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Hellraisers Journal – Tuesday March 31, 1914
Walsenburg, Colorado – Mother Jones Confined in Dark Cellar Cell
From Denver’s United Labor Bulletin of March 28, 1914:
Note: Mother was arrested at Walsenburg by the Colorado militia on Monday March 23rd, at about 5:30 a. m. She has been confined, since that time, in the same dark cold cellar cell that was the cause of the death of striking miner Kostas Marcos.
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From The Masses of February 1914: Mother Jones by Art Young
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Hellraisers Journal – Wednesday March 30, 1904
Denver, Colorado – Mother Jones to Governor Peabody: “You Don’t Own This State”
Mother Jones was deported by the military on orders of Governor Peabody on Saturday March 26th. With other organizers of the United Mine Workers of America, she was put aboard a Santa Fe train bound for La Junta, Colorado, some 65 miles north and east of Trinidad. They were all given deportation papers which warned them never to return. Mother sat all night in the station at La Junta, and the next morning, with the assistance of a sympathetic railroad conductor, she was able to board a train to Denver. From her hotel room, near the Governors office, she wrote the following letter:
Mr. Governor,
You notified your dogs of war to put me out of the state. They complied with your instructions. I hold in my hand a letter that was handed to me by one of them, which says “under no circumstances return to this state.” I wish to notify you, governor, that you don’t own the state. When it was admitted to the sisterhood of states, my fathers gave me a share of stock in it; and that is all they gave you. The civil courts are open. If I break a law of state or nation it is the duty of the civil courts to deal with me. That is why my forefathers established those courts to keep dictators and tyrants such as you from interfering with civilians. I am right here in the capital, after being out nine or ten hours, four or five blocks from your office. I want to ask you, governor, what in Hell are you going to do about it?Mother Jones
[Emphasis added.]
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Hellraisers Journal – Monday March 23, 1914
“General Villa’s Ultimatum to President Wilson”
From the Appeal to Reason of March 21, 1914:
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Hellraisers Journal – Sunday March 22, 1914
Denver, Colorado – Mother Jones Arrives After Deportation from Trinidad
-Meets with John Lawson and Horace Hawkins
From the Denver United Labor Bulletin of March 21, 1914:
“Mother” Jones and John R. Lawson.
Remarkable likeness of the 82-year-old Camp Angel, telling her story to John R. Lawson, Executive Board member U. M. W., Monday [March 16th] after arrival in Denver from Trinidad, where she was detained as military prisoner for 9 weeks.
From The Denver Post of March 16, 1914
-Statement of Mother Jones after Deportation from Trinidad:
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Hellraisers Journal – Saturday March 19, 1904
Telluride, Colorado – Arrested by Militia for Refusing to Scab
March 3, 1904, Telluride, Colorado-Affidavit of A. A. Pratt
AFFIDAVIT. State of Colorado, County of San Miguel, ss.
I, the undersigned A. A. Pratt, make the following statement under oath: On or about February 26, 1904, I was in Denver looking for work. A man by the name of Johnson told me I could get work as a miner in Telluride; that the strike was off and there was no martial law; that the soldiers were all withdrawn, and that transportation was furnished free. I concluded to go, and a Mr. Snodgrass gave me a ticket to Telluride.When I arrived at Telluride, on the evening of the 27th, I was met at the depot and taken to the Victoria hotel to stay all night. The next morning a horse was brought to the hotel for me to ride to the Smuggler-Union mine, about four miles away. On the way to the mine we passed soldiers standing guard. When I got to the mine I made inquires and found out that the strike was on, that the district was under military rule. As the conditions had been misrepresented to me, and I did not want to work under these conditions, I told the boss that I had forgotten something in town and thus obtained a pass to present to the soldiers between the mine and the town.
In Telluride I was arrested on a warrant sworn to by Bulkely Wells, manager of the Smuggler-Union mine and commander of the militia, charging me with obtaining money under false pretenses. He appeared as a witness against me, although there had been no agreement made with him, nor with any one else, that I was to pay anything for fare, hotel or horse hire. These were furnished me without me asking for them, and he admitted that he had no agreement with me. There was no one but myself that knew anything about the matter, so the justice found me not guilty, but it shows to what measures they are willing to resort.
