The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1915-04-27
JOHN D. JUNIOR
MAY Be RECALLED
Was In Constant Touch With
Colorado Strike, Says Walsh.
HAS MASSOF Correspondence

chairman OF INDUSTRIAL Relations Com
mission Claims He Is In Possession
Of Letters Showing That the Rookie.
felIers Knew the Strike Was Com.
ing and Were Prepared For tin
teresting Disclosures Made.
Kansas City, April 24.--John D.
Rockefeller, Jr, land officials of the Col
orado Fuel and Iron company may be
recalled by the United States com.
mission on industrial relations as a
result of revelations bearing on the
recent Colorado coal strike, when the
commission resumes its public hear.
ings in Washington May 4.
The new move is direct result Of
mass Of letters and kilograms which
came into the possession Of Frank P.
Walsh, chairman Of the commission
The correspondence shows, Mr..
Walsh said, that Jonn D. Rockefeller,
Jr., who testified before the commits
sion in New York and also before the
congressional investigating commit.
tee, that he had kept his hands off
the strike situation aud had no knowl.
edge Of conditions in the coal fields,
was In reality the directing mind
throughout the struggle; that he exer.
cised a personal influence that ex-
tended even to the statehouse In Den
yer, and presumed to dictate letters
that went out to the president of the
United States and to the governors
OF the states over the signature of the
governor of Colorado; that he with.
held from the department Of labor at
Washington information asked for,
when Secretary Wilson sought to
avert the strike, before it began; that
he know on the admission Of his own
agent in the fields that the Colorado
Fuel and Iron company controlled the
prices and fixed the working condi-
tions at the mines; that constant and
full telegrapbic reports and letters Of
particularization covering every phase
of the contest and the proposals for
settlement were sent to him from the
first and throughout the period OF the
strike; and that he informed the mine
executives that he had refused Secre-
tary Wilson's offer Of mediation and
promised to support them in their
stand to the end.
What Walsh Says.
"The commission has made a part
of its record" Mr.. Walsh said, "a mass
Of correspondence not only showing
that the Rockefellers were personally
in constant touch with every phase OF
the Colorado strike situation, but that
they knew the strike was coming and
were prepared for 1t. We have letters
of Mr.. Rockefeller. Jr., Of ]. F. We'll
born, president of the Colorado Fuel
and Iron company: Of L. M. Bowers,
chairman of its executive committee;
OF Starr ]. Murphy, personal repre-.
sentative Of John d. Rockefeller, Sr..
and of Ivy Lee, his publicity agent,
which make it plain that every step
taken by the Rockefeller agents in
Colorado in the great strike in which
men, women and children lost their
nves, was taken with the full knowl-
edge and assent of 26 Broadway, New
York.
"More than that, these letters show
that even before the strike began in
September, 1918, the department Of
labor at Washington sent Ethelbert
Stewart of the bureau of labor statis
tics to New York to see Mr.. Rockefel-
Ter and try to avert the struggle. Mr..
Murphy. acting under instructions
from Mr.. Rockefeller, told the govern
ment agent that they could not inter,
fere; that they knew nothing Of the
situation in Colorado and that the en-
tire mater was in the hands Of the
mine executives at the scene. The
same day of the interview Mr.. Muir
ply wrote a full account Of it to Mr..
Bowers at Denver, and Mr.. Bowers
wrote back highly praising Mr.. Muir.
pny for his discretion in not giving
the government agent any informa.
ton"