Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-05-01
The Colorado Labor War.
To the Editor of The Star:

To the Editor OF The Star:
For months there has been labor
war in Colorado. The opposing forces
have been striking miners on the one
hand and the managers of the Rockefel-
Ter mines on the other. Each side has
equipped itself with ordinary arms. as
well as machine guns. "Hostilities" have
reached such an acute stage so far as
the destruction of life is concerned that
the President has ordered intervention
and sent the federal troops to the strike
zone.
During this war" the news columns OF
The Evening Star and other Washington
papers have contained headlines like this
Violence Spreads Through Colorado. .
This from The Star of April %. Follow
ing these lurid headlines there is always
an account of alleged lawbreaking on the
part of the strikers. and the intlmation
that the state militia" are valiantly bat
Ting for the preservation of our institu-
tons and the rights of man. Not sy1-
liable is printed that could lead even an
expert at reading between the lines to
imagine that the lawbreakers are really
Mr.. Rockefeller and his lieutenants.
In the interest of fair play and a
square deal for which The Star of course,
stands. and in the interest of at least an
average understanding of the situation on
the part Of the readers of The Star. !
would like to call your attention to the
statements made in. the House of Rep
resenta tives April ~. by Representative
Edward Heating, from Huerfano and Las
Animas counties. the seat of the strike
war.
The House had under consideration the
statement of John d. Rockefeller. ir.. 10
Representative Foster, whom President
Wilson sent to New York to intercede
with Mr.. Rockefeller The statement said
Il showed the doctor that all of the
points which are claimed to be at issue
with the exception of nnionizing the
camps. the Colorado Fuel and Iron Com
pany had voluntarily granted to its en-
ployes long before the strike was called
or talked of. Relative to this statement
Representative Heating said:
Then the newspaper adds that the five
.. points which Mr.. Rockefeller says were
eight-hour day. semi-monthly pay. check
weighmen. regulation of company stores
and increased wages" Mr.. Heating Their
stated that he had lived in Colorado for
part in public affairs for twenty -four
years. and was familiar with the rec
ords of Mr. Rockefellers company 81
am familiar. he continued. with
the efforts made in the legislature
to secure the enactment of those laws
and I want to say to this House that
every one of the laws here referred to
was placed upon the statute books in the
face of the bitter and continued oppo-
sition of Mr.. Rockefeller's company and
that after we succeeded in getting those
laws upon the statute books Mr.. Rookie
fellers company has refused to obey the
laws
But refusal to obey the laws is not
the worst of it. or perhaps. speaking
from the point of view of those in author
ity. the best of it.
Mr.. Rockefeller's companies con-
tinues Representative Heating, have
gone into the counties where they have
operated. secured control of the govern
mental machinery in those counties, and
in that way succeeded in suspending the
enforcement of the law. SO far as the
coal-mining companies We're concerned