I do solemnly swear that the above statement is true to the best of my knowledge.
A. A. PRATT.
Sworn and subscribed to before me on the 3rd day of March, 1904
ALBERT HOLMES,
Justice of the Peace.[Paragraphs and emphasis added.]
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Hellraisers Journal – Wednesday March 18, 1914
Mother Jones Deported Out of Southern Colorado Strike Zone by Gen. Chase
From The Winnipeg Tribune of March 16, 1914:
“MOTHER JONES” DEPARTS
Trinidad, Colo., March 16.-“Mother” Mary Jones, noted woman strike leader, who has been a military prisoner in San Rafael hospital here since January 12, was put aboard a train quietly last night and sent out of the coal strike district. Her departure became known today. It was said this action was taken at her request and on orders of General John Chase.
“Mother” Jones was taken to Denver.
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[Drawing and emphasis added.]
From El Paso Herald of March 16, 1914:
WOMAN LEADER IS DEPORTED;
IS STILL ANGRY
———-DECLARES SHE IS SURE TO RETURN
———-
“Mother” Jones Now in Denver, Says She Was Deported
Late at Night by Military Authorities and Sent Away
on a Ticket Paid For by the State;
Goes to Call on the Governor.
———-Trinidad. Colo., March 16-“Mother” Mary Jones, noted woman strike leader, who has been a military prisoner in San Rafael hospital here since January 12, was put aboard a train quietly last night [March 15th] and sent out of the coal strike district. Her departure became known today.
She went to Denver. The military authorities proceeded with the utmost secrecy to remove “Mother” Jones. She was arrested at a local hotel here January 12, after having been deported from the district the week previous and told not to return. Since her confinement several efforts have been made to secure her release.
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Denver, Colo., March 16-That she was deported from Trinidad; that she was accompanied by Denver militia officers, taken to a hotel and was not told she had been released; that she expects to return to the strike zone soon, was the substance of a statement made today by “Mother” Mary Jones, noted strike leader, who has been a military prisoner at San Rafael hospital in Trinidad since January 12.
Her statement was given to a group of newspaper men at the conclusion of a conference with Horace N. Hawkins, attorney for the United Mine Workers of America, Immediately thereafter she left for the state house to call upon Governor E. M. Ammons.
Rearrest Threatened.
General Chase stated “Mother” Jones will be arrested whenever she returns to Trinidad.
“Mother” Jones was put upon an Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe train last night [Sunday March 15th], arriving in Denver early today. She was accompanied by Col. W. A. Davis, of the Colorado National Guard.
“Mother” Jones declared that the state bought the ticket on which she came to Denver. She declared she intended returning to Trinidad to demand her mail, explaining that no mail had been delivered to her during her detention. She stated that she had received considerate treatment at the hospital, but had suffered somewhat from the confinement.
Confers With Governor
In the conference with the governor were his secretary, Claude W. Fairchild, “Mother” Jones, John Lawson, John McLennan, union officials, and Horace N. Hawkins.
Telegrams were sent to M. D. Foster, chairman of the house committee on mines and mining, and representative Edward Keating of Colorado by John Lawson, relating the incident of “Mother ” Jones being brought to Denver.
Didn’t Consent to Trip, She Says
In her statement to newspaper men, “Mother” Jones said:
I never asked to talk with governor Ammons and I never gave my consent to the trip to Denver. Sunday night a military officer came to me and told me to pack my clothes quick, as it was almost train time. He took pains to tell me I was not being deported.
Boarded Train a Crossing.
We did not board the train at the depot, but it was stopped at a crossing. We arrived in Denver early today, and I was taken to a hotel. They did not even tell me whether or not I was free.
Mr Hawkins then took up the narrative.
“I telephoned to Gen. Chase,” he said, “and he told me that ‘Mother’ Jones was released. I then called up Governor Ammons and he said that he had not been advised that ‘Mother’ Jones wanted to see him. I informed him that she had no desire to talk with him, but would call at his office if he invited her to do so.
