The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1904-05-05
CoLORADO'S STRUGGLE.

called civil war, with the coal oonpa-
MES and Governor Peabody ON one
side and the coal miners on the other.
1t is discreditable to the State and
dangerous as well, and the whole
country is awakening to these facts.
The strike began on November 8
last, the miners demanding an eight
hour day, semi monthly payment of
wages better ventilation of the mines.
and the recognition of 1000 pounds as
ton with provisions for honest
weighing for the miners who are paid
for their work by the ton. At the
State election in 1902 an amendment
to the State constitution, providing for
an eight hour law, was adopted by 49,,
900 majority. The Legislature, how
ever, failed to enact the law thus de-
manded. The assertion was freely
made that the Legislature in its fail
ure to obey the mandate of the people
was influenced by corrupt motives,
and the miners felt justified IN trying
to obtain by strike what had been
thus denied them.
The operators failed to give in and
tried to break the strike by hiring in
non-uniun laborers. The result was
that the cooler heads on both sides lost
control and bloodshed resulted. This
might have been expected with the
popular feeling as it was, especially
since large proportion of the coal
miners are uneducated and have been
in America but a few years. I'm
doubtedly serious excuses were COM
mitted aud very likely some of the la
Dor leaders were not entirely free from
guilt. Governor Peabody called out a
portion of the State militia and put
several mining districts under martial
law. Quite portion of the members
of the militia were in sympathy with
the strikers but, acting under the or
ders of the Governor they seized and
exiled from the State many of the la
Dor leaders and prominent members of
the unions. District Judge Theron
Stevens has interfered with this work
by writs of habeas corpus and injunc.
tions, and two of the officers have been
adludged in contempt of court and
fined $500 each because they disobeyed
the orders of the court and obeyed the
Governor, who is their commander-in-
chief. The question of jurisdiction of
the court under the circumstances is
to be taken to the State Supreme Court
for decision.
The Springfield Republican sums up
the situation as follows:
1.-The whole of the miners story has
not been told, and we must question
whether in all honesty and truth they
would care TO tell the whole. That
they have used intimida and force
to keep out non-union men is readily
to be believed. Quite likely there
have been desperate characters among
them who have dynsmited mines or
machinery in cases, and their counter
charges that hundreds of lives have
been lost in the mines by the neglect
of operators to observe the laws re-
garding ventilation, etc., and that
some OF the outrages charged to the
blllh6Ib nave I66ull6u lTOu lIl6 GILL;
ployment of men ignorant OF the use
of explosives, deserve mention. But
beyond all this is the apparent fact
that the miners, through lawful meth
DDS, have sought to bring about eight
hour enactments, and that the opera
tors, through unlawful methods, have
succeeded in defeating the same, and
have then undertaken to break up the
labor organizations altogether, in
which task they have the assistance of
the whole military power of the State
employing the most outrageous meas
ures OF suppression. 1t would seem to
be time for the State authorities Of
Colorado and the mine operators to
give ear to more peaceful counsels in
dealing with the situation. Nothing
but far worse trouble can come of a
relentless prosecution of their pre- sent
course. -
1t is, indeed, high time that set
Element of the difficulty be reached.
Both sides should be glad to settle as
the struggle is costing them heavily.
Both sides have undoubtedly been in
the wrong 1t is very difficult to get
an unbiased statement of the whole
ohoiAJ pup llOm Wldb Odu DO Sdbll6lou
from the conflicting statements it
seems that at the beginning the min
ers were fairly justified in making
their demands as stated above. With
out doubt there had been advantage
taken of the miners in tie matter OF
weighing or estimating the amount OF
coal mined, thereby unduly reducing
the actual pay of the men. Probably
there were some grounds for the
claims of the miners that they were
not properly safeguarded against ex-
plosion and injury. For the eight
hour day, right or wrong, they evi.
IDENTIFY had the support of large ma
jority of the voters of the State. The
struggle once begun, however, unlaw
srg EsSa4kt1,r !. i u Z III
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