The Magnificent Portland
Mine
A Story of Great Wealth,
Great Men and Broken Dreams
The 1903-04 labor strike was a high stakes poker game for miners and mine owners alike. It started when mill workers in Colorado City demanded a pay increase. The Portland Mill negotiated a quick settlement with the strikers, but the other mill owners took a hard-line position. The Western Federation of Miners tried to stop the flow of ore to the mills by calling a sympathy strike in the Cripple Creek mines. The WFM's tactics, combined with the intractability of the mine owners, resulted in a strike that paralyzed gold production for more than a year.
The Portland Mill in Colorado City, 1902.
"The Portland" by Levine and Vanderwalker best describes the situation facing Burns:
"During this 1903-04 Labor Strike, The Portland Gold Mining Company placed itself on neutral ground (a move Burns knew Stratton would've made). Burns saw to it that the Company ran on the 'Open Shop' principle, 'without discrimination for or against any class of labor, organization or union.' This action made Burns a champion of the working man, a title he'd wanted claim to ever since Stratton's death. It also allowed the Portland Company to continue operations through most of the District's labor troubles. Behind the scenes, though, Howbert and Peck were seeing to the demands of the [Mine Owners'] Association."
The "High Line" streetcar system
brought many men to work at the Portland.
Every major mine in Cripple Creek was shut down, except the Portland. The Mine Owners' Association hated Burns for his practices. Not only did he weaken the Association's position, Burns' policies made it appear that he actually supported the WFM. "Incredible! Imagine the nerve of the man. Who does he think he is?" It was also irritating to the Association to see its mines shut down while the Portland, the District's biggest mine, went merrily about its business.
Two members of the Portland board were indeed "one of us." Howbert and Peck were relentless in pressuring Burns to give up his open shop policy. WFM violence and sabotage would not sway him. Practical arguments would not sway him. The old "united we stand" argument carried no weight either. Burns was determined to continue his open shop policy.
The Portland machine shop kept the mine going
during the strike.
Another long-running battle surfaced about this time. Burns had become increasingly irritated by the Mine Owners' Association dues being assessed on the Portland. He saw them as a waste of money and yet another attempt by the mine owners to get a free ride on the Portland's back. His refusal to pay the Portland's Association dues set every mine owner in Cripple Creek against him. "Something has to be done about this Burns fellow. He just isn't one of us."
Times had changed since the 1894 labor strike. This time, the miners did not have the advantage of a pro-labor governor and sympathetic state militia. James Peabody had been elected governor in 1902. His victory was due in no small part to the backing of the Mine Owners' Association. Now it was Peabody's turn to return the favor. He sent in the state militia to quell the strike.
The Colorado militia encamped under the
Portland complex on Battle Mountain.
Terrorist attacks on trains, equipment and men were not unusual happenings during the Cripple Creek labor conflicts. However, this strike was punctuated by two particularly violent episodes. The first was the death of two shift supervisors killed by a bomb planted in the Vindicator Mine. The second was the dynamiting of the Independence train depot. Thirteen non-union "scabs" were murdered in the blast. Martial law was in full force. After a brief gun battle in Victor, the militia rounded up 225 union men and deported them from Colorado. The WFM was finished in Cripple Creek.
It was not enough for the Mine Owners' Association to revel in its victory. They had to have revenge. In one of the most extraordinary punitive actions ever taken against an American company, militia General Sherman Bell ordered the closure of the Portland Mine. Officially, the reason was that the Portland had become a haven for the outlaws who had perpetrated violence during the strike. In truth, it was an excuse to purge the Portland of the remaining union men.
The reinforced militia, as seen from the town
of Goldfield.
Burns was outraged by the military occupation of the Portland. He filed suit against Governor Peabody, General Bell, the Mine Owners' Association and others. Instead of uniting to fight this injustice, the Portland board of directors seized the opportunity to take control. In what must have been a very stormy meeting, the board voted to remove Burns as president and withdraw the lawsuit. Irving Howbert was elected president of the company. James Peck was elected secretary. At long last, the new corporate masters were in control.
Jimmy Burns had lost the mine he fought so hard to discover, defend and build. In the end, Burns' tragedy was not that he lost control of the Portland. His tragedy was that he could not let go. But Jimmy Burns was not about to walk away from a fight. Not just yet.....
Click here for the rest of the Portland saga