OOJr. Cornell University Library HD 5325.M8 1893 C63 "The Cripple Creek strike of 1893" 3 1924 002 401 085 [.dis^^Jiigiii^a. my H' THE LIBRARY OF THE NEW YORK STATE SCHOOL OF INDUSTRIAL AND LABOR RELATIONS AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY Cornell University Library The original of tliis book is in tlie Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924002401085 Htan, nf ftfk- *'Tlie Cripple Creek Strike of 18'93" B. M. RASTALL With an I n t r o ci u c t i o n by T. K. URDAHL PROPERTY OF LIBRARY NEW YORK STATE SGHCOL INDUSTRIAL AND LABOR RELATIONS CORNELL UNIVERSITY COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO JUNE, 1905. INTfiODUCTION. 'R. RAST ALL'S study of the Cripple Creek strike of 1893 will probably occupy a unique position in the strike literature of receht times. It has rarely happened in the history of labor struggles in the United States that so many diverse elements and forces have been present in a single conflict, as in this famous labor war. Many strikes have involved a much larger number of men and industries and have aroused more interest on the part of the public, but none have occurred in recent years either at home or abroad which have involved so many startling contrasts atid such- different types' of in- dustrial development as the well-known Bull Hill' strike. The story recorded in the following pages reads like a romance of the days of the buccaneers or sea-pirates, whose exploits mark the transition frorri the old commer- cial system to the new. In one way this struggle in Cripple Creek may be regarded as a phase of the transi- tion from the old individualistic frontier type of civiliza- tion to the new industrial stage, in the Rocky Mountain mining camps. The mine owners may, from one standpoint, be looked upon as representatives oi the competitive indus- trial system of the East, while the mine, workei;s seem to have had all the traits of- the typical frontiersmen. , On one side of the range, Colorado Springs is, in many respects more eastern than any city of its, size west of the Alleghanies, while a few miles distant, on the oppo7 site side of the mountains, stands Cripple Creek, a typical frontier jnining camp, with its saloons, dance-halls and all the other institutions found in a town of this kind. PROPERTY OF LIBRARY NEW YORK STATE SCHOOL B670 ii INTRODUCTION. Between the attempt to realize the ideas of the mine owners in Colorado Springs on the one hand, and the attempt to maintain the ideals of the mine workers in Cripple Creek, a clash was inevitable. This conflict was characterized, not so much by the- kind of violence which has been so common in recent eastern strikes, but by an organization of forces and a display of shrewdness, individual initiative and instinctive co-operation on both sides, all- of which may be said to be the peculiar' product of the western frontier life. It is essentially the same spirit which produced the Whisky Rebellion and the other historic revolts .against law and authority, in the early days of the Republic. " ' The strikers were largely of American stock and were much more homogeneous in racial traits and other char- acteristics than any other similar body in the recent strikes, in other parts of the country. The frontier itself acts as a selective agency and attracts largely men having cer- tain common traits and instincts. The political element, which plays a more or less im- portant role in all strikes, can be here seen as under a magnifying glass, and even the careless reader will under- stand how political questions are almost always intimately connected with industrial conflicts. Mr. Rastall was very fortunate in undertaking his investigation at a most opportune time. The bitterness and hostility between the mine owners and the unions had ■ largely disappeared and the recent strike of 1903-4 had not begun. It was thus possible, in this era of good feeling, to get a more unbiased and accurate presenta- tion of the facts from both sides than could have been ob- tained either before or after. In addition to its importance as a contribution to strike literature, this investigation throws^ a great deal of light on labor conditions in frontier mining communi- ties and helps to explain some of the events that have recently occurred in Colorado. Furthermore, this study shows niost clearly the fact that a strike naturallv at^ INTRODUCTION. Ill tracts the lawless and criminal elements from all parts of the land and that a labor union engaged in a strike, must either control, or if possible, get rid of this dangerous class of men. Finally the essay illustrates the fact that there are brilliant opportunities for the student of economics and history in Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region. Here is practically virgin soil almost untouched by the student or the historian. Here, too, it is possible to study the frontier at close range, and to carry out for states and sections, that magnificent 4ine or research work which Professor Turner of Wisconsin, and others are doing so admirably for the country as a whole. Thomas K. Urdahl. AN INQUIRY INTO THE CRIPPLE CREEK STRIKE OF 1893.' The Cripple Creek District lies in the first range of the Rocky Mountains, about 25 miles west of Colorado Springs, and 85 miles southwest of Denver. It has an altitude of from 9,000 to, 12,000 feet, none of the mines being at an elevation of less than 9,000, and some being over 1 1,000 feet above sea level. Geologically, the region is of volcanic origin. Great flows of lava have issued from a formerly existent volcano in the heart of the district. When these hardened they were subjected to severe stresses in the earths' crust and broken by count- less fissures in parallel systems.' Later, hot percolating waters from deep-seated sources in the earth came to the surface, bearing in solution gold telluride, with quartz. These were deposited as the valuable ores in the fissure veins of the district. Rough, gaunt, broken ; dry and almost arid ; cut into barren rocky ridges, -and valleys along which scraggly dwarfed trees eke out a bare existence, and naught can flourish save the hardy mountain grasses and wild flow- ers ; — it is not a place to invite human habitation, nor to support it under ordinary conditions. The only sign of occupancy in 1890 was the Womack cattle ranch occupying the present site of the city of Cripple Creek. In 1893, less than three years later, the city of Cripple Creek numbered about 5,000 people, and close at hand were Victor, Anaconda, Altman, and numerous smaller *A thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Arts, Colorado College. 2 COLORADO COLLEGE STUDIES. towns. Three wagon roads led into the district, from Divide on the north, from Colorado Springs on the east, and from Canon City on the south. Along these roads night and day passed heavy trucks drawn by six and eight horses, bringing into camp provisions and building ma- terial and mining machinery, or leaving with loads of ore for the smelters. Heavy passenger coaches came in every night to crowd the number of fortune seekers. On the north the Colorado Midland Railway was running a branch road in from Divide, and the Florence and Cripple . Creek Railway was pushing even harder to get into camp from the south. The reason for this rapid change was gold. Mr. Rob- ert Womack had in 1890 sunk prospect holes, and se- cured ore that assayed high in gold.^ News of his suc- cess had spread quickly, and soon prospectors were troop- ing in from all directions. By this time over 40 mines were in process of active development, and prospect holes were being sunk in every direction.^ Nearly $3,000,000 worth of ore had been shipped from the mines already, and every week new veins of rich promise were being opened.^ GENERAL ECONOMIC CONDITIONS. Under these conditions Cripple Creek was rapidly be- coming a great mining camp, when its development was arrested by a five-months' mining strike. To fully un- derstand this strike it is necessaryto get its setting among surrounding conditions, and to see clearly the forces which acted as indirect causes or active impulses toward it. What conditions made a war between labor and capital imminent, and what influences led to the actual controversy. In 1893 the United States was in the midst of a great financial panic. The expenditures of the government far 1 Cripple Creek Illustrated, Warren & Stride, p., 11. ^vide mines listed by the Colorado Springs Stock Exchange early in 1894. 3 Cripple Creek Illustrated, Warren & Stride, p. 23. CRIPPLE CREEK STRIKE. 3 surpassed its income. The reserve in the treasury was dangerously depleted, and the credit of the government was maintained by large bond issues. The business world was in a terrible condition. At the close of the year there had been over $500,000,000 withdrawn from National Banks alone. To meet the demand these banks had been compelled to withdraw loans to the extent of $318,000,000. Five hundred eighty banking institu- tions had been compelled to suspend payment, with lia- bilities of $165,000,000. There had been over 16,000 business failures. $1,200,000,000 worth of railroad prop- erty had gone into the hands of receivers. Thousands of shops and factories had shut down.; more thousands were working part time only; commercial houses and railroads were working under greatly reduced business; and as a result millions of laborers were idle.^ It was estimated that in the city of Pittsburg alone 100,00c men were out of employment.