Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2020/Summer II/Section 07/Arthur Lee Emerson

Overview

Arthur Lee Emerson was interviewed by Covington Hall for the Federal Writers Project in December of 1938. Emerson was born in Tennessee and became known for leading various labor unions and strikes in Western Louisiana following the banking panic of 1907.

Biography

Early Life

Arthur Lee Emerson was born into an orphanage in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and the exact date of his birth is unknown. At the age of fourteen, Emerson was adopted by Dr. Parker who was described as a well-educated man who was tired of busy cities and hospitals. Dr. Parker took Emerson to live on Lookout Mountain where they kept each other company by educating each other on their common interest in social works. At the age of eighteen, Emerson led his first strike of Georgia strawberry pickers, which he won and earned the workers better wages and working conditions. Emerson himself, however, was discharged and blacklisted for leading the berry picker’s strike.

Working Years

Emerson continued to work jobs around his hometown before moving west and becoming a skilled woodworker and carpenter. When the panic of 1907[1] hit, lumber companies in Western Louisiana cut wages and increased working hours which caused spontaneous and unorganized strikes, until lumber companies began forcing workers to sign a yellow-oath contract promising that they would not join any unions. When Emerson heard about these contracts, he and a man named Jay Smith organized the Brotherhood of Timber Workers in 1910, which quickly grew in numbers. People of every profession and race followed Emerson and the union in what became known as the “Timber War”. On July 7, 1912, the Brotherhood organized a strike in Carson, Louisiana, that was broken up by allies of the timber corporation, referred to as the “Good Citizen League”. Emerson and the 800 men, women, and children that were accompanying him were forced to retreat to the Grabo road, where both groups were fired at. This riot resulted in Emerson and fifty-seven other farmers and timber workers being arrested and brought to trial. Emerson was unanimously found not guilty, and his acquittal freed all other indicted men. Following the acquittal, Emerson had a nervous collapse and returned home to Tennessee to study law. He then married and quickly became a major power in the labor movement of his county. In 1921, he underwent another stroke and suffered paralysis, which rendered him unable to act as either a lawyer or a labor organizer.

Later Years

Emerson spent the rest of his days in his home at Lookout Mountain with his wife, Christine, and his four children, Arthur Lee Jr., Ralph Waldo, Jewel, and Billy. The family faced turmoil during the Great Depression, and due to Emerson being partially immobile, he could not fight the increasing unrest as he had with the Brotherhood. It is unknown when Emerson died, but even in old age, Hall described him as a youthful spirit longed to fight for social justice even when his body was no longer strong enough to lead the Brotherhood.

Social Issues

Panic of 1907

On October 16, 1907, the United States suffered one of the greatest economic crises in US history, outdone only by the great depression. F. Augustus Heinze and Charles W. Morse were two amateur speculators who suffered great losses when they attempted to corner the stock of United Copper. The speculators attempted to purchase large shares of the United Copper stock in order to control the market price and sell shares back for a profit. This over speculation failed and investors lost great amounts of money, which caused them to withdraw their deposits from trusts and move their money to more reliable banks and initiated the Panic of 1907. Additionally, investors withdrew money from outside businesses due to the recession, which had long-lasting effects on workers and American citizens. While the New York Clearing House was able to ease some of these tensions by offering loans to national banks, runs were spreading to other trust companies on banks associated with Heinze and Morse such as the Knickerbocker trust. The Knickerbocker trust experienced one of the greatest runs when investors withdrew up to $8 million and the trust could no longer be sustained. The closing of the Knickerbocker trust initiated a wide-scale economic crisis and American citizens became critical of putting their money in banks and runs worsened. The crisis was only relieved when J.P. Morgan gave cash to stockbrokers in exchange for the support of national banks.

Labor Unions

Following the Panic of 1907, the Brotherhood of Timber Workers was founded by Arthur Lee Emerson and Jay Smith in 1910. The Brotherhood recruited hundreds of black and white members from Western Louisiana and Texas, which was uncommon for labor unions in the post-reconstruction south. The BTW attracted the attention of the Southern Lumber Operators Association, whose main priority was to prevent labor unions from forming on lumber camps. The SLOA shut down 11 lumber mills in an attempt to lock out workers of the BTW. The only way workers could get their jobs back was by signing a yellow-oath contract, promising not to join any labor unions. In 1912, the BTW joined the Industrial Workers of the World and began to organize strikes and riots. The Grabow Riot took place on July 7, 1912, and resulted in a shooting and the arrest of A.L. Emerson and over fifty other union men. The men went to trial and were eventually acquitted, but the expenses of the trial drained most of the resources from the Brotherhood. Resources were limited, and participation in the Brotherhood was dwindling. One final strike was held at a mill in Maryville, Louisiana, where the BTW was defeated by a group called the “good citizens league”, a group of faithful workers against the union efforts. The loss at Maryville marked the decline of Brotherhood, however, the efforts and the inclusion of the Brotherhood were unmatched at the time and showed the strength in opposing segregation.