The Labor History of the Cripple Creek District;
A Study in Industrial Evolution

by Benjamin McKie Rastall

pages 108-118

A State Of Insurrection And Rebellion

Governor Peabody held conferences during the latter part of November with officials and prominent members of the Cripple Creek Citizens Alliance, and the Mine Owners' Association, and on Dec. 4th issued a proclamation declaring Teller County to be in a state of insurrection and rebellion. The proclamation recited the attempts at train wrecking, and the Vindicator mine explosion; declared a state of general lawlessness to exist in the county, and the civil authorities to be making "no practical attempt to preserve order and to protect life and property:" and concludes: "Now therefore, I, James H. Peabody, governor of the State of Colorado, by virtue of the authority in me vested, do hereby proclaim and declare the said County of Teller, in the State of Colorado, to be in a state of insurrection and rebellion."¹¹ Major H. A. Naylor, protected by a detail of 50 cavalrymen, read the proclamation on the streets of Victor, Goldfield, Independence, and Altman. The people assembled to hear their state of rebellion declared, and then returned quietly to their homes.

The district had been under military guard for three months, and 500 men were still in the field. A large percentage of the mines were successfully working, and outwardly at least good order prevailed throughout the district. The declaration is most surprising under such circumstances. Governor Peabody explained in interviews that his only intention had been to establish a limited martial law to enable the militia to hold men who had been released by the civil courts "on flimsy or whatever pretexts."¹²

But the military authorities did not interpret their power to lie within any such narrow limits. General Bell issued a statement on December 5th, of which paragraphs are quoted.

"The County of Teller, in consequence of the occupation of the militia, is subject to the supreme military authority and control when necessity requires and occasion demands, and it becomes necessary to suspend, in part or its entirety, by the occupying military authority, of the criminal and civil law and of the domestic administration and government in the occupied place or territory, and in the substitution of military rule and force for the same, as well as in the dictation of general laws, as far as military necessity requires this suspension, substitution or dictation.

''The militia may proclaim that the administration of all civil and penal law shall continue either wholly or in part as in times of peace, unless otherwise ordered by the military authorities.

"As martial law is executed by military force it is incumbent upon those who administer it to be strictly guided by the principles of justice, honor, and humanity—virtues adorning a soldier even more than other men."

Lieutenant Libby, adjutant of the district, proclaimed Teller County to be "in possession of the military forces of the State of Colorado * * * The military district commander will therefore cause the county to be governed until the restoration of municipal authority." The assemblage of people in the streets either by day or night was forbidden; all persons were warned to surrender their arms or munitions of war of any kind to the military commanders upon penalty of imprisonment; and it was declared that no publication reflecting upon the government of the State of Colorado or "upon the action or actions of the military forces of the State of Colorado" would be permitted.¹³

Having made their proclamations the militia officers proceeded to act. Military camps were formed in the various towns and cities. The local police officers were deposed, and their places taken by militiamen, who patrolled the streets night and day. Major Naylor proceeded to the office of the Victor Record and informed the editor that a censorship had been placed upon his paper. He was instructed to print only ordinary news items. Articles criticising [sic] the militia or state administration were forbidden, and the official statements of the miners unions were to be barred. The editorial already prepared for the next morning was ordered stricken out, and the paper appeared with the space blank and black margined.¹⁴

Arms were received in considerable numbers, some registered and returned, some kept.¹⁵ It became apparent immediately that the intention was to disarm only members of the unions or their friends. The Federation officers issued a circular declaring that the constitutional right to bear arms could not be questioned, and advising the men not to give them up.¹⁶ The men concealed their weapons and kept them, and the militia made frequent forays and searches in the endeavor to get them. John M. Glover, a Cripple Creek attorney, former congressman from Missouri, issued a letter through the press defying the militia to take guns from his office.¹⁷ Colonel Verdeckberg immediately ordered his arrest. A military detail went to the office and finding it locked started to tie the door with the intention of starving Glover out. Thinking that an attempt was being made to break in Glover fired through the bottom of the door. The guardsmen answered with a fusilade, and Glover, shot through the left arm, surrendered.

The following order was issued on Dec. 30th.

