Archives West Finding Aid
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Ray Becker papers, 1919-1970
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Becker, Ray
- Title
- Ray Becker papers
- Dates
- 1919-1970 (inclusive)19191970
- Quantity
- .90 cubic feet, (2 document boxes)
- Collection Number
- Mss 2003
- Summary
- Papers collected by Julia Ruuttila pertaining to efforts to secure the release from prison of Ray Becker, who was involved in the "Centralia Massacre" of 1919. Includes: correspondence with Becker, papers of the Centralia Publicity Committee and the Free Ray Becker Committee, and newspaper and other published articles. Some photographs included.
- Repository
-
Oregon Historical Society Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR
97205
Telephone: 503-306-5240
Fax: 503-219-2040
libreference@ohs.org - Access Restrictions
-
The collection is open to the public.
- Languages
- English.
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Rayfield Becker, a member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) in the Pacific northwest, was born Ralph Burgdorf in New Orleans, around 1895, and grew up near Chicago. In 1919 the authorities imprisoned him for his part in the so-called "Centralia Massacre." This incident took place in Centralia, Washington, on Armistace Day of that year and involved the death of four American Legionnaires and one IWW man during a gunfight at the local IWW headquarters. Some witnesses said the veterans had attacked the building and that the IWW men had acted in self-defense. However, contemporary public opinion favored the veterans, and a jury convicted eight IWW members -- including Becker -- of murder in the case. After their conviction, sympathetic citizens -- including many church groups and the Communist Party -- began to campaign for the release of the men. By the mid-1930s, all the original convicts except Ray Becker had died or had been paroled, and around 1936 his supporters formed the Free Ray Becker Committee. A prominent member of the committee was political activist Julia Ruuttila (formerly Julia Godman), who had taken an interest in Becker's case in the early 1920s. Becker remained in Walla Walla State Prison until 1939, when Washington Governor Clarence Martin commuted his sentence. Becker then went to New York City, but he later returned to Portland, Oregon and operated a leather goods store in Vancouver, Washington. He lived until 1950, when he died while working in the yard near his home on SW Arnold Street in Portland.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The collection includes papers collected by Julia Ruuttila pertaining to efforts to secure Ray Becker's release from prison. Papers include correspondence with Becker, papers of the Centralia Publicity Committee and the Free Ray Becker Committee, newspaper and other published articles, and information on the Industrial Workers of the World. The collection also includes some photographs.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
The Oregon Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library prior to any use of reproductions. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use of reproductions may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright holders.
Preferred Citation
Ray Becker papers, Mss 2003, Oregon Historical Society Research Library
Alternative Forms Available
The collection is also available on two reels of microfilm, designated Mss 2003 Microfilm.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into four series:
- Series A: Letters from Becker to Julia Ruuttila, 1923-1940
- Series B: Centralia Publicity Committee records, 1919-1952
- Series C: Free Ray Becker Committe records, circa 1920-1939
- Series D: Newspaper clippings, articles, and minutes, 1936-1970
Custodial History
The materials were collected by Julia Ruuttila, who stored them in her home in the Vanport housing project in Portland, Oregon. When floods destroyed Vanport in 1948, a large quantity of the Ray Becker materials perished. The papers that Ruuttila salvaged she eventually donated to the Oregon Historical Society, shortly after she had given her own personal papers.
Acquisition Information
Library accession number 11785.
Related Materials
The Oregon Historical Society Research Library also holds the papers of Julia Ruuttila, designated Mss 250.
More photographs of Ray Becker are included in the Oregon Historical Society Research Library's subject photograph file BEB-BECZ.
Bibliography
Mark F. Peterson. Fight for Vindication: Ray Becker and the Centralia Case . Class paper, Portland State University, 1978. (Oregon Historical Society Research Library, 331.886 P485fri)
Tom Copeland. The Centralia tragedy of 1919: Elmer Smith and the Wobblies . Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1993 (Oregon Historical Society Research Library, 331.886 C782c).
Dennis Phillip Brown. The Centralia massacre [sound recording]. Portland, Oregon: KBOO (Oregon Historical Society Research Library, SR 2207).
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
Series A: Letters from Ray Becker to Julia Ruuttila, 1923-1940Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
1/1 | 1923-1926 | |
1/2 | 1930 February 12 | |
1/3 | 1935 | |
1/4 | 1936 | |
1/5 |
Possibly written in 1919?
|
1936 |
1/6 |
Fragment.
