Western Federation of Miners

Commissioner of Labor Wright submits to President Roosevelt the Labor Commission’s report on the disturbances in Colorado. The report summarizes the general causes and history of the strike. Wright hopes that Roosevelt will be able to decide whether to take action on behalf of either party involved, the Western Federation of Miners or the Mine Owners Association and the Citizens’ Alliance.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-09-16

Frank J. Hangs gives his testimony of the events of the Cripple Creek Labor Strike that eventually led to his forcible deportation from the district.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-08-29

J. C. Cole, former Deputy District Attorney in Cripple Creek, Colorado, gives Walter B. Palmer his account of the events of the Cripple Creek Strike and how they led to his being exiled from Cripple Creek along with many other supporters of the union miners.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-08-27

Commissioner of Labor Wright discusses John H. Murphy and the Colorado situation. The statements in the pamphlet concerning the Western Federation of Miners are “on the whole true.” It is evident to Wright that Murphy comes to President Roosevelt “with clean hands,” but that “his clients do not.” Wright assures Roosevelt that when the results are summed up, Roosevelt will have all of the facts necessary to come to a just conclusion.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-08-15

Frank P. Sargent returns to William Loeb the papers referring to the case of the Western Association of Miners.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-08-13

Agent Palmer reports on a pamphlet with information about the deportation of non-union miners by the union, most likely referring to the Western Federation of Miners. Elmer Ellsworth Rittenhouse, the author of the pamphlet, says that he took care to ensure the accuracy of the information since the pamphlet will be used for campaign purposes. Rittenhouse believes that the strike at Cripple Creek “had no connection with the eight-hour question.” James C. Craig, the president of the Citizens’ Alliance, says that there are no records of any deportations of non-union men that are not mentioned in the pamphlet.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-08-03

Commissioner of Labor Wright will give President Roosevelt the results of their investigations in Colorado, particularly focusing on how the results bear upon a document from “the attorney for deported miners and general counsel for the Western Federation of Miners.” Wright is most likely referring to investigations concerning a strike at Cripple Creek.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-07-20

John Graham Brooks reports to Commissioner of Labor Wright about the labor dispute in Colorado. He discusses the history of conflict between labor unions and employers going back nearly ten years. Brooks describes the conflict from both the workers’ and employers’ perspectives. Brooks recommends that the government let it be known that he has investigated the dispute, but thinks there is little else that can be done to fix the situation.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-07-04

Thomas F. Walsh congratulates President Roosevelt on the outcome of the Republican National Convention and discusses informing Senator Fairbanks of his winning the vice-presidential nomination. Walsh believes that the political situation in Colorado is improving and thinks that Roosevelt can win the state in the upcoming presidential election. Walsh also discusses the labor situation in Colorado and puts the blame for the unrest on the Western Federation of Miners.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-07-03

Text of a statement from the Western Federation of Miners regarding the strike in Colorado and Governor Peabody’s attitude.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-06-01

Statement criticizes Colorado Governor James Hamilton Peabody for calling out the Colorado militia to suppress and arrest striking miners during the Colorado Labor Wars, which includes the recent arrest of Western Federation of Miners President Charles Moyer. The statement criticizes President Roosevelt as being a “military Napoleon” and recommends that citizens should end his political career.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-05-20

Louis B. Livingston describes the process by which the prize money awarded to Theodore Roosevelt for his 1906 Nobel Prize languished for years before it was finally put to use to address the needs of soldiers and their families during World War I. Livingston notes that Roosevelt refused the prize money for his personal use and that he oversaw the establishment of a Foundation for the Promotion of Industrial Peace to promote better relations between workers and their employers. When the money went unspent, Roosevelt asked Congress to return the funds to him. Livingston asserts that this episode demonstrates Roosevelt’s ability to adapt to changing circumstances and his preoccupation with World War I in the last years of his life.

A photograph of Roosevelt with the representatives of Russia and Japan to the Portsmouth Treaty negotiations appears in the essay, along with a copy of Roosevelt’s Nobel Prize award check and a page from the Congressional Record. 

An editorial in The Outlook responds to an article in the same edition of the magazine that provides a sympathetic account of the principles and actions of the Western Federation of Miners. While the writer of the letter agrees that it is good to understand principles the same way their advocates do, it is not always good to approve them. Opinions can all be freely advocated, but all practices cannot be freely undertaken. The Western Federation of Miners are free to advocate for anarchy, but not to practice it.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906

Members of the Charles Sumner Post, No. 103, of the Grand Army of the Republic have denounced a speech given by Big Bill Haywood of the Western Federation of Miners which criticized President Theodore Roosevelt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-03-12

The Albany Evening Journal editorializes on President Roosevelt’s criticism of the men on trial for the murder of Idaho Governor Frank Steunenberg as “undesirable citizens.” While Roosevelt denies that his comments reflect on the men’s guilt of the specific charge, and are merely related to their general conduct, the editors note that this argument is not likely to convince those who believe Roosevelt’s remarks will influence the outcome of the trial against the defendants.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-04-14

Workers of the Oliver Iron Mining Company express their support of the company, condemn the Western Federation of Miners, and denounce the red flag as a symbol of anarchy, a menace to the federal and state governments and to the community, and an incentive to riot and commit crimes.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07

Secretary of War Taft informs President Roosevelt that he has changed his mind about writing a speech on the Brownsville affair. He will write a draft and send it to his campaign manager, Arthur I. Vorys, and Roosevelt to get their opinion. Taft describes his opinion of James Buchanan Aleshire’s fitness for Quartermaster General. Taft encloses letters on William Edgar Borah and Albert Baird Cummins. He relays discussions on the appointment of the Postmaster in New York.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-07

Joseph Wauhope, associate editor of Wilshire’s Magazine, details the bias of the courts and unfairness of the trial of Charles H. Moyer, George A. Pettibone, and Big Bill Haywood in the murder of Idaho Governor Frank Steunenberg.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-05-19

President Roosevelt agrees with John Campbell Greenway and references his letter about “undesirable citizens” and recent speech in Provincetown, Massachusetts. He is committed to fighting against “red flag gentry” and “unscrupulous swindlers of great wealth.” In a handwritten note, Roosevelt thanks Greenway for his interest in Ted Roosevelt and Ted’s upcoming visit to see Greenway.

Collection

Arizona Historical Society

Creation Date

1907-08-23

President Roosevelt would like the Department of Justice to investigate the labor unrest in Colorado.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-08-25