By Khalida Sarwari
Almost 100 years after it happened, a terrorist attack that took place in San Francisco on July 22, 1916, remains a mystery. However, local author and historian John Ralston reveals the events that led up to and transpired that day in his nonfiction book on the subject. He’ll discuss them at an event at the Saratoga Foothill Club on Jan. 8.
Ralston’s book, titled “Fremont Older and the 1916 San Francisco Bombing: A Tireless Crusade for Justice,” was published in November 2013 and recounts the “Preparedness Day Bombing” that occurred during World War I. During a parade held in San Francisco in anticipation of the U.S.’s entry into the war, a suitcase bomb detonated, killing 10 and wounding 40–to this day considered one of the worst such attacks in that city’s history.
Two labor leaders, Thomas Mooney and Warren Billings, were convicted in separate trials and sentenced to be hanged, but were later found innocent. In his book, Ralston makes the case that it was the efforts of Fremont Older, a local newspaper editor, that resulted in one defendant’s pardon and the other’s parole–but only after both men had been imprisoned for 23 years. He argues that Older campaigned for their release after discovering that the case was based on blatant perjury.
“He didn’t live to see that happen, but it’s almost certain one of them would have been hanged had he not started the campaign,” said Ralston. Mooney was pardoned in 1939, while Billings was released under parole that year and finally pardoned in 1961.
The case has been touted as a major disgrace in American jurisprudence, Ralston said.
“It’s a major issue in the history of civil liberties and basically court procedures. The phrase ‘due process of law’ is really illustrated by this,” he said.
So who did it? Nearly a century later, that question remains unanswered, although speculation abounds. One theory is that it was a German agent who deposited a bomb accidentally. Some believe that it was a group of Latin Americans who were resentful of the U.S.
While writing the book, Ralston said he discovered that a street clock, which he said is a crucial piece of evidence that proves Mooney and Billings’ innocence, is now kept in Vallejo. He did a segment with the clock for a Travel Channel program called “Monumental Mysteries.” That segment has yet to air.
From all accounts, it appears that this was the first major terrorist attack in San Francisco, said Ralston. “I can’t think of another one like this in San Francisco–nothing as conspicuous as this,” he said.
Ralston is a third-generation San Franciscan, who in addition to this book has written “This Date in San Francisco: 366 Days in the History of Our Fascinating Beloved City.” He said he was approached about giving the lecture on Fremont Older by the Saratoga Historical Foundation’s Annette Stransky in February after he gave a talk in Cupertino. Older and his wife were residents of Cupertino in the early 1900s. Ralston is working on a full-scale biography of Older.
Ralston will appear at the Saratoga Foothill Club on Jan. 8 for a lecture presented by the Saratoga Historical Foundation. The event takes place at 7:30 p.m. and is free for SHF members and $5 for the general public. Copies of his book will be sold and will be autographed by him.
Link: Local author to discuss 1916 San Francisco terrorist bombing
