The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-05-03
Civil War in Colorado
By N. 2. Thompson.

.I.1a
 While the newspapers of the country are spending large sums of money to gather and disseminate news from the seat of war in the Far East. judging from their comparative silence few of them are aware that a civil war is in progress right here in our own land and which involves issues of vital importance to the American people.
 do not wish to charge the newspapers with any intention of trying to keep the public in the dark regarding the true state of affairs in Colorado, bat in justice to themselves they should give both sides of the question which has brought such a disastrous conflict betwen the authorities of that State and the striking miners who inaugurated it,
 I have subjected myself on more than one occasion to the charge made by organized labor that was an enemy to their cause when I sought to show the dangers pertaining to some of their policies with the view Of obtaining their correction. and being desirous now to see the South freed from those dangers In order that her development may be proportioped to the advantages which the God of Nature has so layishiy given her people, I am going to yindicate every charge that have ever made by giving the facts as they exist in Colorado. A little over six months ago the Western
 
 members out on strike who were working on metalliferous ores in the Cripple Greek District, the object being to stop all shipments of custom ores to the mills at Colorado City on demand for the unionizing of these mills.
 There was no question of wages, or hours or conditions, but a simple imperi- ous and brutal demand to those mills owners to unionize their plants or go out of business.
 s,ha ynlrsrn,,r, ,v,oa oaiS ir thak Ale trict was three dollars per day of eight hours, while skilled mechanics received five dollars per day of the same period. The mill owners and mine operators fn- strikes, as they had perfect right to do, and then 1t was that a regin of crime and violence was inaugurated by these strikers that Is without parallel in the history of this country. It was a prac- ticai declaration of war against the mine and mill owners. and the independent workers. to the effect that no mill should be run, no mine operated, no one work except under the rule of the Western Federation of Miners! In the war that lives have been sacrificed and s5l, ,00o000 in property losses. and that too where the entire assessed values in that State were only H5o,000,0 600, or a loss of one-third of the entire value in six months.
 The civil authorities being powerless to restore order or protect life and property. the Governor called out the military and proclaimed martial law in the strike dis tricts as was his sworn duty to do.
 But in the face of this attmept to sustain law and order, the milli- tary was defied and insulted, the Gov ernor caricatured and defamed, while the flag of our country is desecrated by printing on its stripes denunciations against the authorities of a Sovereign State. In the day of Andrew Jackson the leaders of these rioters and rebel lious forces would long Since nave been tried by court martial and shot as traitors to their country.
 Now, the American Federation of Labor. with which nearly all labor organi- zations are affiliated, is aiding and abet- ting these outlaws and criminals in Colorado, by contributing to their support In idleness and sending it's officials to per- sonaliy help conduct the warfare against the authorities of that State.
 In law this makes every member of the organization affiliated with the Ameri- can Federation of Labor, co-oconspIra- tors and particeps crIminis in the out rages that are being committed in Colo rado by and in the sacred @ name of organized labor, for not only has no protest ever been made by any local organization, but every one has been urged to send money and words of cheer which they have done and are now doing to these strikers who have placed themselves above law and all govern ment in Colorado. leave 1t to the people of the South to say whether lan- guage Is strong enough to denounce such crimes, or efforts too strong to save the South from such high handed outrages