The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-10-13
COLORADO, ONCE A
MILITANT MINER
STATE, NOW WEAK
L u d ! O. Forgotten,
Workers Disorganized
BY HARRY kLETzKY.

NOLORADO, coal center OF the west,
~ scene of many dramatic struggles
Of the mine workers. where ideals and
. bravery and class consciousness were
mixed literally with blood and fire, is
today but a limping phantom of its
former self, when the roll call Of union
miners is made, and when the temper
of union strength is tested.
Here and there a few miners still
remember Ludlow and Cripple Creek,
where their fellow workers were
killed and manned, and ''mock-tried"
and jailed But the most have for
gotten.
And what is the price they have
paid for their forgetfulness?
Wages have beenl beaten down to
and below the bare subsistence level.
In many mines, principally those con-
trolled by the Colorado Fuel and Iron
Company Ca Rockefeller corporation),
the workers are shaving for as low as
$3.50 a day, and even then they are
lucky if they receive five days work.
Company Union Strong.
The company union, which means
the Rockefeller plan for Industrial
democracy" the arch-angel Of all COM
pany unionism, has gained such foot
hold in Colorado that it is doubtful II
the idea alone could be uprooted from
the minds of the workers affected for
many years, provided, then. that real
systematic campaign Of education is
conducted.
No further condemnation Of the c.
f. and I. company union and expla-
nation of its workings is needed when
it is known that the daily press OF
Colorado carries from time to time
headlines which read: Goal Miners
Ask That Their Wages Be Reduced"
Perfect Dupery System.
The Rockefeller plan is a perfect
system of dupery. On paper, the
workers are given" the power to ask
for what they want. But they are
told what they want! Those men who
know what they want soon receive dis
missal orders. The 1925 report Of the
Russell Sage foundation is enough
authority for this statement.
The Industrial Commission.
Another shackle on the Colorado
coal miner is the industrial commits
sion. set up by the state soon after
the "battle of Ludlow" Many local
unions and unorganized groups have
gone to the industrial commission IN
controversies, like the lamb goes to
the lion, trusting in its impartiality,
and have gone away even more shorn
than they were before. The industrial
commission was organized by the
bosses as a control on the workers,
and in Colorado it is performing its
lob we'll
Need Leadership.
Internal union troubles have with
out doubt played havoc with the NOR
ale of the union miner. The old John
L. Lewis-John Lawson melee, which
reached it's climax in Cripple Creek,
is still an open wound.
Colorado miners have not had the
best of leadership. If the U. M. w. is
conservative, the Colorado district is
ultra-conservative. The secretary OF
the district is an ardent American LIE
gionnaire. That is enough.
But there is some hope in the Colo
RADIO situation. And it lies in the bad
ness of the whole mess. 1t is impos-
sible to believe that the Colorado
miner will continue to take" and
never give" The breaking point is
near. All indications point to that.
Are Restless.
There ia a restnessness sweeping
the entire state. The miners are be-
ginning to realize, little by little, that
they have little to lose now, II they
make the struggle for liberty.
What is needed in Colorado now,
perhaps more than any one thing, Is
strong, militant leadership. It will
not be long before the workers will be
ready to follow. Perhaps one more
winter, perhaps two. But the time is
coming. .snB-
(To be continued)