This version was derived from Mooney-Billings Case.doc
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Provenance is unknown. The creator of the collection is assumed to be Leonard Craig; however, there is no documentation that these are Craig's papers.
Open for research without restrictions.
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Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date (if known); The Mooney-Billings Case Collection; MS 016; box number; folder number;
Thomas Mooney (1892-1942) was an active labor leader in several labor struggles that turned violent in California before 1916. He was convicted and jailed as a participant in the bomb killings at the San Francisco Preparedness Day Parade in 1916. Five persons including Mooney and Warren Billings were arrested for the crime but only Mooney and Billings were convicted. Mooney was sentenced to hang and Billings to life imprisonment. Mooney's case aroused international interest because of the widely held belief in his innocence and the confessions of perjured testimony at his trial. California Governor William D. Stephens, at the behest of President Woodrow Wilson, commuted Mooney's sentence to life imprisonment in November 1918.
Leonard Craig, who was associated with union organizations in San Francisco, attempted to aid Mooney during the trial and worked to free him from prison. Many other organizations and individuals sought unsuccessfully to obtain a new trial for Mooney. For 22 years, Mooney remained in San Quentin prison while successive Governors resisted appeals for a pardon. In January 1939, Governor Culbert L. Olson of California gave Mooney an unconditional pardon. Billings was not officially pardoned until 1961 although he was freed by commutation of sentence in October 1939.
This collection spans the years 1921-1938 and consists of correspondence, financial transactions, audit reports, resolutions, flyers, news releases, booklets, scrapbooks and newspaper articles.
The correspondence file contains copies of letters sent to Governor James Rolph of California from individuals, as well as labor unions, protesting Mooney's incarceration and demanding an unconditional pardon. It also contains flyers, newsletters, and a reprint of the front pages of
Folders 2-4 contain original letters of introduction for Leonard Craig, a member of the Molders Local 164 of San Francisco, who toured the country seeking funds and support for Thomas Mooney. Folders 4 and 5 contain small scrapbooks with original letters of introduction.
Folders 6-8 contain transcripts of newspaper articles from December 1931 to May 1932. Folder 9 contains original clippings from various press clipping services.
This collection also contains pamphlets published by groups and individuals who believed in Mooney and Billings' innocence. Most of the information in these publications recounts the perjured testimony and frame-up of Mooney and Billings and subsequent court decisions regarding the case.
Four original scrapbooks with newspaper articles are located in Oversized Box 1. Folders 21-27 contain copies of the articles, which contain news of Mooney's trial and efforts by labor unions and prominent individuals to pardon him.
Folders are arranged alphabetically.
The files are grouped into 3 series:
[The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.]