"Any person able to work and support himself in some honest and respectable calling who shall be found loitering or strolling about, frequenting places where liquor is sold, begging or leading an idle, immoral or profligate course of life, or not having any visible means of support, shall be deemed a vagrant.

"Notice is hereby given that from and after January 7, 1904, all vagrants as hereinbefore defined, who shall be found within any of the cities and towns or any part of Teller County, Colo., will be promptly arrested by the military authorities and dealt with according to law.

"All persons within the said territory who fall within the above definition of a vagrant are hereby given until the above mentioned date within which to become engaged in some honest and lawful pursuit, after which they will be taken into custody without further notice."¹⁸

The Federation officers posted placards' declaring that the militia could not carry out such an order, and urging the men to stand upon their rights. Judge Seeds of the district court granted an injunction restraining the National Guard from deporting or sending out of the district any members of the Western Federation of Miners. On Jan. 8th Colonel Verdeckberg called the union officers to a conference, and said that the militia did not intend to molest union men so long as they obeyed the laws and did not stir up trouble.

Military rule was followed by more general arrests of union men. Details need not be given. Nearly every union officer, or union man who made himself disagreeably prominent, found his way to the "bull pen." Some were kept only for a short time, others to the number of over 20 were released on writs of habeas corpus granted by Judge Seeds. Governor Peabody announced the writ of habeas corpus suspended in the case of Victor Poole, and the militia refused to honor the writ issued by Judge Seeds. An appeal was taken to the Supreme Court, but a final decision avoided by turning Poole over to the civil authorities.¹⁹ The submission of the militia to the courts was still more apparent than real, however. The men released under habeas corpus proceedings were rearrested at pleasure, and thus a heavy check kept upon the activity of the unions.

Squads of militia forcibly entered union meetings and took away men. James A. Baker, a member of the executive board of the Federation from Rossland, B. C, came to open a cooperative store in Goldfield. Colonel Verdeckberg told him another store was not needed, and gave him his choice of leaving the district or being imprisoned. M. E. White of the executive board of the American Labor Union "was arrested immediately upon his arrival at Cripple Creek, confined two days, and then deported, warned never to return again. Five men were arrested on Jan. 9th charged with being agitators and having no legitimate means of support. They were imprisoned for a week, and then deported. The house of Mrs. Mart Morrison was searched, and she was compelled to walk to Victor, where she was released.²⁰

The conditions for disinterested citizens became at times almost unbearable. Some of the lower officers, drunk with their temporary power, exercised an authority that amounted to petty tyranny on every possible occasion. If one man had a grudge against another he had only to report him to the military authorities as an agitator to secure his arrest. If a man were overheard making disparaging remarks concerning the militia he was promptly hustled off to the "bull pen." There is food for thought in the summary of the situation which one of the officers gave to the author: "If a man kept his mouth shut he was all right." It became a question whether one could go along the street without being molested. A drunken militiaman was a common sight. Women were warned to stay on one side of the way, and all but ridden down when they insisted upon crossing. Teachers were stopped and turned back when on the way to school. Sentries stationed near the Cripple Creek High School sought to flirt with the students through the windows, and threw notes into the building.²¹

The Mine Owners' Association issued a statement in March, of which the following is a part:

"The avowed purpose of this association is to drive the disturbing and dangerous element of the Western Federation of Miners from the district and from the state, if possible, and we call upon all non-union miners.' and the citizens at large to assist us in this effort. The welfare of the district demands this, and it is equally imperative that the non-union miners and all honest citizens cooperate with this association to secure the election of public officers who will stand for law and order on all occasions.

"In view of all these considerations, and with the determination to eliminate all dangerous characters, it is our purpose to establish a central bureau of employment, which shall receive and act upon all applications for work in all the mines connected with this association. This method will secure good and steady employment for all good workmen and decent citizens, and will throw out all those who are in harmony with the unlawful methods adopted by the Western Federation of Miners on so many occasions."²²

This was followed by the adoption of the card system, which prevented any member of the unions from obtaining employment in the mines or mills1 of the district.²³

The Federation at about the same time issued a flag poster which was widely distributed. The United States Flag was printed in the correct colors, with an inscription in black letters on each stripe. The inscriptions read as follows:

"Martial Law Declared in Colorado!

Habeas Corpus Suspended in Colorado!

Free Press Throttled in Colorado!