“He said: ’Well, then I invite her to call.’”
She Complains of Detention.
“Mother” Jones complained vigorously of the manner in which she had been arrested and detained. “If I have done any thing wrong why have they not charged me with a crime in court?” she demanded of the assembled newspaper men. “Why have they resorted to this trick to release me just before the supreme court was to pass upon my habeas corpus suit?”
“Mother” Jones gave her vision of the events preceding her arrest. She said the day before the Forbes battle a man came to her room at a Trinidad hotel and told her the guards were preparing to raid the tent colonies.
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[Emphasis added.]
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Hellraisers Journal – Monday February 16, 1914
Denver, Colorado – John Lawson Testifies Before House Sub-Committee
From the Denver United Labor Bulletin of February 14, 1914:
From Las Vegas Optic of February 11, 1914:
MILITIA GAVE CONFISCATED ARMS
TO MINE GUARDS, SAYS LABOR LEADERSECRETS OF THE CONVENTION WITHHELD
———-UNION OFFICIAL ASKS COMMITTEE TO EXCUSE HIM
FROM ANSWERING QUERIES
———-
Denver, Colo., Feb. 11-John R. Lawson, Colorado member of the international executive board of the United Mine Workers of America today asked the house investigation committee to excuse him from revealing all the details of the district convention at which the Colorado coal strike was called.
“You gentlemen must remember,” he said, “that this strike is not over yet, and we do not care to reveal anything that might give away our hand to the operators.”
The labor leader was allowed to give such information regarding the convention as he saw fit and was not pressed for union secrets.
Asked by Chairman Foster for his reasons for insisting upon recognition for the unions, the labor leader said:
“There is no basis for settlement between workman and employer. The union prevents strikes and without it few men strike without justification. Then, unorganized workers cannot obtain redress for abuses or change of working conditions. If they make complaint, they are discharge.”
At the opening of this morning’s session of the strike investigation it was announced that Edward Costigan had been added to the list of attorneys for the miners. John R. Lawson was called to the stand to resume his testimony. The Colorado member of the executive board of the United Mine Workers of America told of the arrival of the militia in the strike zone.
“Almost immediately after the arrival of the troops at Trinidad, detachments were stationed at various points in Las Animas and Huerfano counties,” he said.
“When the troops arrived, the leaders of our organizations informed the men on strike that if they were satisfied the militia was going to enforce the laws, not to take part in the labor controversy.”
The witness then told of having informed Adjutant General John Chase that the Baldwin-Felts detectives employed by the operators were importing arms. He said the general ordered a captain to capture the guns which were taken from an express office by the troops.
“Later,” he resumed, “General Chase admitted that this particular shipment of arms, taken from the express office, was distributed to the guards.”
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Hellraisers Journal – Saturday February 14, 1914
House Sub-Committee Hearings Underway in Colorado and Michigan
From The Day Book of February 14, 1914
Representatives Casey, Howell and Taylor Are on the Job in Michigan:
From The Indianapolis News of February 9, 1914
U. S. Sub-Committees to Investigate Mining Conditions in Michigan and Colorado:
HOWELL SNOWBOUND;
STRIKE INQUIRY DELAYED
———-CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE IN MICHIGAN LACKS QUORUM.
———-
REPRESENTATIVES KEPT IN
———-HANCOCK, Mich., February 9.-The train bearing Representative Joseph Howell, of Utah, the member necessary to make a quorum of the congressional investigating committee, was reported storm-bound somewhere on the lower peninsula today and prospects for a meeting dwindled as the day advanced. Chairman Taylor said that it was unlikely that hearings would begin before tomorrow.
The heaviest snowfall of the winter has kept Mr. Taylor and Representative Casey of Pennsylvania indoors since their arrival on Saturday and they have had no opportunity to see any of the copper country beyond the range of vision from their hotel.
