The
Pinkerton Labor Spy
by
Morris Friedman

CHAPTER VII.

THE CRIPPLE CREEK STRIKE.

The greatest grievance that capital ever had against labor has been that labor sometimes commits acts of intimidation and violence in the effort to win a strike. Possibly capital, at different times, has had just grounds for complaints of this nature, and has been entitled to the protection of the State.

The Cripple Creek strike presents a picture of a different nature, and a close inspection discloses that the characters have changed roles. It is labor which is being crushed in the name of "law and order" by the State Government and a number of other powerful factors in direct violation of the fundamental laws of the United States and the State of Colorado. The laws of the state and the land were impudently trampled upon for two years by the men who had sworn to uphold them, in order to exterminate the Miners' Federation.

Within a month after the inauguration of the general strike in the Cripple Creek district, Governor Peabody was requested by the Mine Owners' Association to send the militia into the district.

At this time everything was quiet and peaceful in the gold camp, and far from violence being threatened, the Federation had effected an amicable settlement with James F. Burns, president of the Portland Gold Mining Company, with the result that over 500 men returned to work. Mr. Burns, it should be explained, was not, and is not now a member of the Mine Owners' Association, and has always been friendly to the Western Federation and other labor unions.

It is more than probable that the call for troops was a direct result of the Federation's settlement with Mr. Burns, as the mine owners knew that the 500 men at work would be heavily assessed for the support of their striking brothers, and the revenue from this source together with the moneys subscribed by organized labor the country over, not to speak of the funds in the Federation treasury, would enable the miners to hold out indefinitely.

Fearful of the consequences of an indefinitely continued struggle, the Mine Owners, as stated before, demanded of Governor Peabody that he send the militia into the camp in order to create disturbances by acts of violence against the strikers. They offered to furnish the money for the maintenance of the troops, receiving from the State, however, interest-bearing warrants for all moneys so furnished.

The Governor gravely replied that he realized the crying necessity for the militia in Cripple Creek, but that he considered it necessary to send a commission into the camp to investigate and report upon the conditions. The governor then ordered a few regiments of the militia to prepare for active service in the field, arranged for special trains with one of the railroad companies, and when everything was ready for the troops to leave on an instant's notice, His Excellency appointed the following persons as his commission of investigation: Attorney-General N. C7. Miller, Brigadier General John Chase, of the State Militia, and Lieutenant T. E. McClelland, an officer of the militia, and also a lawyer.

The way this military commission performed its duty puts us in mind of a court martial in an absolute monarchy where the sovereign instructs the judges, even before the commencement of the trial, to pass sentence of death; and while the accused is being taken before the tribunal, men are already digging his grave.

The commission arrived in Victor at 9.15 P. M., Sept. 3, 1903. Mayor French, of Victor, and a few members of the Mine Owners' Association met them at the depot and escorted them to a private consultation room in the rear of the bank of Victor, where they remained in session until 11.00 P. M. The commission then boarded an electric car and rode to Cripple Creek. On arrival they proceeded to the National Hotel where Sheriff Robertson of Teller County awaited them.

For two hours, between 12.30 and 2.30 A. M., Sheriff Robertson and the commission were in conference. The sheriff solemnly assured the commission that there was no quieter district in the United States than Teller County; that the strikers were orderly and peaceful; that no violence, excepting here and there a little street fight, had occurred; that there was not the least danger of riots or destruction of property; that he, the sheriff, had the situation well in hand, and that the state troops were not needed in the county.

About three hours later the commission left for Denver. Before boarding the train they wired the governor that a reign of terror existed in the district, and that they did not believe the civil authorities were able to cope with the situation.

Mayor French, of Victor, acting under instructions of the Mine Owners' Association, wired the governor along the same lines.

The commission arrived in Denver at 11.00 o'clock A. M., Sept. 4th, and one-half hour later 1,200 men and officers were under orders to move on Cripple Creek. At 4.15 P. M. the first special train carrying troops left the city, followed by a second special that night.

In less than twenty-four hours after their appointment the commission was back in Denver, and troops were on the way to Cripple Creek. No real investigation had been made; the labor side of the question had not been heard at all. But then, is not the word of a mine magnate worth more than the word of a representative of labor? And is not the demand of a smelter manager of more weight than the solemn assurances of the sheriff of a county?

The gross misrepresentation of facts which served as a pretext for sending the State troops into the district will prepare the reader for a recital of some of the lawless acts committed by the military, and in addition will serve as a warning to people against permitting high offices of State to be occupied by men who have only the interests of the great corporations at heart, and who, in their abject worship of the golden calf, forget their manhood and their sacred honor.

The governor repeatedly assured the people that he had simply sent the troops into the Cripple Creek district to assist the civil officers in maintaining the peace, and that he had not and would not proclaim martial law. But while he was making these statements to the press, his lieutenants in the field, by and with his authority and consent, were guilty of excesses that would beggar the doings of a Russian military dictator.

A few days after the military arrived, C. G. Kennison, president of Miners' Union No. 40, was arrested without a warrant and placed in solitary confinement in a military guard house, commonly styled a bull pen; and a day or two later Sherman Parker, president of District Union No. 1 of the Federation, along with three other union men, was treated in a like manner.

None of these men was permitted to consult counsel. The military officers insolently refused to give any reasons for the incarceration. The attorneys for the Federation then instituted habeas corpus proceedings before District Judge W. P. Seeds, of Teller County; but pending the hearing which was set for Sept. 21st, General Bell issued a proclamation, wherein he stated that among other articles of war he intended to enforce the following:

ARTICLE 45: Whosoever relieves the enemy with money, victuals or ammunition, or knowingly harbors or protects an enemy, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as a Court Martial may direct.

ARTICLE 46: Whosoever holds correspondence with or gives intelligence to the enemy either directly or indirectly shall suffer death, or such other punishment as a Court Martial may direct.

While General Bell did not have the hardihood to enforce his proclamation to the letter, it served the purpose of the Mine Owners' Association.

In the first place, why did General Bell issue this proclamation? And in the second place, who was the enemy he had reference to? We will answer the second question first. The only enemy General Bell could possibly mean was the Western Federation of Miners; and the reason he published the proclamation was, to outlaw the Federation by designating it as an enemy of the Commonwealth.

However, those against whom the proclamation was especially directed were the 500 Federation miners employed on the Portland mine. These men, loyal to their comrades, contributed heavily to the support of the strikers. But if this proclamation were enforced, the management of the Portland mine could be arrested for giving employment to members of the Federation who were up in rebellion against the State of Colorado. Under Article 45, James F. Burns, president of the Portland Mine, and his associates in the management could be sentenced to death. But as the court martial could order any other punishment it saw fit, it would instead merely close down the mine, and put a military guard at the property.

In this way over 500 men who had helped to support the strikers would themselves be rendered destitute and forced to ask aid of the Federation. It was hoped the Federation could not stand this additional drain and would thus be forced to give up the struggle.

But everything was so quiet in the gold camp that even the reckless General Bell did not immediately dare to carry out this outrageous plan.

Chapter VIII. The Cripple Creek Strike (Continued).