Bull Pens for Union Men in Colorado!

Free Speech Denied in Colorado!

Soldiers Defy the Courts in Colorado!

Wholesale Arrests Without Warrant in Colorado!

Union Men Exiled from Homes and Families in Colorado!

Constitutional Right to Bear Arms Questioned in Colorado!

Corporations Corrupt and Control Administration in Colorado!

Right of Fair Impartial and Speedy Trial Abolished in Colorado!

Citizens Alliance Resorts to Mob Law and Violence in Colorado!

Militia Hired by Corporations to Break the Strike in Colorado!"

On the large posters there was also a picture of Henry Maki, a union miner of Telluride, as he had appeared on March 2nd shackled to a telephone pole because he refused to work upon the streets as ordered by the militia. Several paragraphs of comment accompanied the picture, and at the top was the question: "Is Colorado in America?" President Mover was arrested for the publication of this poster, charged with desecrating the American flag, and the military authorities refused to release him upon the order of the courts. The famous Moyer Habeas Corpus Case was the result.²⁴

The citizens of the Cripple Creek District remained quiet, orderly, and self-contained during the period of military rule. The movements of the militia itself formed the only evidence of a condition of "insurrection and rebellion"²⁵ The troops (were gradually withdrawn beginning with the 11th day of December, and by January 16th only 170 men were on duty.²⁶ This number was reduced to less than 100 early in February, and all the men were finally withdrawn on April 11th.²⁷ The conditions were not by any means satisfactory. Most of the mines were hampered from lack of men, and running with inexperienced men was proving expensive. But the mines were all being operated in some fashion, and the strike appeared to be at an end.

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¹¹At the time of the proclamation not a single unserved warrant was in the hands of the sheriff. A number of men were in confinement at the county Jail on charges growing out of the strike difficulties. Among them were Sherman Parker and W. F. Davis, charged with being accessories to the attempted train wrecking, held under failure to raise $30,000 bonds. Three other men were held on the same charge under $15,000 bonds, and four men held under bonds of $15,000 each, charged with causing the Vindicator explosion. All were later acquitted by the courts, or their cases nolled.

Judge Seeds in a card to the public Dec. 4th, said in part:

"At no time since the advent of the military in this district has any prisoner charged with crime by that authority been discharged or released by this court under habeas corpus proceedings or otherwise, and in all cases where discharge has been granted by habeas corpus it has been purely for lack of information authorizing or even suggesting to the court the commission of any offense or the violation of any public law on the part of the individual detained. In all other cases where either affidavit or information has been filed against such individual for the commission of any offense, be has been remanded to the custody of the sheriff of Teller County and bail fixed commensurate with the offense charged."

The two other district judges were Louis W. Cunningham, and Robert E. Lewis. Judge Lewis was a Republican, appointed by Governor Peabody and elected through the influence of the mine owners. He was a man of ability and integrity, and had full authority to sit in Teller County at all times. Judge Cunningham, a Democrat, had a wide reputation among all parties for conservative judgment, and for intolerance for crime committed under any circumstances whatsoever.

¹²From interview published generally In Colorado papers Dec. 6th.

"There has been no provost-marshall appointed, nor will there be any. The same holds good with the provost court, about which I have read. The civil courts will continue as they have of old; likewise the civil authorities. The military is authorized to overstep them only in certain instances. The only purpose of the establishment of the qualified martial law is to hold men who have been released by the civil courts on flimsy or whatever pretexts. It is only in the case of such persons that the writ of habeas corpus will be suspended. The press will not be molested any more than It has been since the beginning of the strike."

¹³Extract from proclamation : All persons In possession of arms, equipments and munitions of war of every description are required to surrender the same on or before 12 o'clock noon, Tuesday, December 8, 1903, to tie military district commander, taking his receipt for the same. Any person or persons failing to surrender the said arms, equipments and munitions of war shall be arrested and confined in the military prison and further punished as occasion may require.

No publication, either by newspapers, pamphlets, or handbill, reflecting In any way upon the United States and the State of Colorado, will be permitted, and all articles of news or editorial comment or correspondence, making comment upon the action or actions of the military forces of the State of Colorado or of the organization above referred to will not be tolerated.

All assemblages of people in the streets, either by day or by night tend to disorder, and are forbidden.

