Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-04-24
Flat Refusal to Mediate.

year ana containing no "OTu VI Gun
Germ for the 5000 miners who that day
were deprived of their livelihood.
Flat Refusal to Mediate.
November 81, Secretary Wilson OF
the Department of Labor made an eff
fort to intervene in the strike and sent
a telegram to Mr.. Rockefeller, jr.. ask
ing him to authorize representatives of
the operators to meet representative
of the miners and confer on the basis
of a settlement. Mr.. Rockefeller's reply,
which with the Secretary's telegram
was filed with the commission. was
ment that the action Of the mine exc
cutives had his cordial support. and
that he would support them to the
end.
I'm the correspondence Mr.. Bowers
makes an admission which Is very IN
teresting in the light of previous testi-
mony that has been offered on the SUD
ject. He writes to Mr.. Rockefeller:
The Colorado Fuel and Iron com,
pany usually leads in fixing prices ana
conditions, which the larger coihpdHies
usually agree to.
Correspondence Made Public.
CHICAGO. April 24.-Correspondence
between John D. Rockefeller. jr., and
L. NJ. Bowers, chairman of the execu-
tive department of the Colorado Fuel
and Iron Company, has been given out
here by the local field headquarters
of the United States commission on in
dustrial relations. The letters and teie.
grams relate to the strike of coal
miners in southern Colorado. and were
submitted to the commission In ac-
cordance with a demand made for them
at the hearing in New York January
is to February 6, last.
The letters from Mr.. Bowers to his
superiors in New York emphasized
dustrial unrest and possible strike by
initiating various reforms, such as the
eight-hour day, bimoEthly pay days
and the employment by men OF their
maintains in the correspondence that
these measures were voluntary on the
part of the company and were not
forced by the laws of the state, as was
maintained by the union men.
One letter is a rather long epistle
from Mr.. Bowers, addressed to Mr..
Rockefeller under date of September
20, six days after the strike went into
1000 of the 5000 men who were out
quit from fear of the Black Hand and
similar organizations, who, through
letters or face to face, threatened to
kill the men. do violence to their wives
and daughters and practice all of the
hellish villany that these creatures
possess"
Upheld Company Officers.
Another communication bearing on
the correspondence contained copies of
kilograms between Secretary Wilson of
the Department of Labor and John D.
Rockefeller, jr., which the latter sent
to Mr.. Bowers. November 81 Secretary
Wilson had asked Mr.. Rockefeller to
have representatives of coal companies
in Colorado meet the union leaders
with view to finding basis for set
Element. Mr.. Rockefeller declined to
act, referring the Secretary to the COM
panys officers in Colorado. He added:
THE action of our officers in refus-
ing to meet the strike leaders Is quite
as much in the interest of our en-
ployes as of any other element in the
company. Their position meets with
our cordial approval and we shall sup
port them to the end
A telegram from Mr.. Bowers apprised
Mr.. Rockefeller of the fight at the Lud-
low tent colony. Mr.. Rockefeller sent
a brief dispatch in reply. regretting the
loss of life. On the 23d of April he
asked Mr.. Bowers II any of the disturb
mines owned by or with former or
present employees of the fuel company"
Mr.. Bowers wired a negative reply.
Later the same day Mr. Rockefeller
telegraphed for full wire reports daily
of the various disturbances, and some
of these appear in the correspondence.
Ammons Makes a Denial.
DENVER, Col, April 24.-Former
Gov E NJ Ammons. when shown the
between John D. Rookie
Teller. jr.. and Ivy l.. Lee. as made pub
lie by Frank P. Walsh. chairman of
the federal Industrial relations COM
mission, said:
Il never sent out a letter on any
phase of the Colorado coal miners
strike that I did not prepare myself. 1
never heard of Ivy L. Lee until his
name was brought out at the Denver
investigation o fthe industrial relations
commission and never had any CORE
spondence with him. I furnished cop
les of all my correspondence regarding
the strike to the Industrial relations
commission during the Denver hear
ing"
Mr. Ammons added: THE only time I
ever met a representative OF Mr. Rock :
efeller was a few days ago, when W. L.
Mackenzie King discussed with me la
Dor conditions in Colorado"