Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 35, Number 96, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 August 1903 — TO DRIVE OUT UNIONS. [ARTICLE]

TO DRIVE OUT UNIONS.

Denver Citizen*’ Alliance Proposes to Take Drastic Measures, Denver business men are following the example set by Idaho City in taking-dras-tic steps to get rid of labor agitators, socalled, who, it is asserted, have made themselves obfitfsious to the community. The 'Citizens’' Alliance called a mass meeting to take action on a proposition to run out of town all who sympathize with the methods of labor organizers. Ex-Lieut. Gov._Coats is one of the men supposed to be referred to, as he is an organizer of the Socialist party and vicepresident of the American Labor Union, an outgrowth of the Western Federation of Miners. Coats is a printer and during the recent strike which tied up every industry in Denver ho was beaten by his own trade In the negotiation which effected the settlement.

The printers took the initiative in meeting the moves of the business men and notified them by resolution they would not stand their high-handed methods. It is commonly under tood that every trade in the State will follow the lead of the printers and that war may be provoked with the unions relying upon the authority of the courts to maintain their claims and put the merchants on a fine with white eappers. The resolutions of the printers state the attitude of the alliance is fraught with peril to the liberty of the people and is an incentive to lawlessness. The typographical union condemns such steps as outrageous and anarchistic in the extreme. The first effect of a declaration of war by the alliance will be renewed hostilities by the unions, and the employers realize what this means, for it tlieir request that the printers intervened three months ago, when it seemed as if the business of the city would be completely tied np. At the time there were over 8.000 men oil strike and three-fourths Ml the restaurants were- closed, inflicting a great hardship on the general public. The strikers said, there would be no compromise, as they feared it was a fight to the death, as owing to the formation of the alliance at that stage it was declared that the watchword of the members was death to unionism. Then the printers settled the trouble ill favor of the employers. Now they say they “made a grievous mistake by allying themselves with the lw>sses, who assured them that they were not oxiposed to unionism, and dnring the week steps will lie taken to cancel all contraets with the members of the alliance and defy them to do tlieir worst.