The 'Razor Slasher'

On Christmas night, 1936, Pierce Power, a young worker from the southside of St. John's, slashed Newfoundland Constabulary constable Michael Walsh. He used an open-blade razor. The razor split the officer's tongue. It gashed the corners of his mouth. It sliced open both cheeks. Power also slashed Walsh in the throat. He cut him once more on the top of his left wrist, close to a main artery. The Constabulary officer's neck was cut on the left side a quarter of an inch deep. The razor had just missed his jugular vein.

The Evening Telegram called it "a dastardly assault... one of the most savage attacks ever made on a policeman in St. John's." Power was charged with three counts of wounding. A special jury was called. The trial was heard by the Supreme Court from January 22 to 24. The courtroom was full. Spectators spilled out onto the courthouse steps and into the street. It was not a simple case. The police said Power attacked for no reason. The defense said the police caused the attack.

This was not a chance meeting. Constable Michael Walsh and Pierce Power knew each other very well. They lived on the same street. The 27-year-old worker had been "targeted for arrest and harassment" by the constabulary since 1934.1 The "Razor Slasher," as Power was called by The Evening Telegram, had been brutally beaten by police in the past.

It all began in August 1934 when Pierce Power joined a St. John's labor group called the Unemployed Committee. Its aim was to protest the condition of the poor and unemployed in the city. It also demanded changes to the hated dole (social welfare). The Unemployed Committee became the only labour group to oppose the government of the day.2

Power was a passionate speaker and a natural leader. He was a working man, and people trusted him. He was quickly voted in as committee chairman.

Power began making speeches to the unemployed men and women of St. John's. He organized protests against the government. For this he was said to be a dangerous man by the police and by the government. They called him an agitator.3 They watched his every move.

1 Andrew Mooney, former constabulary officer. Taken from the notes of Mike Power, great nephew of Pierce Power.
2 The Commission of Government had wide support in Newfoundland in the mid 1930s. Many people believed allowing Britain to take over the government was the only way to save Newfoundland from poverty and bankruptcy. Merchants supported the Commission of Government’s economic plans. One of the commission’s main policies was to get rid of Newfoundland’s debts—a policy businessmen continue to support today. Unions and other groups of poor and needy people wanted changes to their living and working conditions. But they hoped to get what they needed by co-operating with the commission, not by opposing it.
3 An agitator is someone who stirs up trouble about political issues—someone who gets people upset with government policy and encourages people to protest.