Evening star., 1934-06-18
WOMAN ENLWENS
RACE IN COLORADO
Miss Roche, Prominent in
Mine War, Seeking Gov
ernorship.

The Office of Governor is demand
ing that gray-haired Miss Josephine
Roche come and fill it. She has con-
sented to run for the Democratic
nomination in September.
On November 81, 1927, Colorado
State police, standing on the Column
bine property of the Rocky Mountain
Fuel Co., killed six striking miners,
who, according to neutral observers,
had paraded.
Josephine Roche, few months be-
fore, had inherited her fathers large
block Of stock in the Rocky Mountain
Fuel Co. She was inf1amed by the
murder of the miners on "her" prop
erty.
Josephine Roche, minority stock
holder. whose father had spent his
life fighting against the workers, pro-
posed at meeting that the Rocky
Mountain Fuel Co. negotiate a con-
tract with the miners-encourage
them to unionize.
Fellow stockholders were shocked
A man who owned large block of
stock said: Every well, I'll SELL
Josephine Roche turned to him and
said: "Very well, I'll buy"
She did. The new stock gave her
control of the comparative mines,
the second largest producer in Colo
RADIO. but company heavily in debt
through incessant labor troubles and
cut-throat competition.
Woman Rich and Gifted.
Josephine Roche was a rich, edu-
Gated woman (Vassar, 1908), expert
enced as social worker, gifted with
business head and a workers heart.
I'VE will pay more and we will i'm
prove conditions she decided.
She invited the miners-whose
unions had been smashed by every
major coal operator in Colorado-to
unionize. At first they were sus-
picious. Josephine Roche's father
once had incurred a bonded debt of
$500, 900 to smash unions.
Soon the miners sensed the truth.
A remarkable contract was signed be-
tween the miners-now members of
the United Mine Workers-and the
Rocky Mountain Fuel Co. The pre-
amble said:
"Our purposes are to promote and
establish industrial justice; to substi-
tute reason for violence, confidence
for misunderstanding. integrity and
good faith for dishonest practices, and
a union of effort for the chaos of the
present economic warfare"
Seventeen other coal operators in
the North Colorado fields were invited
to join in the policy of Josephine
Roche and her workers. All refused.
They were furious over Miss Roche s
action in breaking the united front
of operators which had so bloodily
but successfully smashed labor and
also brought the coal industry to a
sorry state.
So the Rocky Mountain Fuel Co.
workers and owners-Started in alone
Wages were higher, working condi-
tions were better, the miners were
loyal.
Grievances Are Heard.
Every miner in the five mines found
that he could talk with Josephine
whenever he had a grievance. The
miners frequently found Josephine at
their meetings, not on the platform,
but sitting obscurely on bench with
, them. . 1t was easy to talk to her.
What happened was exactly what
Josephine had hoped. Productivity
rose. Overhead dropped
The sales Of the company mounted
even in depression years. The miners
helped here, too. All organized labor
in Colorado and much elsewhere
helped. The purchasing power of
union labor was. organized to help
buy the coal that Josephines miners
dug. Organized labor's Central Coal
Committee was founded. Twenty-Five
teams went out to line up other union
committees to buy union mined Colo
RADIO coal.
Josephine's rivals were bitter. John
D. Rockefeller's Colorado Fuel & Iron
Co. was one of them. 1t announced
wage cuts for miners. Josephine
wired John D., asking him to keep
up the miners wages.
Her efforts were ignored.
III august, 1901, TlVdl operators cut
wages and coal prices so to rs cents
a ton. 1t was serious challenge to
Josephine Roche's company. Word
got around among the miners. They
chatted in the pits, in the locker
rooms. They decided to act They
sent committee to the boss" to ask
If they could help. They were shown
the books of the company, costs, sales,
every detail they wished.
The committee reported to the rank
and file Of the miners. Quickly, 10y
ally the miners decided. Josephine
had taken chance for them. They'd
do it for her. They offered to "lend'
half their wages to the company for
three months, longer if necessary, to
help meet the price-cutting warfare
of the rival companies.