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Monday December 20, 1915
From The Labor World: The Inside Story of How Rockefeller Won the Miners' Vote for a Company Union

From this weeks edition of the Duluth Labor World, comes an inside account of how the voting to endorse the Rockefeller Plan in the camps of the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company was carried out. This inside look adds details which have been left out of the glowing accounts, made by the kept press, of the establishment of the wonderful new Rockefeller Industrial Representation Plan, destined to end all troubles and ensure industrial tranquility in Southern Colorado forevermore.

As an example, we have this story from The New York Times of October 6, 1915:

TO CLEAN COLORADO SLATE.

Gov. Carlson Expected to Dismiss All Strike Case.
Special to The New York Times.

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John D. Rockefeller Jr. with Colorado Coal Miners

DENVER, Oct. 5.-There is every likelihood that the 400 pending cases arising out of disorders during the strike of Colorado Fuel and Mining company employes will be dismissed. Governor Carlson, it is expected, will soon announce his decision.

Governor Carlson denied again today that the dismissal of these cases was discussed during his conference with John D. Rockefeller, Jr., yesterday.

Many leading citizens today urged Governor Carlson to cause the dismissal of the cases. A formal request for dismissal was sent to the Governor this morning by John McLennan, District President of the United Mine Workers and President of the State Federation of Labor, following reports that the Governor was considering the advisability of such action.

The miners of Colorado Fuel and Iron company's coal camps will adopt the Rockefeller industrial plan by a vote of 11 to 1, according to returns thus far received. Camps where elections had been held today reported 1,192 votes for and 106 votes against the plan.

Mr. Rockefeller and his party left for a visit to the iron mines at Sunrise, Wyo. Mr. Rockefeller probably will return to Denver on Friday. He plans to reach New York in time for business on Monday morning.

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The miners of Colorado are not fooled. They fully realize that the younger John D.'s plan is built upon the ashes of the women and children of Ludlow. And they will: NEVER FORGET.

From The Labor World of December 18, 1915:

HERE'S INSIDE STORY OF
HOW YOUNG JOHN D. PUT FAKE UNION ACROSS

BY CHESTER M. WRIGHT.
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"Now we will talk."

Here is the inside of the Rockefeller "union" plan as I got it straight from the miners of Colorado.

This story wasn't handed out y Ivy Ledbetter Lee or any other member of John D. Rockefeller's high-priced publicity staff. Neither was it gathered in an automobile tour of selected places in the wake of the Youthful John. And it will not contain the plain and fancy lying that was done by said press agents when this phoney "union" was established.

How He Put It Over.

When Rockefeller decided to organize this so-called union in Colorado, he took a nice, neat draft of the plan, all framed up by W. L. MacKenzie King, and he simply said, in effect: "This is to be put in force in Colorado." Having said that, there remained nothing but the bluff of having the miners vote on it.

It is an absolute fact that the "voting" amounted to nothing and meant nothing. Here is the manner in which the voting was conducted:

There were two ballots. A white ballot was for the new plan. A red ballot was against it. Each miner got two ballots. He was to cast one. And each minger cast his ballot into a ballot box that was watched by a company man. The one that he did not cast was returned to the company, or supposed to have been. Not all were returned. Some men threw both ballots into the box.

If that is free voting, then a prison dungeon is liberty and freezing to death is a joy forever.

Evidence of "Era of Peace"

John D. Rockefeller Jr., Groping for the Light

But that is how the Rockefeller plan-John D.'s wonderful "industrial democracy"-was established in Colorado. The capitalist press carefully concealed all that when it was "reporting" Rockefeller's noted automobile tour through the mining district. One reporter who didn't report things that ought not have been reported now has a good $10,000 job with the Rockefeller interests in Colorado. "Virtue" brings its own reward sometimes.

Fresh interest centers in this Rockefeller scheme because just now thirty-five men are about to go to trial in one mining county on charges growing out of the recent strike. This doesn't look like any letting up on the vengeance policy in Colorado. This doesn't look like any era of peace and good will. And just a few days before it was announced that these trials would go on, it was the belief of many that the prosecutions were at an end.

But back to the "union" and its operations. You may ask what would have happened if the men had voted not to accept the Rockefeller plan. It is well if you do, because I have the answer.

At the Rockefeller mine, in Fremont County, that thing happened. First, the men refused to vote. Another "election" was ordered. In this "election" the plan was voted down. Then the beautiful and whole-souled democracy of Rockefeller arose to the surface and got into action.

Some John D. "Democracy."

This order went out from the mine officials: If you do not vote to accept the plan the mine will be closed!

That is what happened when the men turned Rockefeller down. That is how much democracy there was in it all. That was the iron fist back of the smooth press agents. That was the truth back of the bluff and the bunk!

But the bunk in the game didn't end with the voting. It has gone clear down the line. There is not a miner in all Colorado who has anything to show that he belongs to this "union."