The proclamations, cards, and orders of this time are to be found in full In the Special Report of the Labor Commissioner, Senate Document No. 122, 58th Congress, 3rd Session, p. 207 and following.

For the Official Military Orders see Report of Adjutant General for 1903-4, p. 113 and following.

¹⁴The suppressed editorial is here given In full.

"Martial law has been declared in Teller County. The proclamation was issued at noon yesterday by Colorado's governor. The reasons given by the governor are principally that the court and officials In this county have not and will not enforce the law. Those are the reasons given by Peabody for publication, but the Record believes that the real reason is that the troops, under their past course, have failed to break the strike, at least, in a manner satisfactory to the mine owners of the district.

"It is our opinion that a larger bull pen will be established and that within a few days every labor1 leader and every man who cannot give a good excuse for not being at work will be arrested and confined in the bull pen.

"Words cannot be found strong enough to condemn this action on the part of the governor. Many people believe it to be political. It Is stated that if this was a Republican county there would have been no martial law here, and the Record believes that this statement is right. The proposition is to drive all the people out of this county who are not in accord with the present State administration. If you will note the arrests that will follow this proclamation of Governor Peabody you will find that that statement will be verified. Men in the past and since the strike begun have been arrested, it is our belief, because some enemy of theirs was near enough to the powers to have it done, but not a single administration enthusiast has been arrested.

"The Record believes that this is a shame on the courts of this county Judge Seeds has done all that a judge could do and has given the mine owners all that any reasonable people could ask for. How much more bonds will they ask for than $15,000, as in the case of Sherman Parker and others confined in the county jail? The sheriff of this county has been as active as any sheriff could be. If the blowing up of the Vindicator mine was malicious, why didn't they capture the men or, if they have the right man, what is the necessity of declaring martial law? If they have the evidence, those men can be convicted without any extreme exertion. The Record believes in the full enforcement of the law and it stands ready to condemn any official who does not do his honest duty, but we object to the name the governor of this State and his advisers seem determined to give the Cripple Creek district.

"Talk about tyranny! Where can you point to more tyranlcal action than that which has been practiced by the military since they were sent to this district? The Record does not know at this time how far it will be allowed to express its opinion under the reign of military law, but we purpose to proceed just as if we lived in free America. We want to do justice to everybody and propose to do that to the best of our ability. We realize that Peabody is governor and under the law we must respect his order, and are willing to because it is law, but until the order is issued that citizens and newspapers can not express their opinions we will proceed in the paths of justice as we construe it."

¹⁵GENERAL ORDERS
No. 1.

For the information of those concerned, the following paragraph, an extract from proclamation, dated these headquarters, December 5, 1903, is referred to:

"All persons In possession of arms, equipments and munitions of war of any description are required to surrender same on or before twelve o'clock, noon, Tuesday, December 8, 1903, to the Military District Commander, taking his receipt for same. Any person or persons falling to surrender the said arms, equipments and munitions of war will be arrested and confined in military prison and further punished as occasion may require."

And the following Instructions are promulgated:

"That all persons, who by virtue of holding warrant as a police officer, marshal, constable, sheriff or deputy sheriff, or persons employed as watchmen over property, may be granted permit to carry arms, ammunition and equipments in the discharge of their lawful duty, by the Military District Commander upon presentation of credentials acceptable to him and upon the delivery of such arms, ammunition and equipments for registration at a place designated, which is, until further orders, at his headquarters at Camp Goldfield, Victor, Colorado.

"Any person or persons selling, loaning or In any way distributing any arms, ammunition or equipments shall, before the execution of such sale, loan or delivery, present these said arms, ammunition or equipments, together with the credentials of the party to whom It is to be sold, loaned or delivered, as above prescribed.

"Citizens may, upon presentation as above stated, be permitted to have and to keep at their homes, or at their place of business, weapons for defense when it may appear such is necessary In the protection of life and property in the judgment of the Military District Commander.

"By order of Colonel Verderberg.

"H. M. Libby,
"First Lieutenant and Adjutant First Infantry,
First Brigade, N. G. C, Adjutant of the District."