^ In every city men were eager to seize an opportunity to work for their board alone, and rumors were current of men offering them- selves as slaves for life for a promise of mere subsistence. It was a time prolific of strikes. Contemporaneously with the Cripple Creek strike came a great coal miners strike, covering Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio, and the great Pullman strike, which starting in Chicago swept eastward half way to the Atlantic, and southward to the Gulf, and westard to the Pacific coast. Coxey's Army was marching toward Washington, a great body of protesting unemployed, and a long special session of Congress had been called to consider ways of relieving the great financial stress. In Colorado the conditions were even worse than elsewhere. Added to the general depression had come the rapid decrease in the price of silver, the consequent 1 David C. Wells, in Forum, January, 1894. "The Teaching of Our Recent Economic Experiences." 2 Such estimates are usually exaggerated. This one is quoted merely as throwing light on the general conditions. 4 COLORADO COLLEGE STUDIES. closing of the silver mines, and the loss of one of the state's greatest sources of wealth. The labor difficulties common to the country and state were shared by Cripple Creek. Evidence of severe conditions is perhaps best given by the large detachment which left the district on May 4th to "join Coxey's Army in the march to Washington. Over three hundred strong it left Cripple Creek and Victor, under the leadership of General J. S. Sanders, with flying colors and beating drums. The Florence & Cripple Creek Railway fur- nished a free train for the army to Canon City, and the Denver & Rio Grande did the same to Pueblo. At Pueblo the men were fed and housed for a few days, and then took forcible possession of a Missouri Pacific train, and started off for Chicago. The officials of the road tried in every way to stop them, and at last wrecked a train to, block the track. But the Coxey men cleared away the wreck and went on. They were forced to abandon their train by a second wreck in a cut, but stole another train a few hours afterward, and succeeded in getting half way across Kansas, where they were arrested, and final- ly dispersed by Uaited States Marshals. The labor difficulties incident to the closing of the silver mines fell upon Cripple Creek. To the great gold camp flocked the unemployed miners of the silver re- gion, to find work in the gold mines, or to open prospect holes on their own account. mDIRECT CAUSES OF STRIKE. The situation was further involved by irregularity in the hours of employment at the mines, and the varia- tion in the working day. The camp was new, and had not settled down to reg- ular life as yet, and custom had not been given time to develop its unwritten law. Men had not begun to do things as they found other men doing them. When a new mine started up, its owner or manager relied en- tirely upon his own judgment as to how it could best be worked, and there naturally arose a great diversity. CRIPPLE CREEK STRIKE. 5 Some mines worked three shifts a day, some two shifts, some one. In some of the' mines the men worked eight hours, in others nine, and in others ten. Among the principal mines working eight hours may be mentioned the Isabella, the Pharmacist, the Zenobia, and the Pike's Peak. The principal ten-hour mines were the Strong, Granite, Portland, and Independence; and the principal nine-hour mines the Victor, Anaconda, Sunset, C. O. D., Gold King, and Ingrahm. The wage at all the mines waS uniformly three dollars per day, irrespective of the length of the shift. Here was a dangerous condition of affairs, one which must sooner or later result in trouble. It could only be a question of time until the men working in the long-time mines should wake up to the fact that their labor was as valuable as that of any other men, and should demand as short a working day as the shortest, or until the mine owners of the short-time mines should discover that their money was as good as any other man's, and should demand as long a working day as the longest. Such unequal conditions could not remain for long. Labor or capital would move presently, and under the economic conditions which we have just examined, with a large increase in the purchasing power of money, and thous- ands of men at hand ready to work for almost any wage, it is not hard to see from which source the movement • was likely to come. EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE ^TRIICE. In August, 1893, Mr. H. E. Locke IBecame Superin- tendent of the Isabella mine. The Isabella was at that time working an eight-hour shift — seven and a half hours labor, one-half hour for lunch. Mr. Locke had been managing mines in other districts which worked much longer hours, and wished to lengthen the hours at the Isabella. Accordingly on the 17th of the month a notice was posted to the effect that, beginning with the following Monday, a mine shift should be ten hours, with one hour off for lunch. 6 COLORADO COLLEGE STUDIES. On Sunday the miners held a meeting at which they agreed not to submit to the schedule, and when Mon- day morning came they did not go to work. When Sup- erintendent Locke arrived at the mine the men met him, and a heated controversy ensued, Locke trying to bully the men into going to work, and the men trying to force him to rescind the order. After telephoning to Colorado Springs Mr. Locke concluded to withdraw the order for the time being, and later in the day the men went back to work on the old eight-hour schedule.^ The trouble at the Isabella seemed to arouse both sides to the danger of the situation, and the necessity for prompt action. A committee of miners was appointed to draw up resolutions, and soon after steps were taken to form unions. The Altman Union was the first to or- ganize, and was admitted to the Western Federation of Miners, as Free Coinage Union No. 19, on the I2t.h of December. Following Altman, unions were formed at Cripple Creek, Victor, and Anaconda, with a total mem- bership on January ist of about eight hundred. At the time of the strike only Altman Union No. 19 had been admitted to the Federation. To secure authority and uniformity of action all the unions worked under the Altman charter, and the president of Altman Union was executive officer for all the unions of the' district. So Altman, peopled almost entirely by miners, and located at about the center of the mining area, became the center of the union movement, and the seat of authority for the organized miners. Colorado Springs, the County Seat of El Paso County, was the home of fully three- fourths of the principal mine owners of the district, and naturally became the center of the mine owners' move- ment. The Cripple Creek district being at that time included in El Paso County, there were thus developed 1 From the account of Mr. E. W. Pfeiffer, Chairman Board of County Commissioners of Teller County (1903), who was a miner in the Isabella during 1893. There have been various conflicting stories as to the earlier stirrings of the difficulty. Mr. Pfeiffer's personal observation gives authenticity to his account. CRIPPLE CREEK STRIKE. 7 two centers about which the coming conflict was to rage, Colorado Springs, the seat of county authority and the stronghold of capital, and Altman, the active scene of controversy and the stronghold of labor. During the time of the union movement the mine owners had not been less active. Frequent conferences were held relative to the establishment of a uniform work- ing day at camp, and the question of lengthening hours was constantly agitated among the owners of eight or nine-hour mines. Finally, in the early part of January, the owners of the eight-hour mines came together in an agreement to increase the working day at their mines to ten hours, nine hours labor and one hour for lunch. Notices which set forth the agreement, and made Febru- ary 1st the time for lengthening working hours, were received by the mine managers for posting, about the middle of the month. The appearance of the notices, first at the Pharmacist, then at the Isabella, Victor, and Summit mines, caused considerable stir among the min- ers. A meeting of the union was called immediately, which resolved not to let the men work in mines atr tempting to lengthen the day's work. Manager Locke of the Isabella had never been pop- ular with the mining men. He had been the first to conceive the idea of lengthening the working day, and the men now blamed him entirely for the present move- ment, and became very bitter against him. Becoming frightened he applied to the sheriff for a guard of depu- ties, and never appeared without them. In riding to and from the mine he was always preceded by an armed ideputy, and followed by another one. This only in- creased the feeling against him, and a plan was finally made for his capture and eviction from camp. On the morning of January 20th a large body of men collected in the rear of the Taylor Boarding House, and when Mr. Locke and his deputies came along, they were surrounded, disarmed, and started off on foot down the hill. Arriving at the Spinney Mill near Grassey 8 COLORADO COLtEGE STUDIES. Mr. L6cke was badly frightened and intimidated by threats of what would happen if he ever came back to camp; then he was compelled to go down on his knees and take oath that he would never return unless permis- sion were given by the miners, and that he would make no information against any one for driving him from the district. He was then given his horse, and started off toward Colorado Springs, where his arrival late in the evening produced great excitement. One of the deputies captured with Mr. Locke was a man named Wm. Rabe- deau, who will appear several times later in the diffi- culty. The miners unions had already agreed that the men should be called out from all mines which attempted to lengthen the working shift. On January 8th they went a step further and demanded a uniform eight-hour day for the whole district. February 7th was set as the date for calling out all men working over eight hours. So the two sides were arrayed against each other, the mine owners standing for a ten-hour day, the miners for an eight-hour day. In the contest which was to follow the conditions were decidedly favorable to the own- ers. As we have seen, the country was in the throes of a financial panic, and as far as the labor market was con- cerned the purchasing power of money had easily doub- led. Thousands of men were unemployed, and willing to work for almost any wage. The mines were generally dry, and would not suffer from a few months' idleness, and there were no expensive plants to deteriorate by lying idle. Two railroads were building into camp, and a wait of a short time would simply mean a saving of about three dollars a ton in the transportation of ore. The con- ditions for the miners were disheartening. Provisions and rents were very expensive; their unions were but newly formed, only one having a charter from the fed- eration; there had not been time for the development of a strong unity of feeling, or for the collection of a large treasury fund upon which to draw— things so necessary CRIPPLE CREEK STRIKE. 