Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1904-06-16
The Colorado Strike.


suspension of the writ of habeas cor
pus, citizens committees contemplate
ing whether certain men shall be
hanged or not, the deportation of all
men who insist on retaining member
ship in a certain labor organization,
these and other things that followed
the death of a large number from the
dynamite explosion recently, indi-
cate the gravity of the situation.
Union labor as organized by the
Western Federation of Miners has
evidently gone too far in Colorado.
The principle that q laborer has a
right to quit job If he wants to, has
long been recognized, or that he has a
right to organize with fellow-workmen
and all quit together, but that they
have a right to intimidate others who
desire to take up the work they have
laid down, to say nothing Of using
violence towards such other laborers,
has never been admitted by the Ameri-
can public. BY going too far in this
intimidating work, even attacking and
at last in numbering a dozen or so
workingmen, the union miners went
so far beyond their proper sphere that
they have lost all sympathy with the
public. 1t is said the union did not
authorize these violences. However,
these acts were done in the interests
of the union and no doubt by union
members and nothing that was known of
wasdone by the union to prevent them.
The big strike in the Cripple Creek
district has brought that very interest
ing place into the public gaze again.
About ten years ago they had another
big strike when they had the milatia
out for some time. That is one of the
biggest and richest gold fields in the
world. 1t has a picturesque surround
ing. We believe it was nine years
ago this June that the writer took a
vacation trip up through that district.
A stage ride from Colorado Springs
up Cheyenne Canyon, winding up
through the mountains, leaving thu
great bald Pixies Peak to the right, a
dinner and a change of horses at {
log hotel up near the timber line
whirling down the mountain sides
with precipices below you for hun
dreds of feet and you pull into "Crip
Pile" about sun down. The elevation
is still so great as to make one uset
to the Mississippi valley to struggl
for more air. The city is a minin
town, nothing more, but it is a biI
one, 10000 or more. At that tim'
saloons, gambling and all the wors
features accompanying that kind o
life was there without objection O
hin drance. Victor and half a doze
other towns of 1000 down are clust
cred around within few miles. Tn
Stratton mines and many others will
as rich an out put as the greed of ma
has ever realized, are close at hand
Here once in while men of povert
, of last year are millionares this year
} and occasionally visa versa. Th
true stories of how occasionly tn
mendicant miner suddenly struck
: rich and became possessor of incom
beyond his power to comprehend G
} spend, have lured hundreds on I
, fruitless toll for years. But the bi
: body Of men are now working for tn
, corporations or the wealthy min
} owners. 1t is this big body of me
with no particular interest in the Oh
put of the works, except to get goo
wages, that has made the trouble. A
in the anthracite districts last year
there were two sides to the contrc
versy, until the miners went beyon
their proper limit.