Why did the miners in the Southern Colorado coal fields strike? What did they want?
Well, they were striking first of all to have a union. And to have that union recognized by the mine owners. I think that was the key issue. They wanted an increase in the rate of tonnage. They wanted to be able to trade anywhere they wanted and not at the company store. They wanted an end to the camp marshal system. They were striking for better safety conditions, in the mines. Those were the big reasons behind the strike. So the strike is underway, and the miners move out of company housing into tent colonies. With all of the ethnic diversity, describe what life was like in the tent colonies. Life in the colony. Well, what interests me about the tent colonies and Ludlow is that you have all of these different ethnic groups with the jealousies and rivalries that they’ve brought over from the old country. All of them seeing themselves, or they have seen themselves, as competing for jobs. Now they’re all on strike with one goal, and they’re living next to each other and they’re living i
