Durango semi-weekly herald., 1902-02-17
APR0POS
OF
TELLURIDE
BY Ben s.lIou.

MANY iuoOus hBO Some WlSe guy
gave out what he called proverb. an
axiom. or something OF that sort.
and. in substance 1t ran like this:
III you would learn the home news.
you must go abroad for It," My
experience Of q day or two ago
brought the above adage most forci-'
bly, TO my mind In connection with
the Industrial situation at Telluride
just at present. and the saying of
the wise guy fits Telluride's case to
dot
For weeks the newspapers in vari-
Gus parts of the state. and those Of
Deneyer particularly. have been max
ing all sorts of dire prophecicies
concerning Telluride's near future,
| and II one believed half that he read,
he certainly must conclude that the
Telluride district was the seat OF al
most actual warfare. Reports Of
the war like organization of the min
ers. Of the supply of arms and amuni-
tion they have on hand. the likell-
of the incoming OF state troops, and
perhaps the regulars. the Importation
OF non-union miners into the camp
formed prolific subjects for the writ
ers OF the yellow journals. and they
have erected a most frightful jour
nalistic bug.a-boo and garbed 1t in the
bloodiest of red-hued apparel.
And | wish to remark right here,
that II trouble does come In the Tel
luride dlstrict-trouble of serious
character which shall result In
bloodshed-these very newspapers
OF which | have spoken. and the
yellow journals of Denver especially,
will have aided most materially in
bringing about condition which
they will be unable to take care Of
| and for which they will have very
much to answer.
Going up In the train the other
day the main topic OF conversation
among the passengers was "the
fearfu condition at Telluride" And
II made ne somewhat alarmed
| about the matter and caused him to
| wonder If II would be safe to make
| a landing at the town in question
Conditions at Telluride were said to
be bordering on actual war and
| DlbbuHutus anu ploft lut hboci
made. Denver papers were produced
as evidence. Out with such jour
| nalsm.
Upon arriving in Telluride the
same customary peaceful scene was
presented at the depot. The hotel
porters cried the merits of their re-
spective hostelries in their regula-
tion tone of voicec. No armed
guards patrolled the depot platform,
and getting aboard the same old ON
nibus that | rode in fifteen years ago
streets presenting as peaceful an ap-
pearance as we might expect to find
upon those Of the New Jerusalem.
| The people OF Telluride know moth
Ing about the reports In the newspa-
pers and they emphatically declare
that there is not the slightest ground
for their origin. Work In the mines
is progressing in a most satisfactory
manner. The miners union control
the practical conduct of all the prop
critics. and 1t Is an absolute truth that
there are no non-union miners being
Imported into the camp. Poor. in.
deed. must be the opinion of the
mine owners and managers business
[ jugment by the man who for a mo-
ment imagines that these gentlemen
would resort to measures In the pres
ent crisis that would act as a verit-
able fire-brand upon the situation.
The mine managers are not fools.
They are practical men, OF good
sound business Judgment, and they
know that Industrial disturbances
mean curtailment OF production. loss
OF valuable time. and consequent
loss of money. And these men are
holding their positions today simply
and wholly for the purpose OF max
Ing money for the owners of the
mines. Let them persistently fail
In the accomplishment OF this pur-
pose, and they hunt another job.
| am no advocate of the mine man
ayers side OF this question. AS a
rule their innermost sentiments are
antagonistic to unionism, but they
realize that the miners union is in
the saddle, and realizing this, they
desire to make the best of the stu
alton and avoid all friction and
trouble. 1t is a dollars and cents
proposition with them, a purely mon
etary matter. and this being the case.
they cannot afford to do anything
calculated to retard the wheels OF de
velopmcnt and productions in the
mines.
On the other hand the miners are
far remote from the bloodthirsty set
OF men they have been pictured.
They are not going about with chips
on their shoulders and soliciting
some one to knock them on. All
these yellow journal stories about the
miners having 1900 stands of arms
buried In the basin ready for immed-
late use, and other equally senseless
reports are merely 30 much rot. and
rot OF the rottenest kind. The men
who write these infiammatory re-
ports should be hunted out and call
ed upon to prove their assertions.