The Coeur d'Alene press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1892-1907, 1904-06-25
IS GOLORAll,S DISGRACE

troops; and rarely they admit that
Wilderness are committed by irrespon-
sible members Of their own orgaBiza.
tion.
II Is always difficult to ok definitely
the blame for these secret crimes, and
especially difficult in towns like
Cripple Greek, Telluride and other
Colorado camps, where the population
Is made up so largely Of members Of
the union, or union sympathizers;
where the officials, the sheriff and the
coroner, the district attorney and the
inries are often union men, or at least
look to union votes to keep thier
places Sheriff Robertson, the chief
executive officer Of Teller county, for
instance, is a member Of miners
union No 80. and practically all Of
che other county officers are union
men sympathizsrs.
What is the result2 Union men
arrested of assault ON ''scabs," or
for other deeds Of violence, are rarely
punished. ''scab beating is not a
crime in Teller county. II is hardly
surprising, then, that the more ter
rible assassinations and dynamitings
OF the srtike periods should be laid
ct the door of the union. And We
know this positively: the union does
not froWn upon the smuggling of non
union men. Indeed, the constant
villification Of ''scabs'' in the union
papers, in the union meetings, is a
direct encouragement aud incentive
to this crime, which, in time OF
strikes excitement. leads inevitably to
killing. Not only does the union
not discourage these things, but, when
q union man is caught, every resocrce
Of political iufiuanee, as in Teller
county, is used to get him free.
For instance, a union man named
Minister was arrested in Cripple Greek,
charged with vsrious assaults. While
the legal complaints we're being made
cut Sheriff Robertson, asserting that
the lawyers were slow, and that he
could not hold Minister without the
formal charges, let him GO; Under
Sheriff GauRhan said concerning this
ease: Eve can't afford to autsgonizs
9 whole raft OF people" In short, I
the sheriff did not want to antagonize /.
the uqiQn that electe him, aud so be |
Administered Law to suit, not the whole /
people, but the union.
On the other hand, an officer who /
does not execute the law to suit the
anion some times pays high for his
termerity. For instance, in August
che union was instrumental in having
several nouunion workers at the FL
PasO mine arrested for carrying con
cealed weapons. Justice Of the peace
John T. Hawkins fined one man 50
and discharged the othars-a Judge.
ment far too lenieut for these
a'scabs, - the union thought On
September ,, in full daylight, on the
main street Of Altman. while on his
way to the postOffice, Justice Hawkins
was assaulted from behind. knocked
down and then jumped upon and
kicked. When he recovered he
walked across the street aud asked
man, a union man il he knew who
struck him This uas the reply
81 saw him and | know him, but /
will not tell you, you scab protector.
II it had been me, you can bet your
life would have done better job. "
Evasion, excuse, the attempt to
shift the responsibility will not avail
the union; the union or its elected
sheTiffs must shift these crimes and
punish the offender, no matter who
they are. When they have done this,
they can come to the public with ir-
resistible claims upon its sympathy. !
The strike at Cripple Creek 10
1894, and that Of Telluride in 1901, |
we're called the great victories for
unionism. They we're not. They
we're defeats. They laid the founda-
toip for QtbeT violence. They en-
Souraged the unions, once successful
with rifles and fists, to use rifles and
1sts again. They inspired arrogance,
they begot petty exactions which
hsaping up. he aping mp, year after
year, finally brought the catastrophe
Of 1903, which Is not unlikely to wipe
the Western Federation Of Miners
out Of all the important mining camps
Colorado, aud give unionism a set
back from which it will limp to re-
coVery only after years Of humble and
painful effort