The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1920-09-24
MARTIAL l. A w IN
DENVER
Terrorism in Street Car Strike;
Union Officials Jailed in Fight
For Open Shop.

Reports to- the American Civil Lib
critics Union from local correspond
ents in Denver show conditions in
which the workers have been strip
ped Of every vestige of civil rights
~ the result of the declaration of
martial law due OF the street-car
strike. Federal troops under Gen.
Leonard Wood guard the cars of the
company which are manned by strike
breakers and private gunner; the
entire executive committee of the
street -carmen's union has been sent
to jail for ninety days for violation
of an injunction forbidding the strike,
all meetings of workers have been
prohibited, and even the usual La
Dor Day parade was not allowed.
The strike has been on since Au-
gust ist, when 100 men struck
against the open snop ultimatum of
the Denver Tramway Co. which is
staging The local fight for the ma
tionwide open shop campaign. The
men have been out 100 per cent
strong ever since. The secretary of
the Civil Liberties Union local com
mittee in Denver, reports conditions
ander date of September 7th, as
follows:
Denver is under martial law. The
strike is still on and soldiers are
riding the cars with the strike break
crs. The tr&mway company abso-
lutely refuses to recognize the union,
and all the open shop forces are back
Of this move. The trouble started
when the company imported a lot Of
professional strikebreakers from the
coast under the notorious Black Jack
Jerome professional strikebreaker
alleged to be under indictment for
murder there
"Ihe cars were screened in with
heavy wire and the crews were arm
ed. Guards were placed on each side
OF the motormen with rifles or shot
guns, pointing these guns at the
crowds which naturally gathered IN
der the circumstances. The Denver
Trades and Labor Assembly marched
to the city hall in body the next
day and protested against this action
of the tramway company, requesting
the mayor to have strike breakers
and guards disarmed. This he re-
fused to do.
CAS- was to be expected, the fol-
lowing day when another parade was
held, in which many union men from
the railroad shops participated, three
of these armed cars came along, and
the strike-breakers were jeered at
by the paraders. One of the guards
fired and shot a union man. Of
course this incensed the crowd and
they beat up the strike breakers.
That night the building of the Den
yer Post, which took a very unfair
attitude toward the strikers, was
sacked. This paper since then is
everyday asking citizens to report
every |. W. W., every radical every
Communist, every opponent of the
government" to the authorities, and
in fact is melting violence.
"The entire executive committee
Of the street railway mems union
have been sent to Jail for ninety days.
This, for violating an injunction
which forbade them to strike, OF
rather call a strike. AS they refus-
ed to resign their positions because
tle men refused to go back to work,
Judge Whitford sentenced them to
Jail Bail was denied, and also all
appeals against the decision. They
We're sentenced one day and went to
Jail the next. This was in direct
contrast to the attitude toward
"Black-Jack Jerome" who was placed
under arrest by a warrant sworn to
by one of the strike breakers whom
he had beaten up severely because
the man wanted to quit This no.
torlous character was immediately
released on bond"
From one Of its cooperating attor-
neys the Union also learns that Gen
eral WOOD has notified the city and
state authorities that they must pro-
vide protection for themselves. So.
the Big Business" men of Denver
are gathering fund to organize the
state constabulary. Arrangements
have been made with Patrick Ham
rock of Ludlow fame to head it.
The last legislature of Colorado re-
fused to appropriate any funds for
its continuance in office. Today,
Labor Day, 1920, the military au-
thorities. refused to allow the reg
ular Labor Day parade"
Local representatives of the Civil
Liberties Union are attempting to
arrange demonstrations for the right
to hold meetings.