Notes on the Trial of William (Billy) Davis

By Allen C. Mattson, J.D.

"Notes on the Trial of William (Billy) Davis" dives deep into the actualities of a labor union strike and company lockout at two small steel moulding plants in rural Indiana during 1924-25. Following an explosion at a hotel housing strike breakers, 50 union and nonunion men were charged with conspiracy to possess and set a bomb. This book focuses on the true, well-documented facts leading up to the explosion and its aftermath.

Specifically, it recounts the trial of Welsh immigrant, William (Billy) Davis, his conviction and sentence for the offenses, and the subsequent Indiana Supreme Court Opinion, which uncovered perjury by the State's key witness, misconduct by the Union, and prosecutorial misconduct by the State, resulting in insufficient evidence to support the conviction.

The book also identifies the actual people involved in the Union and the trial based on the documented evidence, offering an authentic portrayal of a significant labor union strike and its subsequent trial. This work serves as an invaluable resource for anyone interested in labor law history, criminal justice, or simply intrigued by real-life dramas.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Oct 16, 2023
• ISBN: 9798350908268

Book preview

BK90078874.jpg

©2023 Allen C. Mattson

These notes are for personal use only and not for publication by anyone other than the author except by express written permission.

ISBN (Print Edition): 979-8-35090-825-1

ISBN (eBook Edition): 979-8-35090-826-8

Allen C. Mattson, J.D.

[e-mail]

Contents

Foreword

Chapter 1 Some Background

Chapter 2 The Principals

Chapter 3 Technically

Chapter 4 The Strike

Chapter 5 Glenn Ayres Secy

Chapter 6 Some Witnesses

Chapter 7 Eye Witnesses

Chapter 8 The Bottom Line

Foreword

I grew up in Montpelier, Indiana and lived just down the street, about a block, from my Grandfather, William (Billy) Davis. He was born in Wales and lived with his father in Converse, Indiana for several years before coming to Montpelier in his late teens, as far as I can calculate. While I knew him and spent some time with him, I was very young and he never talked about these events with me.

My mother, Jayne D. Mattson (the artist), and my aunts, Grace Wright and Margaret Walker, his children, were so young when the incident occurred they said they couldn’t remember much about it.

Therefore, if I wanted to know what happened, I would have to dig it out myself. The results of my search revealed only the following: 1) Appellant’s Appeal Brief and selected transcript of testimony of certain witnesses in 467 pages, 2) Indiana Supreme Court Opinion in Davis v. State, 200 Ind. 88 (1928); 161 N.E. 375, and 3) various newspaper accounts (mostly inaccurate) that have been found. Frankly, most of the personal accounts I have heard have been pretty much inaccurate and slanted based on either Anti-Union or Pro-Union leanings.

The result is the following text. I hope it answers as many questions as possible and clears up as much confusion as possible.

Allen Mattson

Chapter 1

Some Background

There seems to be some interest in the labor dispute¹ and other events of 1923-24 in Montpelier, Indiana, including the explosion on January 9, 1924, at the Columbia Hotel which was blamed on the Union. Since my grandfather, William (Billy) Davis was the Union member which was singled out and held to trial for the explosion, I have collected information concerning those events. The following is taken directly from the supreme court opinion² which reversed the conviction of my grandfather:

"There were two companies with manufacturing plants that included foundries in the city of Montpelier which had the same officers and managers, both employing moulders³ and coremakers who belonged to an organization called the Moulders’ Union. All of the moulders, coremakers, and apprentices employed at one foundry quit work [on November 26, 1923], and two days later [November 28] those employed at the other foundry were paid off and discharged. Appellant [my grandfather] was a moulder who belonged to the Union, and had been in charge of a department at the latter foundry up to the time the men working there (including appellant) were discharged."

Columbia Hotel Bomb Scene, Montpelier, Indiana

Indiana Historical Society

William Davis was Foreman of the crucible department at the latter foundry which was the National Steel Castings Co. and according to witness Harry Messamore when Mr. Ayres came through and ordered the men home at 9 o’clock, he (William Davis) turned around to the boys and says ‘boys we have our foot in it, we will have to get out of it.’ Mr. Messamore also remarked that William Davis also said check out boys and go home.

About a week later, the companies brought in strike breakers and housed them at the Columbia Hotel. The Hotel was located in downtown Montpelier, immediately north of a common park area on the north west corner of the intersection of Main and Huntington streets facing Main Street, an improved brick street, which runs north and south. On January 9, 1924 at approximately 1:30 a.m. there was a great explosion at the Columbia Hotel.

The two companies were the National Steel Castings Company with 105 to 125 men employed in early November, 1923, with about 20 some moulders, about eight or nine core makers, and about three or four apprentice moulders and one apprentice core maker. The National Steel Castings Company was situated just outside the southeast limits of the city of Montpelier; and the Montpelier Manufacturing company was located just outside the southwest limits of Montpelier. It employed about 85 men.⁴ The Montpelier Manufacturing Company made steel castings and oil field supplies and