|
1936 |
1/7 | 1937 | |
1/8 | 1938-1939 | |
1/9 | 1939-1940 | |
1/10 | undated |
Series B: Centralia Publicity Committee records, 1919-1952Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
1/11 | Affidavits (general) secured by Centralia Defense
Committee |
1921-1940 |
1/12 | Affidavits |
1922-1924 |
1/13 | Affidavits |
1947 |
1/14 | Bulletin |
1927-1928 |
1/15 | The Centralia Case, Elizabeth Attridge |
1929 |
1/16 | The Centralia Case, Edward P. Coll |
undated |
1/17 | Correspondence of James Cummings |
1925 |
1/18 | Correspondence of Olympia Trades Council |
1928 June |
1/19 | Correspondence between Becker and Elmer
Smith |
1923-1933 |
1/20 | Correspondence between Elmer Smith and Edward
Coll |
1929 |
1/21 | Correspondence from Elmer Smith |
1929-1930 |
1/22 | Correspondence from VFW, Kelso |
1929 April 25 |
1/23 | Centralia Chronicle lists |
1919 |
1/24 | Disbarment of Elmer Smith |
1925 |
1/25 | Exhibits |
1919-1939 |
1/26 | General information |
1919-1920, undated |
1/27 | Longshoremen and Warehousemen International Union:
LWIU (ILWU) meeting minutes
Includes a page from meeting minutes of United Mine Workers
of America, undated
|
1924 |
1/28 | Lynch suspects
List of men suspected of involvement with the lynching of
one of the IWW men shortly after the Centralia incident in 1919.
|
1936 |
1/29 | Notes and notebook of Elmer Smith |
undated |
1/30 | Notes from Ruuttila trips to Washington |
undated |
1/31 | Notes, miscellaneous |
undated |
1/32-33 | Pamphlets and leaflets |
circa 1925-1952 |
1/34 | Petitions to Governor Hart |
1922-1924 |
1/35 | Petitions to Governor Hartley |
1922-1929 |
1/36 | Petition with exhibit |
circa 1924 |
1/37 | Petitions: Businessmen who signed petitions for
release |
undated |
1/38 | Witnesses at Montesano |
undated |
Series C: Free Ray Becker Committee (FRBC), circa 1920-1939Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
2/1 | Affidavits: Mrs. McAllister and P. N. Crinion
|
1924-1936 |
2/2 | Affidavit: William McKenzie
Includes Schmidt telegram, 1939
|
1937 |
2/3 | Affidavit: Clyde Tisdale |
1939 |
2/4 | Affidavits of jurors |
circa 1937 |
2/5 | Affidavits secured by the FRBC |
1936 |
2/6 | Affidavits secured by Roy Hewitt |
1937-1939 |
2/7 | Affidavits secured by Clifford O'Brien |
1936-1937 |
2/8 | Affidavits of jurors secured by Elmer
Smith |
1922-1930 |
2/9 | Articles by Julia Godman Ruuttila |
circa 1936 |
2/10 | The Centralia Case |
undated |
2/11 | Correspondence: Irvin Goodman |
1936 |
2/12 | Correspondence: Clifford O'Brien |
1937 |
2/13 | Correspondence: Herman Stuyvelaar |
1937 |
2/14 | Correspondence: Robertson Trowbridge |
1936 |
2/15 | Correspondence: Miscellaneous
Includes correspondence to Will Lanning
|
1937-1939 |
2/16 | Financial ledger |
1936-1937 |
2/17 | Industrial Union Council, Portland,
minutes |
1939 |
2/18 | Newspaper clippings |
1939 |
2/19-2/20 | Newspaper printing plates
One printing plate of a photograph and one of a drawing
called "Stain of the Ray Becker Infamy."
|
undated |
2/21 | Photographs
Photographs of Ray Becker, Henry Minor Esterly, Irvin
Goodman, George Hayes, Ralph Peoples, Julia Ruuttia, and S. S. Stevens.
|
circa 1920-1939 |
2/22 | Strategy plan and draft resolution |
undated |
Series D: Newspaper clippings, articles, minutes, 1936-1970Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
2/23 | Contemporary newspaper clippings
The Timber Worker and the Daily People's World.
|
1936-1948 |
2/24 | Ray Becker newspaper obituaries |
1950 |
2/25 | "The Freeing of Ray Becker" article by Albert
Gunns |
1967 |
2/26 | Correspondence regarding Albert Gunns
article |
1936-1970 |
2/27 | Proceedings of the First General Convention of the
Federation of the Woodworking Industry |
1936 |
2/28 | Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) Convention
minutes |
1936 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Centralia Massacre, Centralia, Wash., 1919.
- Riots--Washington (State)--Centralia--History.
- Trials (Murder)--Washington (State)
- Trials (Riots)--Washington (State)
Personal Names
- Attridge, Elizabeth
- Becker, Ray.
- Goodman, Irvin, 1897-1958.
- Smith, Elmer.
Corporate Names
- Centralia Publicity Committee.
- Free Ray Becker Committee.
- Industrial Workers of the World.
Geographical Names
- Centralia (Wash.)--History.
Form or Genre Terms
- Ledgers (account books)
- Letters (Correspondence)
- Photographs.
Other Creators
-
Personal Names
- Ruuttila, Julia, 1907-1991. (creator)