The Newtown bee., 1904-07-15

last they decided to strike. They were sattsfield with their wages, the hours of labor and the treatment of their employers. Most of the mine owners formed an alliance and sent of and got other men, and the mines were run, but assaults and accidentally were so frequent as to make life dangerous. One mine was blown up, it's manager and others killed, and it was charged that the owners of the mine blew it up themselves to create prejudice against unionism. Later union leaders were arrested, tried, but acquitted, and it1 is claimed here that the evidence against them should have convicted them of foul murder. A train carry ing non-union miners home from their work at midnight was nearly wrecked. A confession was gathered from one connected with the effort to wreck the train. A trial of principals, an &C., quittal, and justice was, in the opinion of honorable people, again defeated. Previous to this our governor had called out the state troops both at the smelter and Cripple Creek, as the county officers seemed to be wholly in the confidence of the union element t. For several months the troops re- mained, but a few weeks ago were carried home. In the meantime many of the union men and agitators re- mained in camp and the Federation of Labor has the credit of supporting them, by opening union stores and otherways. Every now and then a non-union man would be found dead,
 but no trace of who killed him could
 be found. Last week as the non-union
 miners were collecting at depot to
 go home from their work an explosion of 200 pounds of dynamite occurred un- der the platform of the depot, and 15
 men were blown all to pieces, and many more badly hurt. A wire was
 found 200 feet long by which the ex-
 plosion was caused. The citizens
 were terribly aroused. The officers
 seemed to be valueless, and the gover-
 nor again sent Itroops, Gen Sherman
 Bell, adjutant general of the state, in
 command. He was enc of Roosevelt's
 Rough Riders, of whom it is said
 Roosevelt said s.if he could not fight
 his own battles he knew of no one he
 would rather have than Sherm Bell. |"
 A mass meeting was called and the
 gathering was fired upon by men from
 the union hall, and some were killed.
 The citizens demanded the resigna-
 tions of the sheriff, coroner and justice
 of the peace, and guns and rope were
 used as convincing arguments and
 men were Appointed who now have things we'll in hand. Union men col-
 lected outside the town, armed, and
 fired on troops who were sent to cap
 ture them. Some hundreds were made
 prisoners and a committee appointed
 to investigate each one, and some
 were let loose, but those who had a bad record were deported as a military
 necessity. The union halls were rafd- ed and records, etc., taken possession Of. and a large number of photographs of nOn-uniOn men found with their names on the back, also numbered and
 where the man had accidentally died
 the name and number had cross against them, and these men, some 10 or 12, had died, it is reported, in l, 2,
 3, order, and people here think this is strong evidence, and however much
 the Federation may regret" and
 "resolute" and "reward" and appoint committees to investigate and insinu-
 ate that it was plot concocted by the
 Mine Owners association, it will be a long time before honorable people will
 believe their story. Who ever heard
 of0a people tried as those of Cripple Creek have been who have acted in a
 more conservative manner and allowed
 the law to take its course, and the acts of the military, which have been up- held by our Supreme court, while the state and it's government is being crit icised by editors and people in other states as being anarchistic, not up- holding the rights of the people, gen. erally lawless, and whose citizens are not capable of self government. There has much happened which would take to much time to tell, much that would bring tears to stout hearts. Separa. tions of families of deported men, but they can get together again; but those others, on one side the widows and children forever alone, with but the remembrance of skull or a leg with miners boot on, found on roof, and this all that could be found of man who said the last good night to his loved ones, and coming from a stal. wart rugged body, full of health and vigor, but now-his story is told, and all because he was willing to work to support his loved ones, satisfied with good wages, reasonable hours and the confidence of his employers. This is part of the truth as I see it here. With kinds regards. Very truly yours,-[William T. Kasson.