The ship spent about a month in port before it was allowed to leave and was not seen again in the Seattle area. There was a lot of fear of the Bolsheviks because it was known that they had been hoping for a revolution in the Western world in order to support Russia by pooling resources. Although there was never any concrete evidence connecting the Shilka to the labor parties of Seattle, there was enough to show that the labor parties at the least had the support of Bolshevik Russia. Another passenger that arrived with the ship was arrested for taking part in labor talks with one of the unions in the area. This article proved to be false as the search of the vessel by local law enforcement turned up nothing of significance. A first-hand account of a sailor aboard the ship claimed that there was no evidence found on board because the only contentious material was some flyers in a briefcase that were carried off of the ship upon its arrival. ship being held that contained over a hundred thousand dollars to help I.W.W. Many believed that its arrival signified a Bolshevik connection with the labor unrest in Seattle. A lot of rumors came about because of this ship's arrival. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer ran a front-page article about an I.W.W. Attorney in Seattle was tipped off by an "informant" that the ship was coming and it was going to "aid the enemy." The enemy at this time would have been the labor parties threatening a strike. The ship had been damaged and thrown off course in a storm and limped its way into the port almost out of fuel, food and fresh water. The arrival of the Russian steamship Shilka in Seattle on Decemadded to the thought of Bolshevik involvement. In the fall of 1919, for instance, Seattle longshoremen refused to load arms destined for the anti-Bolshevik White Army in Russia and attacked those who attempted to load them. At the time, workers in the United States, particularly in the Pacific Northwest, were becoming increasingly radicalized, with many in the rank and file supportive of the recent revolution in Russia and working toward a similar revolution in the United States. There was a 400 percent increase in union membership from 1915 to 1918. In these years, more workers in the city were organized in unions than ever before. Some commentators blamed the strike on Bolsheviks and other radicals inspired by "un-American" ideologies, making it the first expression of the anti- left sentiment that characterized the Red Scare of 19. From 1915 to 1918, Seattle had seen a big increase in union membership, and some union leaders were inspired by the Russian Revolution of 1917. The strike's demand for higher wages came within months of the end of World War I, the original justification for the wage controls. Local, state and federal government officials, the press, and much of the public viewed the strike as a radical attempt to subvert American institutions. The national offices of the AFL unions were opposed to the shutdown. Most other local unions joined the walk-out, including members of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). The goal was to support shipyard workers in several unions who were locked out of their jobs when they tried to strike for higher wages. The Seattle General Strike was a five-day general work stoppage by 65,000 workers in the city of Seattle, Washington from February 6 to 11, 1919.
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