This telegram comes from William “Big Bill” Haywood’s inmate case file from Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas. He sent it to the Mexican Delegates at the Pan American Congress congratulating them on their stand for solidarity.
Haywood was the leader of the Western Federation of Miners and a founding member and leader of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), commonly referred to as the “Wobblies.” He assembled unionists, and intimidated company bosses for improved labor conditions. He was convicted of obstruction of military service and sedition under the Espionage Act of 1917 and sentenced to 20 years in federal prison.
Also included in Haywood’s inmate file are his “mug shot”; “record sheet”; “rap” sheet of arrests, convictions, and incarceration; commitment order; fingerprints; Bertillon measurements (an anthropometric identification system); record of items received; and other documents. See the entire file in the National Archives online catalog.