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OPENS HEARING IN DENVER
———-
Congressional Subcommittee Seeks Evidence
of Law Violations.DENVER, Colo., February 9.-Hearing of testimony in the federal investigation of the Colorado coal miners’ strike began in the senate chamber of the state capitol today. The subcommittee of the house committee on mines and mining which arrived from Washington yesterday, will hold hearings in Denver and at Trinidad, Pueblo, Boulder and other points, to determine whether federal statutes have been violated and to determine on recommendations for the settlement of the Colorado strike and the prevention of future labor struggles.
When today’s hearing opened E. V. Brake, deputy labor commissioner; Professor Russell D. George, state geologist, and James Dalrymple, chief coal mining inspector, gave testimony as to general coal mining conditions in Colorado.
Two distinct strikes are included in the investigation, to be made by the committee. The miners in the northern Colorado coal fields were called out in April 1910, and that strike never has been settled. Since then, many of the strikebreakers who took the places of the union men have been organized by the United Mine Workers of America, and a considerable part of them walked out with the southern men when the strike of all the coal miners in the state was called on September 23, 1913.
The investigating committee consists of Martin D. Foster (Dem.), Chairman, Illinois; James Francis Byrnes (Dem.), South Carolina; John M. Evans (Dem.), Montana; Richard Wilson Austin (Rep.), Tenn., and Howard Sutherland (Rep.), West Virginia.
[Emphasis added.]
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Hellraisers Journal – Wednesday January 21, 1914
Mrs. Gertrude Lee of Colorado’s Democratic Party Could Help Free Mother Jones
From The Cincinnati Post of January 20, 1914
-Write or Wire Mrs. Lee, of Colorado’s Democratic Party, to Help Free Mother Jones:
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Hellraisers Journal – Wednesday January 20, 1904
News from Colorado Strike Zones of Telluride and Cripple Creek
From The Denver Post of January 15, 1904:
SIBERIAN EXILING SCENES.
Telluride, Colo., Jan. 15-Tears, curses, maledictions and prayers were heard at the depot this morning when the train pulled out of the station having on board six union miners, who were being deported by the military. The men were given breakfast early, the meal being served from the Sheridan hotel, after which the wife of one of them was reluctantly permitted to visit her husband in jail. At 8 o’clock a bunch of blue-coats, under the command of Captain Scholz, marched to the court house and the prisoners were taken to the county jail and formed into line, ready for the march to the station.
A woman with a small child attempted to fall in line with her husband, but was brutally prevented by the soldiers, who forced her back on the sidewalk. With a face drawn with bitter agony and grief she endeavored to keep up with the soldiers as they marched down the streets, but the prisoners had reached the train long before she had gone a block.
At the depot the men were immediately put aboard the train and two soldiers stationed at the car windows. The relatives of the men were allowed to talk to them, and for a moment the air was filled with tearful good-byes and well wishes.
Fifteen minutes before the signal was given to start three women came running down the track. One of them , a Mabel Marchinado, a mere girl, hardly 17 years old, weeping bitterly, rushed over the icy platform to the window in which one of the men was sitting, and exclaimed: “oh, papa, what are they going to do with you?”
Her father, Tony Marchinado, endeavored to comfort her, but the girl continued sobbing pitifully. The sympathy of the entire crowd at the depot went out to this girl, and some turned away. Then the soldiers ordered her to move on.
The girl suddenly ceased weeping and, turning to those standing, and in a voice loud enough for the military to hear, said: “I think it’s living shame for men living in this country to be treated in such a manner.” She was not arrested.
The woman with the small child in the meantime reached the depot almost exhausted. She purchased a ticket and boarded the train on which her husband was about to be sent into exile. She cried bitterly and her baby was blue with cold. “I am too sick to work and look after our baby alone, and I am going with my husband, if it means the jail.” she moaned. If ever volumes of mute sympathy went out from a crowd, it went out greater as she bent down her head and fondly kissed the lips of her offspring, in vain endeavor to hush its cries from the biting cold. It was by far the saddest incident yet recorded in the military occupation of Telluride and the subsequent deportation of striking miners…
[Emphasis added.]
The names of the six deported men are: Tony Marchinado, Tony Sartoris, Louis Sartoris, F. W. Wells, Matt Lingol and Battiste Monchiando.
