The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1915-03-02
A SCATHING
ARRANGEMENT
Colorado Militia Scored for
Treatment of Strikers
and Families
MILITIAMEN GUILTY
OF LAWLESS ACTS

for Publication-Charge That Peon-
age Existed Is Not Clearly Proven.
Report Says.
WASHINGTON. March .. Ar
scathing arraignment of the Colorado
militia for its treatment of striking
miners and their families is contained |
in Il voluminOus report submitted to |
the house today by the mines and min
ing subcommittee, which investigated |
conditions in the Colorado coal fields |
under Il resolution adopted year ago
| i'll January. While scoring conditions |
| generally in the coal fields and CRITICS
ing many of the acts of the mine one |
rators, including alleged violation of |
Estate laws, the committee reports that
no evidence was found of conspiracy
in restraint of trade to limit the out |
put of the mines, nor conclusive proof
of the existence of peOna9e.
The strike was settled long before
the committee completed its report, SO
mo specific recommendations are made
The committee appeals, however, for
arbitration in such situations. 1t de
Eclares that these disturbances are ma
Ition-wide in their importance: that the
federal government is the only power
IeOmpetent to deal with them. and. at
ter referring to the testimony of John
y. Rockefeller, ir., VINO tisclaimed
responsibility for Colorado conditions,
adds:
"Absentee owners or directors by
their absence from the scene of such
disturbances cannot escape their moral
esponsibilitv for conditions in and
IabOut properties in which they are in
lterested. -
Liberal extracts from the 5000 pages
of testimony taken by the committee
are embodied in the report, with this
comment:
d" Considerable testimony on both
. sides of the controversy. we believe
5 unreliable, and no confidence should be
placed in it. Colorado had good mining
{ laws and such that ought to afford pro
: lection to the miner if they are en-
] forced. vet in this state the percentage
of fatalities is larger than any other,
showing there is undoubtedlv some
thing wrong in reference 70 the man
agement of its coal mines 1t is con
tended by the miners as one of their
= grievances that the operators do not
= obey the law, and however good the
!. laws may be if not observed thew are
l tt1 Hu ITbttttItn
= 1.-The testimony of James Dalrvmple
: state mine inspector. calls attention tc
j. the many violations of the law by the
Il operators. and the miners claim this as
one of the causes leading up to the
,, strike. The report Of Mr.. Dalrvmplt
i. also says he found in some eases the
operators had put in operation new de
vices and systems of an advantage tt
: the miners =
So cit seemed the militia was on til,
y side of the operators in this contro
4 versy, says the report, after recitin!
the action of the governor in calling
out the state troops. ''and the cvidenc,
4 seems conclusivelv to prove to have
4 been the case. The sooner men armed
i in the service of the state learn tina
1 the men with whom they may deal ma,
4 he poor and ignorant and even violator
4 Of the law but are still human. tn
l better it will be for all concerned.
u 1.-The recruiting of mine guards n
4 members Of the militia, in oUr judy
I ment. was a mistake. since intense oni
! mostly had existed for some time be
4 tween the mine guards and the miner
and it was difficult or even impossibl
1 for the miners to feel that these me
Were neutral conseryators OF tn
/ the opportunity, while clothed wit
the authority of the state to engag
in various lawless acts.
elm other instances the acts WEI
4 of an immoral kind and of such II;
- ture as to be unfit for publication
"a this report. There were acts of brl
/ tally testified to before the committt
4 which might be enumerated: men G
4 slight provocatiOn were thrown int
| Jail and kept there without the oppo
] tunity of proving their innocenc
Il There were many good men in the mil
4 tia, both officers and privates. and Il
4 strikers testifTing said that certa
/ companies were composed of kinds ms
/ and if their houses were to be searcht
Il they asked that members of these col
II panies might be sent; but if othe
u were sent to do the searching thu
Il would he subjected to indignities al
would probably be robbed of whatev
they might have that the militia wan
l ed
The committee denounces John
Chase, adjutant general of the milit
Of the state, for his refusal to tet
except upon condition that he won
not be questioned by representatives
the miners, and declares that he CIV
. oyer-bearing to all who came in &C
tact with him.
NIL Reviewing the testimony of ma
witnesses, the report saws from t
time the strike was called until t
Vi federal troops were sent into the ft
ny by the President of the United stat
Iph there was q series of battles viii
seemed to be fierce while they last
ST and number of people were killed n
wounded on both sides. 1t conden
as inexcusable both the attack on B
= wind camp by men alleged to ha
been strikers as we'll as the ASA
sti- upon Forbes tent colony by arm
lob guards using a machine-eun