Was Joe betrayed?


I saw this movie in 1972 and I'm certain that at a meeting of his comrades after Joe's arrest, there is an agreement to the effect that Joe is to be sacrificed... I remember one of the guys saying something like: "Joe will be more valuable to the movement dead than alive." I've done a quick search for any mention of this on the web with nil results. Can anyone offer any details on this issue? Was this meeting in the movie based on real evidence, or an invention by the scriptwriter in an attempt to discredit the union movement"?

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The meeting is probably invented for the film.
What we know is that Joe Hill was shot and could not explain how; he had a gun, and could not explain were it had gone; his friend ran out of town, and Joe Hill could not explain why or to where.
Like the Che Guevara t-shirt says, and it goes for Joe Hill aswell: Killers arent cool!

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It was invented for the film, and is an unwarranted slander, given that his friends were engaged in international campaigning to try to save him.

I recommend William Adler's book, The Man Who Never Died for some up to date research on the case.
http://www.themanwhoneverdied.com

Joe seems to have been shot by his friend Otto Appelquist over a girl called Hilda Erickson. He wouldn't let her testify and was determined to protect her reputation even at the cost of his own life. The IWW was willing to do all it could to save him, but Joe said the union shouldn't risk bankrupting itself for one man. He nevertheless maintained his innocence to the end. My suspicion also is (from the way he looks in his photographs) that his chronic tuberculosis was returning and that he decided that if death was inevitable, it might at least have some point: he was horribly emaciated by the time of his death and had "a chest cold he couldn't shake off".

The Morrisons' real killer was probably Magnus Olson, aka Frank Z Wilson, a Norwegian of generally similar appearance, a known violent criminal recently released from prison, who was questioned but not detained. He went on to work for Al Capone.

Seingner Conrat, tot per vostr'amor chan
http://www.silverwhistle.co.uk/knightlife

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Thanks silverwhistle for your interesting post - I'll get a hold of Adler's book.

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Thanks! I really didn't like this film: it made Joe look like a wimp and a pawn. He was a remarkably courageous young man. There's a very good (subtitled) Swedish documentary about him online:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Oi4zt1rMsE&feature=share&list= LP5U51EB3ZD1M

There's a photograph that was taken of him after execution, showing the bullet wounds. What's more horrific is the fact you can count every rib and his face is – well, just skin stretched tight over bone. I suspect he must have known he was dying of TB, and chose a quicker death to some purpose, rather than keep fighting his case while dying slowly and painfully.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3494/3777853131_7fde6b9384_z.jpg?zz=1

Seingner Conrat, tot per vostr'amor chan
http://www.silverwhistle.co.uk/knightlife

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