United labor bulletin., 1914-08-29

Mine Workers in presenting true records
of the present industrial trouble, relates
to the loss of life in the southern coal
fields. 1t is full of strong facts and
ought to command intelligent attention.
Here follows the most important con-
tents of the bulletin:
Colorado is known today as the
Scarlet Letter Sister of States"
She bows her head in shame to the
mourning survivors of the "a men,
women and children whom she has al
lowed to be murdered and cremated
through the complete domination OF her
executive, legislative, judicial and mill
tary arms by the large corporate in
terests.
For wanton disregard and criminal
negligence of life, the Colorado coal op-
orators have long been known.
Gerald Lippiatt, union organizer, was
the first to pay the death penalty for
fighting corporate greed in Colorado.
He was murdered by George Belcher, a
notorious Baldwin thug, on the
streets of Trinidad, August IS, 1913.
When, on September %, 1913, 1882
of their employees struck to obtain their
political and industrial freedom by the
enforcement of then existing laws, the
operators laid aside their former ex-
cuse that the murder of their men in
the mines was accidental and set
about to wilfully exterminate the strik-
ers and their families.
More than 1000 gunmen, dregs of the
large cities, "men" who earn their liv-
ing at SO to 81 a day shooting down the
workers, were brought into the state.
Among these were many of the Bald
win-Felts detectives who had manned
~. -,
ginia and shot down men and women
and babes at their mothers breasts.
A. c. Feltz, Colorado head of these
thugs. began at once the construction of
an armored automobile in the shops of
the Colorado Fuel & Iron Company.
Fitted with a machine gun and
manned by five imported murderers,
this Death Special was driven at top
speed through the tent colonies, shoot
ing among the women and children.
Matt Powell was killed October 0,
1913, when the gunner attacked the
Ludlow tent colony.
One of the most dastardly attacks
made by these thugs was that at Forbes,
October II, 1918. The machine gun was
trained on the tent colony. When the
smoke cleared away, Luke Verhonik
was dead and boy had been shot in
the leg nine times.
On October "a, 1913, operators gun
men, with their high-powered rifles,
made an attack on the strikers in Sew
enth street, Walsenburg, Colo. Three
union men, Kris Kokich, Andy Auvinen
and Cisto Croci, were killed.
But the most infamous attempt to ex-
terminate the strikers was made on
April 20, 1914, when two companies OF
the operators gunner, who had recently
been enlisted into the Colorado National
Guard. and under the command of Maj
Pat Hammock and Lieut.. X. f. Linder-
felt, deliberately attacked the Ludlow
tent colony.
Machine guns had been placed in po-
sition two days before. Using them like
garden hose, the gunmen swept the tent
colony filled with women and children
from one end to the other.
Louis Tikas, leader of the Greek
strikers, and James Fyler were deliber-
ately murdered while prisoners of these
gunmen militia. Charles Costa, Frank
Rubino and John Bartoloti, strikers,
were killed.
That night the tent colony was set
afire with oil-soaked torches and burned
to the ground.
Red Cross nurses who went to Ludlow
take care OF the dead were driven back
by the gunmen militia with explosive
bullets.
Wednesday revealed the real horrors
of this war of the operators by machine
guns and high-powered rifles against the
union miners who are striking to secure
an enforcement of Colorado laws.
In one cave, the "Black Hole of Lud-
low," were found the charred and dis.
torted bodies of ii little children and
two women. Frank Snyder, IL who had
run from another safety retreat to get
a drink of water for his sick mother,
was found dead, shot through the head
by the gunmen- militia.
The operators thugs and the militia,
driven mad by their lust for the blood
of the strikers, then began systematic
campaign TO completely exterminate
them.
Two union men were killed at Agui-
lar, another at Forbes, three at Walsen-
burg. The arrival of federal troops pre-
vented further slaughter by these i'm
ported murderers of the Colorado coal
operators.
The names of those who have been
murdered and cremated by the gunmen
of the Colorado coal operators in their