9 for Strength in a strike. When one reads then, that the miners won their fight, he will expect that extra- ordinary forces had been acting, and that startling things had happened, nor will he be disappointed. The key to the explanation is to be found in the char- acter of the men themselves. It must be remembered that Cripple Creek was not the ordinary mining camp, but a newly settled, essentially frontier, district. The men were not of the mining population familiar to the coal fields — foreign born, ignorant, used to obedience, easily cowed — ^but of the characteristic frontiersman type, come not so much to find work as to seek a fortune. Rough, ready, fearless, used to shifting for themselves; shrewd, full of expedients; reckless, ready to cast everytjiing on a single die ; they were not the kind of men to be caught napping, or to be turned from their purpose until, every possible expedient for success had been tried. They would act quickly, shrewdly, and effectively; withal straightforwardly; but with small respect for authority, and none too much for law. THE FIRST CRISIS. Several attempts were made to get the two sides to- gether in a compromise before February ist. On the evening of January 28th, mainly through the influence of Cripple Creek business men, a meeting of miners, mine workers, and neutrals was held at the Palace Hotel, Crip- ple Creek. The miners proposed as a compromise, that the mines be allowed to work just as they had been doing, the eight-hour mines to continue on the eight-hour schedule, and the nine and ten-hour mines on the nine and ten-hour schedules. The owners, however, took no ac- tion on the proposition. On February ist the mines which had posted notices went on the ten-hour shift. The men walked out, clos- ing them down. On February 7th, early in the morning, a party of union men started the round of the district, stopping at every long-time mine and calling the men out. By noon every nine and ten-hour mine in the camp was XO COLORADO COLLEGE STUDIES. closed. The Pike's Peak, the Gold Dollar, leased parts of the Portland, and a number of smaller mines, acceded to the eight-hour request, and continued to work. The following month was one of comparative quiet- ness. The men conducted themselves in an orderly man- ner, and contented themselves with strengthening their organization in every way possible. John Calderwood was elected president of the unions. Mr. Calderwood was born in Kilmarnock, Scotland, and was put to work in the coal mines of that place when nine years old. He gained a common school education through the night schools of that town. Coming to this country when a young man of seventeen, he engaged in mining in the eastern states for a number of years. He then attended the McKeesport school of mines, and upon being grad- uated in 1876, came to Colorado. Here he held various mining positions, and came to Cripple Creek in Novem- ber, 1893. Mr. Calderwood had been influential in the organ- ization of the Western Federation of Miners. He had also been president of the Aspen Union, and his intimate knowledge of labor organizations, and general popularity with the men, secured his election to the presidency. Throughout the strike he showed himself an able and efficient officer. The immediate task before the union was to pro- vide a relief fund. This was done in several ways. The men who remained at work on the eight-hour schedule were taxed $15.00 a month. The Green -Bee Grocery Co. of Cripple Creek gave credit amounting in the end to about $400; $1,000 was loaned by business men of Cripple Creek, $700 was received from the miners of the San Juan country, and $800 from the Butte, Mont., unions. Empty boarding houses were occupied by the unions; cooks volunteered their services; and everything was run on as economical a scale as possible. In this manner the months of the strike were passed without much pinching. CRIPPLE CREEK STRIKE. II By the last of the month the smelters of the state were all running under reduced forces, or shut down entirely. Early in March the Gold King and Granite mines a^eed to the eight-hour schedule, and started working. Following this, determined efforts were made to start several mines on the ten-hour schedule, but the miners were able to keep all closed. Men sent up were persuaded if possible to quit and join the union, otherwise they were threatened and intimidated until they did not dare go to work. The men were beginning to feel ugly, and a number of mines were being put under the guard of armed deputies. March 14th, on the application of the Gold King, the Strong, the Isabella, the Victor, the Summit, the Zenobia, the Ingrahm, and the Free Coinage Mining Companies, Judgje Becker, of the District Court, issued an injunction against the miners enjoining them against interfering in any way with the operation of the Cripple Creek mines.^ Sheriff Bowers took one hundred copies of the injunction to Cripple Creek next day, and spent the entire day in posting them throughout the district. The Summit, Victor, Raven, and Anaconda mines made attempts to open, but only from two to five men appeared at each. Feeling was running high among the miners about the injunction. The sheriff feared trouble, and on his return to Cripple Creek he telephoned to Colorado Springs for additional deputies. Soon after he was called to answer a telephone message from the Victor mine. The Superintendent of the mine had, a few days pre- viously, asked that a number of men be deputized at the mine to protect it. He now reported that men were collecting around the shaft house in a threatening man- ner, and asked for additional protection. The sheriff re- plied that he should have it. A wagon was procured, and six men hastily deputized and started out for the mine. 1 mde copy published in Colorado Springs Gazette, March isth. 12 COLORADO COLLEGE STUDIES. It was a rough mountain road along which the men had to travel, full of stones and ruts among which the wagon lurched heavily, and in the darkness it was im- possible to make out the path, the instinct of the horses must be trusted to keep it. At one point about a quarter of a mile below Altman the road passes tjirough a, short ravine. Huge rocks lie piled around, leaving scarce room for a wagon to pass, and thick growths of bushes line the way and run up over the hillsides. As they reached this point there was a quick rush of dark forms from behind bush and stone, and a cry of "Hold up your hands ! Surrender !" Someone fired a shot ; there was a quick skirmish; a deputy got a ball through the arm. Then they were overpowered, bound, and marched off in silence up the hill. To understand what happened we must go back a few months to the time when Altman was incorporated as a city. The residents of the place were, almost entirely miners, and with the idea of investing the miners' union with all possible civic authority, officials of the union had been elected to all city offices. Thus it happened that Mayor Dean of Altman, and City Marshal Daly, were former members of Altman Union No. 19. The Marshal had word by telephone early in the evening that a number of deputies would be sent along the road by Altman. He accordingly appointed a number of special police, and the police of Altman ambushed the El Paso County deputies, and took them prisoners. The deputies were marched into Altman and shut up in the school house. Later in the evening they were taken before police judge Bengley and examined. on a charge of disturbance of the peace and carrying concealed weapons. Upon showing their credentials as deputy sheriffs, however, they were released and sent back to Cripple Creek. The city -was in need of arms so the deputies went back weaponless, Meanwhile news had reached Sheriff Bowers that his deputies had been captured ; that a fight had ensued ; and CRIPPLE CREEK STRIKE. 