Washington) was a member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). He was lynched during the Centralia Tragedy after killing American Legionnaire Dale Hubbard during an Armistice Day parade.
Everest was drafted into the army in November 1917 and was a member of the Spruce Production Division in Vancouver, Washington, which supplied timber for building airplanes, railroad cars, and other vital wartime equipment. Everest spent much of his time in the Vancouver stockade for refusing to salute the American flag. Contrary to virtually all published accounts, Everest never served in France and was never sent overseas.
After the war ended, Everest worked in Centralia, Washington as a lumberjack. During the celebration of Armistice Day in 1919, members of the American Legion attacked the IWW union hall. The American Legion claimed that they were fired upon before they attacked the hall. The IWW claimed that the Legion attacked before they fired. It seems likely that some IWW members fired upon the parade believing that their hall was under attack. In the ensuing confusion, four Legionaires were killed and others were wounded. As a result of the shootings seven IWW members were sentenced to prison terms of 25-40 years. The last prisoner was released in 1939.
After firing from inside the IWW hall, Everest ran out the back door and was pursued by a mob. He killed Dale Hubbard before he was overpowered, beaten, and dragged to the town's jail. That night a mob entered the jail without resistance, seized Everest and lynched him on the Chehalis River bridge outside town. His body was later returned to the jail.
Numerous accounts have repeated the myth that Everest was castrated while on the way to being lynched. Six months after the lynching this myth reached a broad audience with the publication of IWW member Ralph Chaplin's book The Centralia Conspiracy." Chaplin was not in Centralia at the time and he admitted later that his account was not objective.
Nearly every book since then that has repeated this myth has used Chaplin as its source.
A careful review of the historical record strongly suggests that castration never took place. The first published account of castration appeared over four months after the fact. The IWW members who saw Everest's body in the jail after the lynching said nothing about mutilation in interviews with the press at the time. The coroner's jury, which examined the body on November 13 was likewise silent. The IWW defense lawyers said nothing about castration during the three month trial when it might have done some good for the defense. Those who placed his body in the coffin said nothing about castration. A 1930 objective account of the Centralia case, published by the Council of Churches, concluded that the castration story "has not been clearly established."
One significant piece of evidence makes a strong case to discredit the castration story. After Everest's body was returned to the jail following his lynching, a man (presumably a police officer) examined his body and filed a police report dated November 12th. The report includes a set of fingerprints and a description of the body, including the color of his eyes and hair. It estimates Everest's height and weight. Then it notes: "No scars that could be located on the body outside where rope cut neck hole that looked like bullet hole Prints taken in the Jail at Centralia, Wash. room very dark to see any thing on the body in line [of] scars: rope was still around the neck of the man."
If the police officer was looking for scars and could see the color of Everest's eyes and hair, he could hardly miss evidence of castration. Another myth about Everest is that his body was riddled with bullets while dangling on the bridge. The police report described only one bullet hole.
No one was ever charged with the crime of Everest's lynching, although those attending the lynching were well known to townsfolk in Centralia.
Laying to rest the myth about Everest's castration and his war record does not change the fact that he was a hardworking IWW organizer who was hanged by a mob. Nor does it weaken the view of most historians that the IWW suffered a terrible injustice in the aftermath of the Centralia shootings. The truth about the Centralia tragedy need not be embellished to make a point about injustice. Wesley Everest's death need not be sensationalized to insure his place in labor movement history.
Source: Wesley Everest, IWW Martyr, Pacific Northwest Quarterly, October 1986, pages 122-129 by Tom Copeland
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World is an international union. At its peak in 1923, the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. Its membership declined dramatically after a 1924 split brought on by internal conflict...
(IWW) and a World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
veteran. He was lynched during the Centralia Massacre
Centralia Massacre (Washington)
The Centralia Massacre was a violent and bloody incident that occurred in Centralia, Washington on November 11, 1919, during a parade celebrating the first anniversary of Armistice Day...
after killing Ben Cassagranda and Earl Watts and wounding others in what the union called self-defense.
After serving in World War I, Everest worked in Centralia, Washington
Centralia, Washington
Centralia is a city in Lewis County, Washington, United States. The population was 16,336 at the 2010 census.-History:In pioneer days, Centralia was the halfway stopover point for stagecoaches operating between the Columbia River and Seattle. In 1850, J. G. Cochran came from Missouri with his...
as a lumberjack
Lumberjack
A lumberjack is a worker in the logging industry who performs the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to a bygone era when hand tools were used in harvesting trees principally from virgin forest...
