Arizona republican., 1915-05-03
Correspondence Betw ee Il John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and Chairman Bowers Shows Industrial Unrest Was Anticipated
VARIOUS REFORMS
 WE'RE INITIATED
Mir. Bowers Maintains That Reform Measures Were Voluntary and Not Forced by Laws as Maintained by the Union Men
ASSOCIATED PRESS DIsPArcHl

CHICAGO. May 1.-Corres spondence between John D. Rockefeller. Jr, and l.. M. Bowers. chairman of the eX- ecutive department of the Colorado Fuel and Iron company, has been given out here by the local field headquarters of the United States commission on industrial relations. The letters and telegrams relate to the strike of coal miners in Southern Colorado and were submitted to the commission in accordance with de mand made for them at the hearing in New York January IS to Feb. 6 last.
 The letters from MT. Bowers to his superiors in New York emphasized that the company had anticipated in dustrial unrest and possible strike by initiating various reforms, such as the eight hour day. bi-monthly paydays and the employment by the men of their own check Weighman. Mir. Bowers maintains in the core spondence that these measures were voluntary on the part of the com Eany and were not forced by the laws of the state, as was maintained by the union men.
 The first of the letters, dated Sept. 16. 1913. was addressed to Mr Bow CTS by Starr J. Murphy and described n call made by Nr. Ethelbert Stew art. chief statistician of the bureau u of labor statistics of the United States department of labor. MT. stewart talked with Mir. Murphy in asmuch as John D. Rockefeller, Jr., was absent on vacation.
 ha Tr who had been appointed q mediator in the then threatened strike, told the writer that had called in New York to determine whether it would be worth while for him to go to Colorado" MT Murphy wrote that he informed Mir Stewart that the in dustrial dispute would have to be handled by the executive officers in Colorado. that we here in the east knew nothing about conditions. ant would be unwilling to make any sug- gestions to the executive officers.
 Mir. Bowers told of the attempts of the company to persuade the men to select their own check weigh men. He said that the miners were urged" to do this and added that 50 far as I know not a single man was selected
 The accusation that miners were forced to trade at the company stores was denied by MT. Bowers. He argued that all employees were welcome to trade anywhere they wished .'as the money was their own" He said that a careful can vass of all the company's camp failed to find single case of dissatis- faction of this account.
 MT. Bowers referred to the labor troubles in Northern Colorado which he blamed upon oppressive rules of the union and said that there were many objections to union labor in Southern Colorado.
 There follows in the correspondence a telegram. dated Sept. 24 in which Mir. Rockefeller personally congratu- lated the officers of the company on the showing of the fiscal year as set forth in a statement sent east Sept A.
 The next letter is d rather lengthy epistle from Mir Bowers, addressed to Mir. Rockefeller under date of Sept 2e. six days after the strike went into effect In it MT. Bowers claimed that seven thousand of the