13 that Altrnan was in an uproar. In half an hour Cripple Creek looked as if an army had descended upon it. All the livery stables in the city had been called upon for their horses, and a block on Bennett Avenue was full of the prancing steeds. Every able-bodied man in sight had been deputized and armed, and a military formation was being effected as rapidly as possible. The sheriff was going in after his men with all the force Tie could muster. The tension was broken by the return of the first ' deputy, with news that the rest had been released, and were following him in. Upon their arrival preparations were broken off, and the men went to their homes for a peaceful night. The following morning the air was full of rumors. Several men were reported killed or wounded ; the miners were said to be in arms everywhere, and to be guarding all roads leading to Altman. Sheriff Bowers, after ad- vising with the District Court Judge at Colorado Springs, made a call for the state militia. Governor Waite im- mediately issued orders to Company A of Colorado Springs, Company C of Pueblo, and Companies B, E, and K of Denver, and the Chaffee Light Artillery, about three hundred men in all, to proceed with all possible dispatch to Cripple Creek and preserve the peace. These troops collected in Colorado Springs under the leader- ship of Generals Brooks and Tarsney on the day follow- ing. They were taken to Midland over the Colorado Midland Railway, and after an all night march over the mountains, arrived at Cripple Creek early the next morn- ing. In the meantime Sheriff Bowers had secured the arrest of Mayor Dean and Marshal Daly of Altman, and President Calderwood of the Altman Union. He now made a flying trip to Colorado Springs with the three men, and secured warrants for eighteen more. Calder- wood, Dean, and Daly were released on bail, and made a tour of the principal cities of the state, holding mass meetings in the interest of the miners. Sheriff Bowers 14 COLORADO COLLEGE STUDIES. returned to Cripple Creek with his warrants, and called upon General Brooks for aid in serving them. General Brooks inquired if there had been any resistance made to arrests. The sheriff replied that there had not. The general then refused to aid in making the arrests, upon the ground that he was there simply to preserve the peace, and as much to protect the miners as the county authori- ties. On the same day^ the union officers were called to a conference with the generals at the Palace Hotel. The union men asserted that they had never had the slightest intention of resisting the sheriff, or of adopting violent measures. That the whole action had been taken by the city officials of Altman, who. had thought the movement of the deputies an attempt to capture the city. They asserted that no resistance whatever had been made to arrests, and that none would be made. Their statements were telegraphed the governor, and at the same time the following message was sent by the trustees of Altman: "Militia arriving in Cripple Creek. Did you send them and what for? Everything quiet here." Next day the troops were recalled. During the last few days of excitement another move- ment had been on foot looking toward a compromise. Just before his arrest, President Calderwood met in con- ference at the Independence mine with Mr. W. S. Strat- ton and Mr. Chas. Steele. After considerable discus- sion Mr. Stratton proposed as a compromise to lay before the union, that the mine should work a nine-hour day shift and eight-hour night shift, with pay at $3.25. The union at first rejected the offer, but two days afterward reconsidered, and accepted it . The Independence started on the new schedule March 19th. None of the other mine owners followed Mr. Stratton's example, however, so the movement was without much result. It is to be regretted that the other owners did not see their way clear to follow Mr. Stratton's action. Had they been as 1 March i8th. CRIPPLE CREEK STRIKE. 1 5 willing to come to a compromise at this period as were the miners, the difficulty would probably have been set- tled on the spot, and all the turmoil, danger, and expense of the months of May and June avoided. THE SECOND CRISIS. There followed a period of six weeks comparative quietness. The eighteen miners against whom warrants had been issued submitted peaceably to arrest. All plead- ed not guilty in the district court at Colorado Springs, and all were upon trial acquitted. The troublesome week in March had advertised the strike widely through the newspapers, and the result was a large influx of a rough element into the district. The most turbulent element from the Coeur de A'lene district came in in large numbers, and tramps, and criminals, and roughs of all descriptions flocked in from all direc- tions . Many of these men were admitted to the miners' unions. And here is where the union made its great mis- take. The evident willingness of the union to come to a compromise in the trouble; ftie peaceful submission of its niembers to arrest, and their acquittal by the courts; and the mass meetings held by President Calderwood, had gained a large degree of sympathy for the men through- out the state. But the overt acts later committed by a few bad men, and the reign of terror brought on by the rougher element, lost them the prestige which they had earlier gained, and brought upon them the just con- demnation of the law-abiding citizens of the state. It will be remembered, that at the time of the first trouble between Superintendent Locke and the employees of the Isabella, one of the deputies captured with him was a man named Wm. Rabedeau. Mr. Rabedeau was also warned to leave camp, and did so, but returned shortly afterward. He was deprived of his commission as depu- ty by Sheriff Bowers, but remained as a guard in the employ of some mine owners. On April 8th the miners' union started out in a body to attend the funeral of a miner who had been killed by r6 COLORADO COLLEGE STUDIES. an accident. Scattered around everywhere they found dodgers calling a meeting of the union at Anaconda for II o'clock, the time set for the funeral. The funeral ser- vices were short, and the men hurried over to Anaconda, where they found the meeting already called to order, with Rabedeau and another man named Taylor presid- ing, and Rabedeau making a speech in favor of going to work on the ten-hour schedule. It was evident that the scheme was to have the meeting pass resolutions favoring going to work on the ten-hour schedule, and by reporting the action as coming from the miners' union offici^ly, to put the union in a false light. The men were greatly infuriated. Rabedeau was taken from the platform and terribly beaten. Later he was subjected to all sorts of indignities, and run out of camp, with the threat that next time he showed his face in the district his life would pay the forfeit. During the latter part of April, and May, matters grew gradually worse. The rough element was grad- ually becoming more promment, and the men were get- ting into" a more sinister mood generally. Small bands of men raided throughout the district, stealing provisions and arms and ammunition, getting into drunken rows, and sometimes maltreating non-union men. Many of the smaller merchants in isolated places closed their stores entirely, and families in the unsettled districts very large- ly moved into the towns. Sheriff Bowers spent his whole time in the district, but hampered by the refusal of the county authorities to furnish sufficient deputies, on the ground of too much expense, found it exceedingly difficult to preserve any semblance of order. Early in May various discussions were held among mine owners relative to a determined effort being made to open the mines. It was felt that something must be done soon. No mines had been able to open as yet, and under the present conditions at camp, violent opposition was anticipated to any attempt to open. The movement finally resulted in the quiet circulation of a subscription CRIPPLE CREEK STRIKE. ly paper, and the offer by the mine owners to the county to advance arms and money, if a large body of deputies should be enrolled to protect the opening of the mines. Word of the plans of the mine owners had early reached the miners and they began to prepare to resist to their utmost. President Calderwcod was in Salt Lake City attending a convention of the Western Federation of Miners, and Mr. J. J. Johnson came to the front to become the military leader of the union. Mr. Johnson was a native of Lexington, Ky., grow- ing up among the feuds of that state. He attended West Point for three years, but was dismissed before the com- pletion of his course for participating in a hazing scrape. Drifting west he took up mining at Aspen, and later came to work at Cripple Creek. At the close of the strike he left the state to avoid arrest. On the opening of the Spanish War he was appointed colonel of an Arkansas regiment, but died while on the way to the sea coast with his command. He was a man of unusual ability, and considerable military genius. Mr. Johnson proceeded to get the miners in as com- plete a military organization as possible. Headquarters and a military camp were established on Bull Hill.^ The choice of Bull Hill was an unusually fortunate one. It is a high, steep bluff, overlooking the town of Altman. It overtops several of the most important mines, and is at once the most commanding and most inaccessible point in the district. A large boarding house was es- tablished; a commissary department put into operation; systematic search made for arms and ammunition; and as much discipline and ruling put into practice as was possible under the conditions.. On May 4th, one hundred twenty-five deputies, large- ly ex-police and ex-firemen, left Denver in command of ex-Chief of Police Veatch. They were armed to the 1 There was a report, generally believed at the time, that an immense log fort had been built on Bull Hill, and a cannon placed in it. No such fort was built, nor did the miners possess a cannon at ?ny time. l8 COLORADO COLLEGE STUDIES. teeth, and prepared for immediate action. The miners had news of their departure, and prepared to give them ,a warm reception. Arms were still lacking to some ex- tent, so a raid was made on a Cripple Creek hardware store for rifles and ammunition; also the Victor Mme was held up and a number of Winchesters taken from it. The commissary department got in a number of range cattle. Orders were issued, and everything put in readiness. The deputies arrived next morning on the Florence & Cripple Creek Railway, and prepared to go into camp in full view of Bull Hill. The miners had prepared to show that they were determined, and to give the deputies an object lesson. As the train pulled into view a party of men hastened down the hill, warned everyone away, and placing large charges of dynamite in the shaft house of the Strong mine blew it to pieces in a tremendous ex- plosion.