Opening scene shows some some people gathered near pieces of debris on the sidewalk outside the Roderick Hotel and a 1-cent to 1 dollar store in Centralia, Washington. This is in the wake of the Armistice Day riot in that city that took place in that city, on November 11, 1919. It involved clashes between members of the The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) union and members of the American Legion. A man steps out of a shattered and empty store front on the street. The Washington National Guard was called up by Governor Hart to restore order. Company F of the 3rd Infantry, was sent to Centralia by train on the evening of the 11th from Fort Lewis in Tacoma, Washington. Soldiers of that Company are seen assembling and receiving orders from their officer in Centralia. Next, the soldiers begin marching as guards, on the street in front of the local police station. Some pedestrians watch from a sidewalk. A group of local people crowd together to watch something of interest in a building
Washington State National Guard troops maintain order in Centralia, Washington, following Armistice Day deaths involving the Industrial Workers of the World union (I.W.W.). Soldiers, armed with rifles, patrol a roadway, as cars pass. Armed soldier moves several men from street to sidewalk. Contingent of soldiers march to police station, where they stop and fix bayonets to their rifles. A soldier posted in a vacant lot outside the Centralia jail where 37 anarchists are being held pending trial following the Centralia Massacre. A derelict wagon sits in the lot and a dog sniffs about. A group of men gathers outside building where slate states: " I.W.W.s maintained headquarters and from which they opened murderous fire that resulted in death of four ex-soldiers." (The headquarters was attacked by members of the American Legion during the Armistice Day parade.) Slate states: "Members of the American Legion demolished the headquarters of the anarchists and destroyed their seditious literature." Several men are seen rummaging through papers strewn about in front of the building beside the Roderick Hotel. A final slate quotes statement by Representative Johnson, Chairman of the U.S. Immigration Committee: "The Country must be purged of seditionists and revolutionists, and if this means war, the quicker it is declared the better."