¹⁶...... we have conferred with eminent councel [sic] In regard to the matter, and herewith enclose a copy of their opinion, by which you will see that no one, whether members of the state militia or not, has the right, forcibly or otherwise, to take from you firearms, and if they do so, it is at the peril of their lives."

This was enclosed with a legal opinion by attorneys Richardson & Hawkins of Denver, based upon the following section of the Colorado Constitution.

Article II, Section 13. That the right of no person to keep and bear arms in defense of his home, person and property, or In aid of the civil power when thereto legally summoned, shall be called In question, but nothing herein contained shall be construed to justify the practice of carrying concealed weapons.

¹⁷For copy see Adjutant's General's Report, p. 117, also Col. Verdeckberg's Report, same.

¹⁸Biennial Report, Adjutant General, p. 116. "On December 30, 1903, all unemployed men were notified to Cleave the district, in a proclamation issued by the Military District Commander as follows: * * * * " (See above).

¹⁹Poole was tried on January 9, 1904, on the charge of assault with Intent to kill, but no witnesses appeared against him, and he was discharged.

²⁰A large number of other arrests were made upon charges of dumkennes:, disorderly conduct, abuse of patrols, etc. For detailed list see Biennial Report, Adjutant General, pp. 178-186.

²¹The above incidents are taken from a number of accounts by non-partisan and indisputable witnesses. Too much must not be said, however, that would seem to heap condemnation upon the whole rank and file of the state militia. It was not of their own wills that they left their homes and occupations to spend rough, uncomfortable months in the mining camps, but in necessary obedience to the orders of their superior officers. Many of them were union men, and hated the thought of being called out against workmen. This side of the case found little recognition among the striking miners, and they heaped abuse, and curses, and petty insults upon the militia men from the start. When opportunity came for retaliation it was simply human nature to make payments with interest. The large majority of the men were gentlemen. They indulged in the "horse play" which always develops when a crowd of young fellows are thrown together for some time, but this must not be classed with such acts as related above. It is a misfortune of the whole Cripple Creek difficulty that every class concerned seems to have to be judged by its worst members.

²²Official Published Statement of the Mine Owners' Association, March 10, 1904.

²³The manager of the Dorcas Mill was notified in December, 1903 that his mill would be boycotted unless he discharged all union men in his employ. The plant then became strictly non-union.

²⁴Secretary Haywood was tried before Justice Hynes of Denver on the same charge. The decision was for defendant.

²⁵The Western Federation issued a proclamation on March 12. One paragraph is given.

"We wish once again to call the public's attention to the fact that the Western Federation has at no time made any demand of the mine owners of the Cripple Creek district other than that they withdraw their patronage from the mill trust in order that living conditions might be secured for the employes of said mills."

²⁶executive Order.

Whereas, On December the fourth, 1903, I did Issue my proclamation declaring the county of Teller, in the State of Colorado, to be in a state of insurrection and rebellion; and,

Whereas, Since that date the conditions within said county have been, and are, rapidly changing, and peace and good order in said county are being fully restored, and It has been shown to me that the civil authorities are able and willing to control the situation, to perform their legal functions and to enforce the law; It is, therefore,

Ordered, That the further application of military authority under such proclamation shall be, and hereby Is, suspended, and the provisional detachment now in Teller county will act in support of, and in subordination to, the legally constituted civil authorities of said county, and for the purpose of carrying out this order and to enable the civil authorities to enforce obedience to law and to protect life and property, a suitable detachment of the National Guard of Colorado will remain In Teller county, under command of Colonel Edward Verdeckberg, until further orders.

This order to become operative and to be in force and effect from and after Tuesday, February 2, 1904, at 10 o'clock a. m.

Given under my hand and executive seal this twenty-eighth day of January, A. D. 1904.

(Signed) James H. Peabody,
Governor and Commander-in-Chief.

See Biennial Report Adjutant General 1903-1904, p. 134.

²⁷February 20th, the number of men was 2. Report of Adjutant in Biennial Report of Adjutant General, p. 135.

NEXT: Independence station explosion — Wrath of the community — Sheriff forced to resign — Bodies taken from undertaker — Mass meeting at Victor — The Victor riot — Militia capture miners'' union hall — Wholesale arrests of union men — Riot in Cripple Creek — Meeting of Mine Owners' Association and Citizens Alliance — The federation to be broken up