-^ Then pandemonium broke loose. The day before the Florence & Cripple Creek Railway had completed the grading on its line and discharged nearly two hun- dred laborers, all with pay checks of from ten to twenty dollars. These men all came into camp ; pay checks were exchanged for cheap whiskey, and the usual result fol- lowed. At such times every man considers every other man his chum and whiskey is free for everybody. Rail- road men, miners, toughs, all were off on a terrible de- bauch, and by the time of the blowing up of the Strong' mine hundreds of men were fighting crazy drunk. A car was loaded up with dynamite, and prepared to run down the track into the deputies camp and blow them i It has been very generally believed in some quarters that the blow- ing up of the Strong mine was accomplished by Mr. Sam Strong himself, in order to prevent the property from being worked, and in this manner to break the valuable lease, which would revert to himself. This is exactly what did happen, and Messrs! Lennox and Giddings, the lessees of the mine .later brought suit for heavy damages against Mr. Strong on the above charge. The admission by prominent union men that the mine was really destroyed by a party of miners now settles the question beyond doubt, and clears Mr. Strong of all suspicion. CRIPPLE CREEK STRIKE. 19 into atoms. But the deputies had taken warning and retired several miles down the track to a safer place. Then the cry went up to destroy the mines. Men ran for dynamite and fuse, and for a time it looked as if there would be enormous destruction of property. But Mr. Johnson, with the help of his aids, had been working constantly, asserting his authority and endeavoring in every way possible to quiet the men. At last he suc- ceeded in diverting their attention sufficiently toward attacking the deputies to get control of them, and the danger was avoided. The miners' unions, and the people of the state in general, owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. Johnson for his heroic work on that day. Had hundreds of drink- crazed men broken loose with unlimited whiskey and unlimited dynamite, the result had defied description. Sparce a tnine in the district would have been left whole, ■ and one may hardly hazard a guess as to other conse- quences. The energy diverted from the destruction of prop- erty expended itself in an attack upon the deputies. The deputies, it will be remembered, had become aware of the danger of their position, and retiring some distance down the track, had gone into camp at Wilbur. Just where they were the miners did not know, but it was de- termined that wherever they were, an attempt should be made to capture them and get possession of their arms. Arms were still lacking at the miners' camp. About midnight a Florence & Cripple Creek construc- tion train was captured, quickly filled with men, and with a miner at the throttle, started down the track for the deputies' camp. The deputies, anticipating attack, had pickets out in all directions. Unawares the train ran into the picket line. A few quick shots brought it to a standstill. The miners poured out amorig the rocks; the deputies, roused, hurried to the assistance of their pickets, and the fight was on. There was no semblance of order. Every man fought for himself, shielding him- 20 COLORADO COLLEGE STUDIES. self so far as possible behind tree or rock, and firing in the darkness at the flash of the opposing guns. Fiv,e miners got separated from the main body and into a swarm of deputies, and were captured. A deputy, the man named Rabedeau, who has appeared all through the difficulty, received a shot in the chest and was killed al- most instantly. A miner .George Crowley by name, was accidentally shot from behind by one of his comrades, and was found dead in the morning. A half hour's fighting convinced the miners that they could gain nothing. Skipping from rock to rock, and firing as they went, they began a gradual retreat up the valley. The deputies held their position. Little by little the firing ceased. All was quiet again, and doubling their pickets the deputies turned in for the remainder of their night's rest. News of the blowing up of the Strong mine reached Colorado Springs early in the day and causea great ex- citement. Later the feeling was intensified by the arrival of Mr. Strong himself, who had witnessed the destruction of his property, and ridden all the way to bring the news. A number of men were known to have been in the mine at the time of the explosion, and they were all supposed to have been killed. Business was suspended, and excited groups of men discussed the question along the streets everywhere. A mass meeting was held in North Park, at which resolutions were passed calling upon the county authori- ties to put down the insurrection of the miners, and to restore law and order at whatever cost. In the evening a call went out from the sheriff's office asking for vol- unteer deputies to go to the scene of action, and calling upon all citiezns to bring in arms to equip the posse. Over a hundred armed men left the city for the deputy camp next morning, and another hundred on the day following . Men were also being hurried in from Lead- ville, and Denver, and all the surrounding country. The deputy camp was transferred from Wilbur, north to CRIPPLE CREEK STRIKE. 21 Divide, on the Colorado Midland Railway, and here all the new rearuits came. Miners heard men talking down in the shaft of the Strong mine, and compelled them to come out. They proved to be Superintendent "Sam Macdonald, Engineer Robinson, and Miner Greenough, the men who were known to have been in the mine when ft was blown up, and supposed to have been killed. Between hunger, and cold, and smOke from the burning timbers, they had gone through a terrible experience, and had hardly managed to live at all. They were taken to Bull Hill by the miners* and held as prisoners in retaliation for the cap- ture of the five miners at Wilbur. Governor Waite issued a proclamation on the 28th, in which he called upon the miners to desist from their unlawful assembling; to lay down their arms; and to cease from their forcible resistance of the law. A^ the same time he declared that the assemblage of a large army of deputies by the county authorities, largely from outside the county, was illegal, and demanded that such army be disbanded immediately.^ An order was issued calling upon the state militia to be in readiness to move at a moment's notice. President Calderwood had returned from Salt Lake City on the same day that the Strong mine was blown up. Instantly perceiving the danger of the situation, and the remedy, he set about getting all the saloons of the district closed for a period of two days. He succeeded, and at the/end of the time the men had come to their senses again, and some degree of quiet was restored, The union was aroused at last to the necessity of getting entirely out of sympathy with the lawless element that had come in, and a volunteer committee of fifty took in charge the running out of camp of toughs and thugs. ATTpMPT AT ARBITRATION. "During the exciting events of the last few day?, a quiet movement had been started in Colorado Springs 1 Governor's Proclamation, May 26, 1894. c. f. also Last Message of Governor Waite to the Legislature. 22 COLORADO COLLEGE STUDIES. seeking a possible' compromise of the difficulty. To the more conservative and thoughtful citizens the situation at Bull Hill seemed one of grave concern. Should the two bodies of armed men, that stood face to face, constantly augmenting their numbers, and daily increasing the bit- terness of feeling between them, come into conflict, the loss of life, terrible as it might be, would be but the be- ginning of the disastrous results that would follow. Everything possible, it was felt, must be done to pre- vent a clash. Could the two sides be gotten face to face, the seriousness of the situation would tend to force both to make concessions, and a compromise might be effected. But how to get the two factions together. Some man must be found willing to undertake the work who was well known, whose neutrality would be trusted by both sides, and who would have no interest in sub- verting the main object of his work to make political capital for himself. He must be a man, moreover, who would be willing to take some personal hazard in the matter, for judging from the reports which had come to Colorado Springs, an outsider who should attempt to go on Bull Hill would take his life in his hands. The, movement resulted in the call upon President Slocum, of Colorado College, by Mr. J. J. Hagerman, one of the most prominent and conservative of the mine owners, with the request that President Slocum go to Bull Hill as a neutral party, to see what the attitude of tlie miners would be toward an arbitration committee. President Slocum would be authorized to My that the mine owners were willing to meet the miliars in such committee, and to make some concessions toward a: com- promise. After some discussion the president agreed to go. The Rev. E. Evans-Carrington, who was well known as a friend of organized labor, also several mem- bers of the Colorado Springs labor unions, were asked to accompany Dr. Slocum. The party left Colorado Springs late Saturday eve- ning. May 26th, arriving in Cripple Creek early Sunday morning. Communication was held with President Cal- CRIPPLE CREEK STRIKE. 