. He also was a member of the Industrial Workers of the World. During the celebration of Armistice Day
Armistice Day
Armistice Day is on 11 November and commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front of World War I, which took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning—the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day...
in 1919, members of the American Legion
American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
attacked the IWW Union Hall, although it is debated who initiated the incident. The result was a fight that resulted in deaths of four men, two of whom were killed by Everest.
It was said that Everest uttered the words, "I fought for democracy in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and I'm going to fight for it here. The first man that comes in this hall, why, he's going to get it."
Everest was arrested and held in jail. During the evening of November 11, Everest was turned over to the lynch mob by jail guards, had his teeth smashed with a rifle butt, was castrated, lynched three times in three separate locations, and then his corpse was riddled with bullets before it was disposed of in an unmarked grave.The official coroner's report listed the victim's cause of death as suicide. No one was charged for the crime.
Wesley Everest (1890 in Newberg, Oregon - November 11, 1919 in Centralia, Washington) was a member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). He was lynched during the Centralia Tragedy after killing American Legionnaire Dale Hubbard during an Armistice Day parade.
Everest was drafted into the army in November 1917 and was a member of the Spruce Production Division in Vancouver, Washington, which supplied timber for building airplanes, railroad cars, and other vital wartime equipment. Everest spent much of his time in the Vancouver stockade for refusing to salute the American flag. Contrary to virtually all published accounts, Everest never served in France and was never sent overseas.
After the war ended, Everest worked in Centralia, Washington as a lumberjack. During the celebration of Armistice Day in 1919, members of the American Legion attacked the IWW union hall. The American Legion claimed that they were fired upon before they attacked the hall. The IWW claimed that the Legion attacked before they fired. It seems likely that some IWW members fired upon the parade believing that their hall was under attack. In the ensuing confusion, four Legionaires were killed and others were wounded. As a result of the shootings seven IWW members were sentenced to prison terms of 25-40 years. The last prisoner was released in 1939.
After firing from inside the IWW hall, Everest ran out the back door and was pursued by a mob. He killed Dale Hubbard before he was overpowered, beaten, and dragged to the town's jail. That night a mob entered the jail without resistance, seized Everest and lynched him on the Chehalis River bridge outside town. His body was later returned to the jail.
Numerous accounts have repeated the myth that Everest was castrated while on the way to being lynched. Six months after the lynching this myth reached a broad audience with the publication of IWW member Ralph Chaplin's book The Centralia Conspiracy." Chaplin was not in Centralia at the time and he admitted later that his account was not objective.
Nearly every book since then that has repeated this myth has used Chaplin as its source.
A careful review of the historical record strongly suggests that castration never took place. The first published account of castration appeared over four months after the fact. The IWW members who saw Everest's body in the jail after the lynching said nothing about mutilation in interviews with the press at the time. The coroner's jury, which examined the body on November 13 was likewise silent. The IWW defense lawyers said nothing about castration during the three month trial when it might have done some good for the defense. Those who placed his body in the coffin said nothing about castration. A 1930 objective account of the Centralia case, published by the Council of Churches, concluded that the castration story "has not been clearly established."
One significant piece of evidence makes a strong case to discredit the castration story. After Everest's body was returned to the jail following his lynching, a man (presumably a police officer) examined his body and filed a police report dated November 12th. The report includes a set of fingerprints and a description of the body, including the color of his eyes and hair. It estimates Everest's height and weight. Then it notes: "No scars that could be located on the body outside where rope cut neck hole that looked like bullet hole Prints taken in the Jail at Centralia, Wash. room very dark to see any thing on the body in line [of] scars: rope was still around the neck of the man."
If the police officer was looking for scars and could see the color of Everest's eyes and hair, he could hardly miss evidence of castration. Another myth about Everest is that his body was riddled with bullets while dangling on the bridge. The police report described only one bullet hole.
No one was ever charged with the crime of Everest's lynching, although those attending the lynching were well known to townsfolk in Centralia.
Laying to rest the myth about Everest's castration and his war record does not change the fact that he was a hardworking IWW organizer who was hanged by a mob. Nor does it weaken the view of most historians that the IWW suffered a terrible injustice in the aftermath of the Centralia shootings. The truth about the Centralia tragedy need not be embellished to make a point about injustice. Wesley Everest's death need not be sensationalized to insure his place in labor movement history.
Source: Wesley Everest, IWW Martyr, Pacific Northwest Quarterly, October 1986, pages 122-129 by Tom Copeland