There are no membership cards; there are no dues. This "union" is all on the Rockefeller books. When you go work for Rockefeller you become a member of his union. That's all there is to it.

Grievances go up the line until they reach the top, it is true. And who is at the top? Rockefeller's man, Welborn. And what happens to a grievance when it gets to the top? If the top wants to fix things up, it does so. If it doesn't want to do anything, it doesn't do anything. That's all.

An Example of a Grievance.

Bill Jones has a kick. He turns it in and it goes up through the various channels to the top, maybe. Maybe Bill's kick is that he is getting cheated in weights. If the top feels like it, the top says to Bill: "You go to hell! down the canyon for you!"

In that case, what does Bill do? Does he find his "union" back of him? Fairy tale stuff. Bill goes down the canyon. That's how this "union" of Rockefeller's works. It was built for Rockefeller and it works for Rockefeller-even while he sleeps.

But the miners of Colorado are not fools. Even the men who came in as strike-breakers are not fools. It was the strike-breakers of ten years ago, largely, who were the strikers of two years ago. Strike-breakers learn, too. Today the miners of Colorado are grinning in their sleeves over Rockefeller's trickery. Fooled? Not for a minute.

How They View "Union"

The union men think the whole thing is a hue joke. They take it for just what it is worth-and wait.

Rockefeller's "union" is at least a concession that it is necessary for workers to band together in some form and an admission that they can't be prevented from doing so. The miners believe that Rockefeller never again can successfully deny to them the right to associate together. So much gained. Only Rockefeller today thinks that HE can determine the manner in which the miners shall associate. The miners have another opinion.

So they wait and work and plan and have their laugh at the little Rockefeller joke-and at the denseness of Rockefeller.

There probably will never again be the same cruel oppression in Rockefeller's mines that there was before the big strike. Today Rockefeller is opening motion picture shows in the camps. Soon they will be in all camps.

Long On Amusements.

It is true that these shows are either conducted by the company or by a lessee-and the company makes money from them. But they are there. Amusement halls are being opened. Y. M. C. A. buildings are going up-are up in some camps.To these the miners do not take any too kindly. They aren't crazy about the new $25,000 a year "welfare expert." They prefer to do these things for themselves, or leave them undone, or do them differently. But this activity on the part of Rockefeller means something, any how.

Company stores are abandoning their old high-binder policy. Goods are being sold at competitive prices. That is to say, that a miner at Walsenburg can buy goods in the company store at Trinidad prices.

There is a certain sweet revenge for the miners in this. For instance, when the strike was on the small merchants of Trinidad were openly with the company and against the strikers. Now, with the State going dry on January 1, there soon will be nothing to bring the miners into Trinidad, and the little Trinidad merchants who fought the miners will find themselves short of a large volume of desirable trade. Many a union miner is chuckling over this little matter.

Strikes Brought Results.

But let this be clear. Whatever of improvement there has been in conditions is directly due to the magnificent fight of the miners in their great strike. Rockefeller has given nothing-absolutely nothing. A little has been forced from him. That is all. There is much more to be gained. The right of the men to organized as they see fit is still to be gained.

The present Rockefeller organization means absolutely nothing to the miners, except that it is something of a recognition of the right to get together. Beyond that it is nothing and unless the men learn through it to form their own kind of organization this little concession can be taken away at any time.

All that is necessary is that Rockefeller wake up some morning with a grouch and mutter to Ivy Lee, "Ditch that union of mine out in Colorado. I don't want it any more."

[Emphasis added. Drawings from The Masses added.]

SOURCES

The New York Times
(New York, New York)
-Oct 6, 1915
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9406E1DE1239E333A25755C0A...

The Labor World
(Duluth, Minnesota)
-Dec 18, 1915
http://www.newspapers.com/image/49836264/

IMAGES
John D Rockefeller Jr Becomes a Coal Miner, New York Tribune, Sept 26, 1915
http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1915-09-26/ed-1/seq-5/
Now We Will Talk by R. K. Chamberlain, from The Masses of March 1915
http://dlib.nyu.edu/themasses/books/masses048/12-13
The Masses June 1914 Rockefeller Groping for the Light
http://dlib.nyu.edu/themasses/books/masses039/14-15
The Masses, JDR Jr Caught Red-Handed, John Sloan, July 1914
http://dlib.nyu.edu/themasses/books/masses040

See also:
"WE NEVER FORGET April 20, 1914 The Ludlow Massacre" by JayRaye
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/04/20/1083217/-WE-NEVER-FORGET-April-...

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Lyrics by Hazel Dickens:
https://riseupsinging.wordpress.com/2009/06/12/hazel-dickens/

We’ve been shot, we’ve been jailed, Lord, it’s a sin
Women and children stood right by the men
We’ve got a union contract that keeps the worker free
They’ll never shoot that union out of me

They’ll never shoot that union out of me
They’ll never shoot that union out of me
Got a contract in our hand signed by the blood of honest men
They’ll never shoot that union out of me