23 derwood over the telephone, and then the party started out afoot for Altman. As they arrived at the foot of Bull Hill a sentry stepped from behind a rock, and with levelled Winchester, and the cry "Hands up!" brought them to a standstill. Upon learning their names and business the sentry said he had instructions to pass them, and proceeded to conduct them to Altman and the head- quarters of the union. At headquarters the p^rty was met by President Cal- derwood, who took President Slocum into his office im- mediately for a conference. Dr. Slocum stated that he came representing no one in particular, but the people of the county in general, to see if som6 arrangement could not be made to arbitrate the present difficulty. Mr. Calderwood replied that arbitration was one of the car- dinal principles of the union, that the union had been willing to come to a compromise all along, and was still willing to do so. Dr. Slocum then asked what conditions they thought they ought to have in a settlement. Mr Calderwood replied that the men felt that they should have an eight-hour day and a three-dollar wage, and upon Dr. Slocum bringing up the question, added the clause that there should be no discrimination between union and non-union men. The question of a committee was then discussed, and it was practically decided that two representatives of the union should meet two repre- sentatives of the mine owners somewhere on neutral ground, and that these four should appoint a fifth, the committee tg. have abthority over the questions in dispute. Some further conversation ensued, and then Mr. Calderwood invited President Slocum to address the miners. Upon his acceptance of the invitation, runners were sent out through the camp, and soon from three to four hundred men had gathered. To them 'President Slocum spoke for about an hour, advising them to meet the mine owners half way in the proposed compromise; calling upon them to respect the laws of the state, and pointing out that an armed resistance of the authorities could only end finally in disaster to themselves. 24 COLORADO COLLEGE STUDIES. There were still some effects of over abundance of whiskey visible among the men, and some of them were in an ugly humor. So much so that Mr. Calderwood had some fears for the safety of Dr. Slocum while making his address. That his fears were not groundless was shown by the fact that an old German stood close to the president while he was speaking, and occasionally rubbing the muzzle df his Winchester against him, would pat it affectionately, and remark : "Dat's good for twenty-five deputies." The man was known by Mr. Calderwood to be one of the worst characters in the union. He was afterward hanged for killing a man in a saloon fight. The party, however, left Altman undis- turbed, and returned immediately to Colorado Springs. On Monday afternoon Mr. Hagerman called Presi- dent Calderwood by telephone to discuss matters per- taining to the arbitration committee. The miners had held a meeting in the meantime, however, and instructed their president to consent to the committee only on condition that the mine owners should previously agree that union men be given preference in employment at the mines. Upon this condition being communicated to Mr. Hagerman, he replied that the mine owners would never consent to such a condition, and so the attempt to secure a compromise failed. Later in the day a remarkable event took place on the mesa below Altman. It will be remembered that the deputies had taken five prisoners in the battle near Wil- bur; also that the miners had imprisoned the three men taken from the Strong mine, in retaliation. President Slocum, while at Altman, had arranged for the exchange of the three men for the five imprisoned miners, and Monday afternoon the exchange took place. A deputy sheriff came up from Colorado Springs with the five miners; one of the union officers came down from Alt- man with their three prisoners; and meeting in a pre- arranged spot, the exchange took place with all the military formality of war. This is probably the only CRIPPLE CREEK STRIKE. 25 instance of a strike in which rights of belligerency were recognized, and a formal exchange made of prisoners. THE MISSION OF GOVERNOR WAITE. Governor Waite had been closely-following events at Cripple Creek. For the past week his private secretary, Michael Lorentz, had been in the district making thor- ough investigations and reporting daily by telephone. Upon the failure of the proposed committee of arbitration pressure was brought to bear on the governor, and he finally concluded to see what influence his presence at the seat of difficulty would have toward a settlement. He accordingly telephoned the miners of his intended visit and wish to confer with them, and went into the district on the afternoon of May 30th. The same afternoon a heavy rain and snow storm settled down upon the Cripple Creek district. A few hours of the storm closed the railroads by landslides and cloudbursts, and broke down every telegraph and tele- phone line, isolating the district completely from the rest of the world for a period of four days. In Colorado Springs this was a period of great anxi- ety. The number of deputies at Camp Divide was known were asked to present themselves for arrest. A great many did so. Many, however, had left the district to avoid arrest, and were never located by the authorities. The militia remained in camp according to agreement, until the last of July, when, they were withdrawn. The mines opened slowly at first, the owners hardly feeling sure of the ground, but as the men showed themselves willing to work, confidence was restored, and operations were taken up again in earnest. There remained for a long time a certain amount of friction on both sides. Among the extremely radical feeling still ran high, and vented, itself in various acts of violence. A number of citizens of Colorado Springs found it wise to keep guards at their dwellings. In the same city a scheme was made to tar and feather a number of men who were supposed to have sympathized with the CRIPPLE CREEK STRIKE. 35 Strikers during the trouble. The plan fortunately became known, and steps were promptly taken to frustrate it. A more successful attempt was made later upon Adju- tant General Tarsney. General Tarsney had been prom- inent in the friction between the state troops and dep- uties, and had become greatly hated by the latter. He was taken from the Antlers Hotel one night, driven sev- eral miles north of the city, and there tarred and feath- ered ,and left wandering around in the night to find his way back to civilization as best he could. An attempt was made to blow up the home of Sheriff Bowers one night with a nitroglycerine bomb. The fuse was defec- tive and went out; otherwise the house would have been completely wrecked, and the inmates, who were sleeping almost directly above the bomb, would certainly have been killed. Cripple Creek was in a turbulent condition for some time. The roughs ^d toughs that had come into the city during the strike were not easy to get rid of. Sheriff Bowers spent most of his time in the neighborhood, doing his utmost to restore good order. He arrested over one hundred fifty men, and kept the county jail full to overflowing all the year following. Various attempts were made on his life. One night two men were shot on the road frorri Victor to Cripple Creek b)- a band who were after the sheriff ,and who mistook the men for the sheriff and his deputy. It was nearly a year before the men charged with committing overt acts during the strike, came to trial. In March, 1895, D. M. McNamara was convicted on the charge of assault with intent to commit robbery, in holding up the stage coach of John Simmons, and tak- ing his guns away from him. He was sentenced to two and one-half years' imprisonment, but the case was appealed, and the supreme court reversed the decision and set him free. Jackson Rhines received a jail sen- tence on the charge of kidnapping. Robert Dunn was convicted of assault with intent to kill, but broke jail before sentence was passed upon him, and was never re- 36 COLORADO COLLEGE STUDIES. taken. Robert Lyons and Nicholas Tully were sen- tenced to terrris of six and eight years respectively, on charge of blowing up the Strong mine. They were pardoned by Governor Mclntyre, who succeeded Gov- ernor Waite, long before the expiration of their sen- tences. Some three hundred other informations or in- dictments were filed, but were dismissed sometime later on, and no other men were brought to trial. Out of all the men arrested not one served a full sentence."^ PECULIARITIES OF THE STRIKE. In the Cripple Creek strike one finds some marked peculiarities, phenomena in the field of strikes. Part of the union men worked all through the difficulty. Wherever a mine was found that would continue work- ing, or would start to work, on the eight-hour schedule, or wherever a compromise could be reached as in the case of the Isabella, no attempt whatever was made to shut it down; the men continued to work as though nothing- whatever had happened. This in marked distinction from most strikes, where every union man is called out whether he has a grievance or not, and .as many other allied occupations as possible affected by sympathetic strikes. By its action in allowing the men to work the union gained in several ways. It kept a considerable amount of money corting into the pockets of union men, a goodly portion of which went to the support of the strike. It kept constantly before the eyes of the public, the fact that the men were not trying to introduce a new and unheard-of system, but one which was being successfully applied in a number of mines. It was a constant reminder that the men were not making exhorbitant demands to which it was impossible to accede, since mines of average yield ^vide Records of District Court Colorado Sprines March to Mav 1895. Cases, People vs. D. M. McNamara. " vs. Jackson Rhines. vs. Robert Dunn. " vs. Robert Lyons. " Vs. Nicholas Tully. CRIPPLE CREEK STRIKE. 