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.
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 4
Buchanan, Joseph Ray, 1851-
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 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
oversize Oversize, folder 1 A-3 A
oversize Oversize, folder 4 B
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 29
O'Connell, Charles Carroll
1878
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
Ctn. 2, folder 1-29
History of Labor
1896-1906
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
oversize Oversize, folder 8 A
LABOR NEWSPAPERS, 1882-1929
1908 Nov. 7; Dec. 5, 12, 19
1911 Jan. 20, 27; Feb. 10, 17, 24; March 3; April 7
1907 July 17; Aug. 7, 17; Sept. 11; Oct. 30
1894 June 13; July 10, 17; Aug. 15, 29; Sept. 12, 19; Oct. 25; Nov. 21
1896 May 9, 16; June 13, 29
