Guide to the Ira Cross: California labor notes, 1815-1960

Processed by Linda Jordan and Terence Padden
The Bancroft Library.
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California, 94720-6000
Phone: (510) 642-6481
Fax: (510) 642-7589
Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu
URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu
© 1998
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Note

Social Sciences --Business and Economics History --History, California --History, Bay Area Engineering and Technology --Building Construction

Guide to the Ira Cross: California Labor Notes, 1815-1960

Collection number: BANC MSS C-R 12

The Bancroft Library



University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley, California

Contact Information:

Processed by:
Linda Jordan and Terence Padden
Date Completed:
September 1997
Encoded by:
Xiuzhi Zhou
© 1998 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Collection Summary

Collection Title: Ira Cross: California Labor Notes,
Date (inclusive): 1815-1960
Collection Number: BANC MSS C-R 12
Creator: Cross, Ira B. (Ira Brown), b. 1880
Extent: Number of containers: 5 cartons, 3 boxes, 8 oversize folders Linear feet: 8
Repository: The Bancroft Library.
Berkeley, California 94720-6000
Physical Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Abstract: Consists of notes and research materials which were gathered by Ira B. Cross and his research assistants primarily for his book, History of the labor movement in California. Contains the original typescript from 1909-1932, including manuscript corrections, illustrations, and all footnotes as they were written by Cross, only a fraction of which were retained in the published edition.

Research notes contain correspondence, including exchanges with various labor organizers and their families, most notably Astaroth and Burnette Haskell, Frank Roney, and Paul Scharrenberg, along with fan mail and critical analyses of the book by Cross' colleagues. Also contains biographical sketches, including testimonies, clippings, and interviews taken by Cross or his assistants.

Research notes on the history of labor include sections with references to San Francisco, Los Angeles, and the U.S. Commission on Migratory Labor, as well as sections on the Building Trades Council of San Francisco, The Federated Trades Council of San Francisco, and the Maritime Trades Council of San Francisco. A card file of newspaper citations arranged by subject and scattered issues of labor newspapers (on microfilm) and clippings includes a variety of California publications and materials from several western states and Canada.
Languages Represented: English

Information for Researchers

Access

Collection is open for research.

Publication Rights

Copyright has not been assigned to The Bancroft Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Bancroft Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Ira Cross: California labor notes, BANC MSS C-R 12, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

Related Collecti ons

  • Title: Haskell family papers, 1878-1951
    Identifier/Call Number: (BANC MSS C-B 364)
  • Title: International Workmen's Association records
    Identifier/Call Number: (BANC MSS C-A 306)
  • Title: Knights of Labor records
    Identifier/Call Number: (BANC MSS C-A 305)
  • Title: Frank Roney papers, 1870-1925
    Identifier/Call Number: (BANC MSS C-B 366)
  • Title: Paul Scharrenberg papers, 1893-1960
    Identifier/Call Number: (BANC MSS C-B 906)

Material Cataloged Separately

  • Printed materials, mainly constitutions of labor unions, have been transferred to the book collection of The Bancroft Library.
  • Photographs have been transferred to Pictorial Collections of The Bancroft Library.

Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

Ira Cross, California Labor Notes, 1815-1960, were given to The Bancroft Library by Ira B. Cross in 1933, with additions made from 1951 to 1953. The manuscript of his book, History of the Labor Movement in California, was given to The Bancroft Library by Paul Schuster Taylor in 1962.

Funding

Funding for processing provided in part by a Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA), Title III: Networking, Preservation and Statewide Resource-sharing grant 1994-1996.

Biography

Ira B. Cross was born December 1, 1880, in Decatur, Illinois, the son of a working man. Due to the influence of a high school teacher, he decided to go to college, and earned his own way through the University of Wisconsin. He graduated with honors in economics, receiving his A.B. in 1905, and completing his M.A. in the same field in 1906. While he was a student there, he joined the Socialist Party and served as assistant secretary of the National Convention of the Socialist Party in Chicago in 1904.
In 1906, Cross went to Stanford as an instructor in economics while working for his Ph.D., which he received in 1909. His thesis, History of the Labor Movement in California, was enlarged and published by the University of California Press in 1935. While still an instructor at Stanford, Cross became Secretary of the California Industrial Accident Commission and was a special agent for the United States Immigration Commission during 1914-1915.
In spite of his reputation for radical views, Professor Cross was called to the University of California by Benjamin Ide Wheeler in 1914 and taught there until his retirement in 1951. He helped start the Berkeley Police School which has produced a model police force, famous throughout the country. Professor Cross taught courses in labor management during World War I and was also involved in arbitration and strike-settling activities. He was chairman of the Department of Economics during 1919-1920 and 1923-1924.
Ira B. Cross served as vice-president of the American Economic Association in 1925-1926, president of the Pacific Coast Economic Association in 1928, and member of the board of regents of the American Institute of Banking from 1935 to 1960. The University of Wisconsin gave him the LL.D. degree in 1951, and in 1957, he received the LL.D. from the University of California. In 1964, The Ira B. Cross Room was dedicated in Barrows Hall at the University of California, Berkeley.