3/ svci e successfully operating under all the conditions which they asked. It is a question well worthy the careful consideration of organized labor everywhere, whether a similar action. would not produce similar beneficial re- sults in many a labor difficulty. The exchange of prisoners near Bull Hill probably has no parallel in the history of strikes. When the five captured miners were exchanged for the three irnprisoned officers with all the formality of war, the Altman union received recognition such as no other union has received before or since. Such recognition of an organization, and of a state of belligerency might have involved some interesting questions had the trouble gone further and Federal authority been invoked. Another peculiarity of the strike was that state au- thority was used in such a way as to materially benefit the strikers.' In the history of strikes the state has in- tervened nearly always after a demand by the owners or operators for protection, and while intending no such result, its authority has been so directed as to curtail the activities of the strikers, and to greatly lessen their chances for success. The results of this exception are in- teresting. Governor Waite was a Populist, elected to his posi- tion on a Populist Labor ticket, and his ambition was to be known as the great friend of the laboring man. The strikers were sure of his hearty support from the first, and the county authorities were hampered by uncertainty as to whether his action would be to aid, or to absolutely oppose their efforts. AH through the trouble his asser- tion was constant that no act of his should be hostile to the miners, and when at the very crisis he asserted that the deputy army was illegally assembled and should be disbanded, the effect was very great.^ The miners wiere bright enough to see their oppor- tunity, and never in the slightest way to resist the state authorities, and hence they reaped the full benefit of the 1 Proclamation of Governor Waite May 26, 1894- 38 COLORADO COLLEGE STUDIES. governor's friendship. Il is doubtful -whether without the moral and active support of state authority, exerted as it was at critical moments, the miners could have won their strike. THE POSITION OF THE MINE OWNERS. We saw at the beginning that the Cripple Creek strike was largely the result of a general financial de- pression, and of irregularity in the employment of labor in a newly-opened mining camp. And that the move which opened the strike was taken by 'the mine owners. The owners felt that under existing conditions they were entitled to a longer working day for the $3.00 wage which they paid, or a smaller wage for the shorter day. They supported their position by pointing to the strin- gency of the times, the scarcity of money, and the surplus of labor. The logic of business alone, they saJid, made it impossible to maintain wages anjrwhere on a prosper- ous-times basis. They added that they were putting more money into the ground most of the time than they were taking out, few of the mines were- paying dividends, and they could not afford to pay such high wages. The mines in other districts worked much longer hours. In Cripple Creek, with freedom from' water, mild climate, and pure air, conditions for mining were more favorable than anywhere else, and certainly labor should be no more expensive than elsewh^re.^ Feeling that these conditions entirely justified their stand, they refused to accept the various compromises proposed at the opening of the strike, and took no action whatever on the offer of the miners to allow the mines to continue working as they had been doing. Nor did they feel that they could follow Mr. Stratton's example when he' opened the Independence on a compromise. They w.-)tched with disgust as the miners thwarted attempt after attempt to open the mines, and at last in exaspera- 1 Statement by Mr. J. J. Hagerman. CRIPPLE CREEK STRIKE. 39 ion made the proposition and demand on the county au- thorities which resulted in the deputy army. Later, when the trouble had become so serious that it looked as though hundreds of men would be killed, and a terrible disaster fall upon the county, the more con- servative owners began to feel that a small difference in wages was too slight a thing over which to have such a bitter fight. Especially Messrs. J. J. Hagerman and David H. Moffatt felt that everything possible ought to be conceded to secure a compromise, and ward off such a calamity, and it was largely through the efforts of these men that the final settlement was effected. THE POSITION OF THE MINERS. The miners naturally approached the question from a point of view differing from that of the mine owners. To them the questions of hours and wages were vital points of livelihood . They declared that at the altitude of the Cripple Creek District, varying from nine thous- and to eleven thousand feet, men could not healthfully work more than eight hours a day. The strain of such an altitude was so great that many people could not live there at all, to say nothing of working at heavy labor every day for eight hours. The trying conditions due to altitude, they said, were augmented by the. nature of mining , in which men had to work with clothing damp- ened by water, and breathe foul air and powder smoke. Nor, they insisted, could they live decently on less than a $3.00 wage. Provisions and rents were very high. By the time they had paid $15.00 of $20.00 rent for a little shack of a house, bought firewood at $4.50 a cord, water at 5 cents a bucket, and other things in proportion, there was not much left for luxuries. Cripple Creek was a gold camp whose product had not been affected by the general fall in prices, and it was tyrannical to cut their wages just because thousands of other men were out of work.^ 1 Statement by Mr. John Calderwood. 40 COLORADO COLLEGE STUDIES. The miners at the beginning wished if possible to compromise the question, and made all the advances along that line. Failing, they settled down to a hard fight, with the feeling that they were justified in going to the limit to keep the mines from opening. The agreement with the Isabella showed them still willing to compromise. Then came the entrance of the deputy army. The rumors in Cripple Creek concerning the deputies were as misleading as the rumors in Colorado Springs concerning the miners. The miners prepared to resist what they understood to be an attack upon their homes intended to drive them from the county, and emboldened by the sympathy of the governor and his proclamation, held the deputies at bay. Encouraged by their success, and the attitude of the governor, and the fact that the proposals were now coming from the mine owners, they made exhorbitant demands in the final attempts at arbitration. Fortunately, in making the governor their representative with power of attorney, they left the way open for the final settlement. THE POSITION OF THE GOVERNOR. The attitude taken by Governor Waite was in brief that he would do nothing that would aid either the miners or mine owners to win the fight. The militia, he said, should not be called out to win the strike, but simply to preserve the general peace, and should not be used to coerce the miners in any sense of the word.-^ In the deputy movement he saw an arrarigement, ostensibly by the county authorities, but in reality by the mine owners, meant to force the miners to give up the struggle. This movement, as he saw it, originated Willi the mine owners, and was supported by their con- tributions, and the sheriff was simply a puppet in their hands. ^'loreover, in his estimation the assembly of so large a body of deputies^ was illegal. He immediately declared iProm statement by Hon. J. Warner Mills, legal adviser of Gov- ernor Waite at the time of the strike. 2 c. f. Last message of Governor Waite to Legislature Jan. lo, 1895. CRIPPLE CREEK STRIKE. 4I that the sheriff had exceeded his authority, first, in that the right to appoint deputies did not mean the power to form an army, and second, that he was breaking a state law in appointing deputies from without El Paso County. The swearing in of men in bodies of several hundred; their armament with whole stands of newly purchased arms; and their formation into a military organization, constituted the formation of an army, and was an usurpa- tion of the power of the governor. In appointing deputies from Denver, Leadville, and other points outside El Paso County the sheriff was disregarding the laws of the state, which expressly directed that a sheriff call aid only from his own county.^ The governor therefore declared the formation of the deputy army illegal, and demanded that it disperse. When the deputies made their forward move he threw the militia between them and the miners, with orders to prevent a conflict at all hazards. And upon the repeated refusal of the deputies to disband, he pre- pared to call out the whole state reserve. THE BALEFUL INFLUENCE OF POLITICS The workings of political intrigue are always hard to accurately trace, and it is impossible to say just what part politics played in the Cripple Creek strike. There can be no doubt, however, that both parties sought to make political capital out of the strike, and by their machinations greatly impeded its settlement. The interest of Governor Waite in the miners was undoubtedly a political one, the desire to secure suffi- cient support in the western part of the county to over- come the Republican strength in the eastern part, and so to bring El Paso into the ranks of the Populists. He 1 Mills' Annotated Statutes of Colorado Vol. i, Sec. 856: "It shall be the duty of the sheriff and undersheriff and deputies to keep and preserve the peace of their respective counties, and to quiet ajid suppress all riots, affrays and unlawful assemblages and insurrection, for which purpose, and for the service of process in civil and criminal cases, and in apprehending or securing any person for felony or breach of the peace, they and every coroner and every constable may call to their aid any person or persons of their county as they may deem necessary." 