Scope and Content

California Labor Notes consists of notes and research materials dating from 1815 to 1960, which were gathered by Ira B. Cross and his research assistants to complete his book, A History of the Labor Movement in California. Also includes the original typescript from 1909-1932, including handwritten corrections, illustrations, and all footnotes as they were written by Cross; the published edition retained only a fraction of the original notations and illustrations.
Research notes contain correspondence, including exchanges with various labor organizers and their families, most notably Astaroth and Burnette Haskell, Frank Roney, and Paul Scharrenberg, along with fan mail and critical analyses of the book by colleagues. Also contains biographical sketches, comprised of a variety of sources, including testimonies, clippings, and interviews taken by Cross or his assistants.
Research notes focusing on the history of labor include sections with references to San Francisco, Los Angeles, and the U.S. Commission on Migratory Labor, as well as sections dedicated to the Building Trades Council of San Francisco, The Federated Trades Council of San Francisco, and the Maritime Trades Council of San Francisco.
Finally, the card file is rich with newspaper citations, arranged by subject, while clippings and labor newspapers (on microfilm) include a variety of California publications and material from several western states and Canada.

Box 1

SERIES 1: HISTORY OF THE LABOR MOVEMENT IN CALIFORNIA, 1909-1932.

Scope and Content Note

Divided into two sub-series: Manuscript and Illustrations. Contains the original typescript, with manuscript corrections, including all footnotes --many of which were omitted from the original published edition. Also includes illustrations not found in the final version.
 

MANUSCRIPT, 1909-1932

Box 1, folder 1-3

Manuscript 1932

 

ILLUSTRATIONS, 1909-1932

Box 1, folder 4-6

Photos and Illustrations 1932

Boxes 2-3; Cartons 1-5, Oversize folders 1-8

SERIES 2: RESEARCH MATERIALS, 1815-1932.

Scope and Content Note

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically or chronologically, as appropriate.
Divided into six sub-series: Correspondence, Biographical Sketches, Notes, Index, Clippings, and Labor Newspapers.
Correspondence and Biographical Sketches (arranged alphabetically by correspondent or subject) include exchanges with various labor organizers and their families, as well as fan mail and critical analyses of the book by colleagues of Cross. Biographical sketches are comprised of a variety of sources, including testimonies, clippings, and interviews done by Cross or his assistants.
Notes consist of research done by Cross and his research assistants, and includes interviews, observations, and journal citations. Research notes related to the history of labor (arranged chronologically) also include special sections dedicated to San Francisco, Los Angeles, and the U.S. Commission on Migratory Labor, which cover specific critical events rather than a complete history. Research notes dedicated to specific trades and unions are found under other sections on the Building Trades Council of San Francisco, the Federated Trades Council of San Francisco, and the Maritime Trades Council of San Francisco (all arranged alphabetically). Introductory material regarding each council in general precedes information about specific trades and their history. Federated trades are those that provide goods and services, such as bookbinders and the teamsters. The research notes include questionnaires, created by Cross to give details regarding the history of those trades in California, correspondence, newsletters, and rules of order; by-laws and handbooks are included when available.
A card file index, rich with newspaper citations, is arranged (alphabetically) by subject, while clippings are arranged chronologically. Labor Newspapers (arranged alphabetically by state, and then by title), are available on microfilm only and include a variety of California publications, as well as material from several western states and Canada.
 

CORRESPONDENCE, 1904-1960

Box 2, folder 1

Miscellaneous, A-Z 1907-49

folder 2

Barry, James H., 1856-1927 1933

folder 3

Browne, Carl 1908

folder 4

Buchanan, Joseph Ray, 1851- 1907

folder 5

Devereux, John P. 1907

folder 6

Ellison, Edward E. 1931-50

folder 7

French, William John, 1871-1947 1932

folder 8

Haskell, Astaroth Victor, 1886-1951 1928

folder 9

Haskell, Burnette G., 1857-1907 1907

folder 10

MacArthur, Walter, 1862-1944 1932-36

folder 11

Phillips, James K. 1904

folder 12

Pierce Rodolph Storage Company 1907

folder 13

Roney, Frank, 1841-1925 1907-24

folder 14

Scharrenberg, Paul, 1877 1932-60

folder 15

Thurman, Edward Wyatt 1931

 

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, 1856-1931

Box 2, folder 16

Barbour, Clitus 1878

folder 17

Barry, James H. 1856

folder 18

Browne, Carl 1907-09

oversize Oversize, folder 1 A-3 A

Browne, Carl 1907-09

oversize Oversize, folder 4 B

Browne, Carl 1907-09

Box 2, folder 19

Ewing, Calvin 1907

folder 20

Forsman, William T. n.d.

folder 21

French, Will J. 1925-30

folder 22

Fuhrman, Alfred 1914-31

folder 23

Haskell, Burnette G., 1857-1907 n.d.

folder 24

Heney, Francis J., 1859-1937 1907

folder 25

Kalloch, Isaac Smith, 1832-1890 1887

folder 26

Kenaday, Alexander M. 1868

folder 27

Kidney, James 1883

folder 28

Mullen, James W. 1931

folder 29

O'Connell, Charles Carroll 1878

folder 30

O'Neill, J. J. n.d.

folder 31

Phillips, James K. 1907

folder 32

Roney, Frank, 1841-1925 n.d.

folder 33

Winn, A. M., 1810-1883 n.d.

folder 34

Biographical Notes 1855-94

folder 35

Miscellaneous Clippings 1908-12

oversize Oversize, folder 5 A-7 A

Miscellaneous Clippings 1908-12

 

NOTES, 1815-1921

Ctn. 1, folder 1-47

History of Labor 1815-95

Ctn. 2, folder 1-29

History of Labor 1896-1906

Ctn. 3, folder 1-23

History of Labor 1907-16

 

History of Labor

folder 24-33

San Francisco 1895-1912

folder 34-36

Los Angeles 1898-1915

folder 37-40

U.S. Commission on Migratory Labor 1914-15

Ctn. 4, folder 1-29

Building Trades Council of San Francisco 1882-1921

folder 30-52

Federated Trades Council of San Francisco 1885-1915

folder 53-61

Maritime Trades Council of San Francisco 1880-1918

 

INDEX, 1901-1904

Box 3

Assaults 1901 July-Sept.

 

Boycotts 1901-04

 

Disputes 1903

 

Lockouts 1902-04

 

Strikes 1902-03

 

Unions 1902-04

 

CLIPPINGS, 1885-1932

Ctn. 5, folder 1-37

Clippings 1885-1932

oversize Oversize, folder 8 A

Clippings 1909

 

LABOR NEWSPAPERS, 1882-1929

reel Reel 1

California

 

Eureka

 

The Labor News

 

1908 Nov. 7; Dec. 5, 12, 19

 

The Citizen

 

1911 Jan. 20, 27; Feb. 10, 17, 24; March 3; April 7

 

1915 Feb. 12

 

1916 June 30

 

Times

 

1929 Oct. 1

 

Union Labor

 

1914 Dec. 31

 

1915 Jan. 7

 

Oakland

 

California Labor Journal

 

1907 June 13

 

Cooperative Journal

 

1906 Oct. 6

 

Industry

 

1898 July 22; Sept. 1

 

Sacramento

 

The Tribune

 

1907 April 2, 23

 

1908 June 16

 

1909 March 2; Aug. 3

 

San Francisco

 

Bulletin

 

1910 June 11

 

1914 March 14

 

Call

 

1889 Jan. 1

 

1910 Sept. 4

 

Chronicle

 

1889 Jan. 1

 

Daily Open Letter

 

1878 Jan. 18

 

Examiner

 

1925 Sept. 5

 

1926 Oct. 27

 

Industrial News

 

1898 Feb. 14

 

Labor Clarion

 

1908 Sept. 4; Dec. 18

 

1909 Jan. 15

 

1910 Sept. 2

 

1911 March 31; April 7

 

1912 March 1

 

1916 July 14, 21

 

Pacific Union Printer

 

1896 May, Aug.

 

Picket

 

1907 July 27

 

Socialist

 

1895 Nov. 16

 

Truth

 

1882 July 26

 

1884 March 15

 

1890 April 26

 

Union Picket

 

1907 July 17; Aug. 7, 17; Sept. 11; Oct. 30

 

Voice of Labor

 

1894 June 13; July 10, 17; Aug. 15, 29; Sept. 12, 19; Oct. 25; Nov. 21

 

1896 May 9, 16; June 13, 29

 

1897 Jan. 30

 

1899 Oct. 21

 

Voice of the Unemployed

 

1909 Feb. 25

 

West Coast Mail

 

1892 April 9; June 11

 

Colorado

 

Denver

 

Labor Enquirer

 

1885 Dec. 26

 

1886 March 6; May 1, 15

 

Washington

 

Edison, Skagit County

 

Industrial Freedom

 

1898 Aug. 20

 

Canada

 

London, Ontario

 

The Free Press

 

1886 July 10