42 COLORADO COLLEGE STUDIES. was willing to go great lengths to become known as the friend of the working man, and his influence was such as to constantly encourage the miners in their resistance to the county authorities. There is even good reason to believe that it was a telegram from the governor that caused the miners to make the demands which thwarted the first attempt at arbitration. This in order that he might have the credit and the influence upon the miners, of effecting the settlement himself. The Republicans were just as active on the other side. There has been a quite general opinion that the deputy movement had as its ultimate aim the driving from the county of a large number of the men who were supporting Populism, and endangering the power of the Republicans in the county. There is strong evidence that the county officers used their authority following the strike to keep their party in power. The Bull Hill men were tried under conditions which made it almost im- possible for them to escape even if innocent. Two prom- inent citizens of Colorado Springs made affidavits to having heard the assistant district attorney outline a scheme which would secure the conviction of every man tried.^ Of the four men sentenced for crimes committed during the trouble, one broke jail, one was set free by the Supreme Court, and the other two were pardoned by Governor Mclntyre.^ Only five cases were tried out of three hundred informations and indictments. The fail- ure to prosecute the other two hundred ninety-five cases is generally supposed to have come about as follows: The indictments were held as scourges over the heads of the men. They were promised that if the)' worked heartily for the Republican ticket at the next election their names would be dropped, otherwise they would be tried, and would be sure to be convicted. Needless to say the t-vide Petition for Change of Venue. Case People vs. McNamara, District Court, April, iSpS- '• Governor Mclntyre was the Republican governor who succeeded Governor Waite. He would have no motive in pardoning the men other than the belief that they were convicted on insuffi- cient evidence. CRIPPLE CREEK STRIKE. 43 men worked. The election , went as desired, and the indictments were dropped. Thus did both parties intrigue for power, intensifying the difficulty, and greatly hinder- ing its settlement. • THE POWER OF CONCILIATION. The most optimistic lesson to be drawn from the Cripple Creek strike is the power of conciliation. When feeling ran highest on both sides; when politicians were stirring up the trouble for their own selfish ends ; when two determined armies sto'od face to face, and it seemed impossible to avert a terrific encounter; th'en the repre- sentatives of both sides got face to face and the dispute was settled. Great and irreparable as the break seemed, it was closed as soon as both sides were willing to meet and make concessions toward a settlement. So long as both partiel tq such a controversy are kept apart, each absorbed in strengthening its own power, and throwing its whole weight into the breakin gdown of its opponent, just so long is the bitterness in creased, and a settlement made less probable ; but bring them together in no matter how angry a dispute, the tendencies are all the other way. Add an honest desire on the part of each to see the diffi- culty ended, and a willingness to yield minor points to that end, and a settlement is practically assured. PROPERTY OF LIBRARY . NEW YORK STATE SCHOOL INDUSTRIAL AND LABOR RELATIors CORNELL UNIVERStTY BIBLIOGRAPHY "The Teaching of Our Recent Economic Experiences"— David C. Wells, in The Forum, January, 1894. "Cripple Creek Illustrated"— Warren & Stride, Carson-Harper Co., Denver, Publishers, i8g6. "The Wonderful Cripple Creek District"— J- F. Manning. "Early Days of Cripple Creek"— E .M. De La Vergne. Colorado State Papers — Biennial Report of the Adjutant General for 1893 and 1894. Impression Copies of Orders tOi Colorado State Militia, May and June, 1894. Copies filed in office of Adjutant General. Messages of Governor Waite to Legislature. (State Library). Last Message January 10, 1895. District Court Records, Colorado Springs, March to May, 1895. Cases, People vs. D. M. McNamara and others. " vs. Jackson Rhines. " vs. Robert Dunn and others. " vs. Robert Lyons and others. " vs. Nicholas Tully and others. - "Reminiscences of the Cripple Creek Strike" — ^John Calderwood (not published). Official Statement of Miners' Attitude by Secretary Wolfe of Alt- man Union. Published in Cripple Creek Crusher June, 1904. American State Reports, Vol. 44, pp. 127-133. Mills' Annotated Statutes of Colorado, Vol. i. Sec. 856; Vol. 3, Sec. 3294A. Colorado Springs Daily Gazette : 1893 — Dec. 19, 25'. 1894 — ^Jan. 19, 20, 22, 23, 24 ,28, 30, and 31. Feb. 2, 4, 8, IS, 20, 23. March S, 14-23 inclusive, 29, 30. April 8, 9, 10, 12, 22, 26, 27. May 2-18 inclusive; 24-30 inclusive. June 1-14 inclusive, 18, 19, 27. July 18, 31- - , 189s— Jan. 10; March 6; April 10, 17, 25; May 3. Evening Telegraph, Colorado Springs (same datjs). Denver Republican, Denver: 1894 — Jan. 20, 22, 27, 29, 30. Feb. 2, 3, IS, 21. March 14-23 inclusive, 29, 30. April 9, 10, 13, 2S, 27. May 2-19 inclusive, 25-31 inclusive. June 1-13 inclusive, 19. Denver News (same date). A large part of the material has been furnished by the men who took prominent parts in the difficulty. The author has been fortu- nate in securing interviews with nearly all the men whose names appear in the "Inquiry", and more fortunate in finding them willing to discuss the question fully and frankly. Their active par- ticipation gives peculiar interest and authenticity tO| their ac- counts. Following is a list of the principal interviews: Hon. J. Warner Mills, legal adviser of Gov. Waite through the difficulty. Dr. Wm. F. Slocum, President Colorado College, prominent in the attempt at arbitration. Rev. E. Evans-Carrington, delegate to Altman in attempt at arbi- tration. Mr. Percy Hagerman, prominent mine owner. Mr. Wm. Lennox, /Prominent mining men and lessees of the Mr. E. W. Giddings, (.Strong Mine at the time of the strike. Mr. Sam McDonald, Superintendent Strong Mine when it was blown up, imprisoned by the miners. Mr. W. F. Bowers, Sheriff of El Paso County in 1893 and 1894. Mr. W. S. Boynton, County Commissioner El Paso County at time of strike. Judge Louis W. Cunningham, Judge of District Court, Colorado Springs (1903), Counsel for Miners in 1895. Mr. E. W. Pfeiffer, Chairman Board of County Commissioners Teller County (1903), Union miner and partner of General J. J. Johnson at time of strike. Mr. John Calderwood, President Miners' Union during the trouble. Mr. C. N. McMillan, Vice-President Altman Union, 1894. Mr. Walter Russell, Vice-President Victor Union through difficulty. INDEX. INTRODUCTION. Cripple Creek. Location, geology, settlement i General economic conditions in 1894 2 Conditions in Colorado and Cripple Creek in 1894. . , 3 INDIRECT CAUSES OF THE STRIKE. Uncertain business .condi- tions ^ Irregularities in eniploymentr of labor ; EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE STRIKE. The policy of H. E. Locke. . s Trouble at the Isabella 6 Formation of unions • 6 The development of storm centers 6 The action of the mine own- ers 7 Deportatiom of manager Locke 7 Resolutions of the unions. . 8 ueneral conditions favorable to the mine owners 8. The surprising outcome and ' . the key to its explanation 9 THE FIRST CRISIS Attempts at a compromise. . 9 The lockout Feb. ist (1894) 9 The strike Feb. 7th : 10 John Calderwood 10 Preparation by the unions.. 10 The injunction of March 14 11 Capture of the deputies .... 12 Sheriff Bowers calls for mil- itia 13 Beginning of trouble be- tween State and County. 14 Conference between the gen- , erals and union officers 14 Recall of the militia 14 Compromise at the Indepen- dence 14 THE SECOND CRISIS. Coming of the rough ele- ment I5 The coup of Wm. Rabedeau. 15 The demands and terms of the owners 16 Formation of the deputy army 16 J. J. Johnson 17 Preparation of the miners for resistance 17 First detachment of deputy army (May 24th) 17 The blowing up of the Strong mine 18 The miners attack the depu- ties ig Excitement in Colorado Springs 20 Rapid increase of deputy army 20 1. The governor's proclama- tion 21 ATTEMPTS AT ARBITRA- TION. Conservative movement in Colorado Springs 22 The non-partisan committee 22 The miners propose terms of peace 23 Failure of the arbitration committee plan 24 Exchange of prisoners 24 The mission of Gov. Waite 25 Miners give governor full power to act 26 The conference at Colorado College 27 Attempt to lynch Calder- wood 28 The final conference in Den- ver , 29 Articles of agreement 29 MILITIA vs. DBPUTinS The deputies march on Bull Hill 30 Call of the state militia.... 30 The question of authority.. 31 The clash in Grassey Valley 31 Militia finally in control .... 32 Movements of the deputies. . Zi Conference in Altman. . .'. . . 33 Withdrawal of deputies.... 34 THE RESTORATION OP ORDER. Turbulent coriditions in Cripple Creek 35 Attempts upon life of sher- iff 35 Plans for vengeance in Colo- rado Springs 35 ' The attack upon Gen. Tars- ney 35 Arrests and trials of strikers 35 PECULIARITIES OP THE STRIKE. The union allows men to work 36 Exchange of prisoners 37 Unusual influence of state authority 37 ARGUMENTS OP THE VARIOUS PARTIES. The position of the mine owners (38 The position of the miners. . 39 Attitude of Governor Waite 40 THE INFLUENCE OF POL- ITICS 41 THE POWER OF CONCIL- IATION 43 Date Due f" ~ • ■ ^ ^ 1 ^ 1 L..« .,»».. Cornell University Library HD 5325.M8 1893 C63 "The Cripple Creek strike of 1893' 3 1924 002 401 085 Date Due i^^Q^^ Mgss ij^^ _^^^^i PROPERTY OF LIBRARY NEW im ^mt s mA INDUSTRIAL AND LABOR RELATIONS CORNELL UNIVERSITY ED -5325- -Rastall, B. M. M8 -1893 "The Crippl e Cr a ek strik e of lagaJL ^w^mi m-'