So What Would Great-Great-Grandpa Think About Our Politics Today?

There I was, settled in to clean up my genealogy files, when I saw a post on Facebook by Susan Petersen mentioning the Colorado Digital Archives.  Of course I just HAD to pop over there and soon was engrossed in the Colorado Historic Newspaper site.

Eickelberg Restaurant

I was finding some cool ads for my 2x-great grandfather, William Eickelberg's restaurant in the early 1900's.


I discovered that William had been the deputy coal mine inspector in Colorado, something I need to investigate further.  I also found he had been fired, but I liked what that brief article had to say:

Wm Eickelberg family about 1887/1888

"Coal Mine Inspector Reed has fired his deputy William Eickelberg of Lafayette.  There has been no love between the men from the first, the deputy having the governor's favor which was denied to the inspector, himself.  Some reforms are said to have been accomplished by these gentlemen and miners in this section feel especially kind toward Mr. Eickelberg, by whose order the coal mines have been placed in such condition that the men can work with some degree of comfort and risk of loss of life and limb has been rendered nominal.  Reed knows very little about this business but his deputy was a well equipped official from the start and should have been inspector."
Boulder Daily Camera 1894 Aug 23
 

William Eickelberg

Then I came across something slightly different.  In 1894 prior to the election which would take place, as it does in 2012, on November 6th, William had written a letter to the Boulder Daily Camera urging the miners and other laborers to vote the Populist ticket!  Apparently Great-great-grandpa was something of a rabble- rouser. In just reading his letter I realized there was SO much about Colorado and its political climate that I needed to know.

I don't now if William retained his somewhat radical politics into later life. In 1894 he would not yet have opened his restaurant.  In later years he became relatively well off so I don't know if that changed his view toward the Republican (and indeed the Democratic) parties, "who for many years have been and now are controlled solely by the wealth of this and other nations...who have brazenly ignored our rights and have, in nearly every instance, placed laws in our Statute Books that intended to legalize the robbery of the poor by the rich, and only deviated from this course when it was absolutely necessary to throw a crust to the common herd so that they would remain quiet a while longer, and thus enable the rich to continue their blood sucking."  Oh my - it might start to become clear where I get those liberal tendencies!!

I have transcribed the whole letter. While I don't expect people to actually read it all, I wanted to place the whole thing here just to show that in some ways political conversations haven't changed that much. But in some ways they have - I was impressed by the length of the letter and the expectation that the workers, of which he was one, would read something this lengthy.  It was certainly more than just bumper sticker slogans!

A COMMUNICATION.

-------------------------------

William Eickelberg Urges the Miners and Laborers to Vote Right.

EDITOR CAMERA: -

      I ask space in your valuable paper to,

in my humble way, urge upon my fellow

miners and laborers the necessity of

united action on Nov. 6th, as on the

other days of the year, as there would

be little use in our assembling together

at various times during the year to ad-

vise and consult each other as to the

methods to be employed by us for the

protection and advancement of our

craft if we are to divide on that day for

the gratification of politicians and there-

by neutralize any good that may have

been accomplished during the rest of

the year, because in my judgment the

remedy for most of our grievances can

best be obtained by voting solidly for

men taken from the ranks of

the common people who will be aided

and backed by a political party that

sprang into existence only two years

ago for the purpose of taking up the

questions of the day and solve them as

the people want the solved, and no

longer wait on and expect the two

branches of the gold party, who for

many years have been and now are con-

trolled solely by the wealth of this an

other nations, to legislate for and con-

strue such legislation in a way that

would recognize and benefit the great

masses of the people, but who have

brazenly ignored our rights and have, in

nearly every instance, placed laws in

our Statute Books that intended to

legalize the robbery of the poor by the

rich, and only deviated from this course

when it was absolutely necessary to

throw a crust to the common herd so

that they would remain quiet a while

longer, and thus enable the rich to con-

tinue their blood sucking.  In this party

we find Davis H. Waite, whom the peo-

ple of other states, as well as our own,

love to honor, as witness the great

crowds of people who go out to hear

and sheet him on this present eastern

trip; but which meetings, according to

the Denver Republican of the 29th inst.,

are to be belittled by the plutocratic

press of the East.  Can we afford to

have the toilers of other states recognize

in him a friend of the labor forces and

not recognize and honor him as such

ourselves?  The dispatches state that

these people have raised the cry of

Waite for president in '96.  Surely we

will honor ourselves by obtaining his

services as governor during the in-

tervening two years, especially, as he is

the first governor Colorado ever had

who has made it his study how to best

serve the interests of the laboring men

of this state, and who seems to be hap-

piest and most at ease when in com-

pany of and in consultation with the

common people; the first governor who

does not pander to, and is not controlled

by, Colorado's 400, but who is sole

governor of this state and when he had

mapped out this line of action, had the

courage to carry it out in the face of the

combined force of capitalists and their

hirelings, in this state and elsewhere,

although he knows well that to do so

will subject him to untold vilification

and abuse from those who stop at noth-

ing to gain their purpose, even to having

reporters hovering around this office and

waiting for the time when he shall be so

harassed and worried by this enemies

that perchance he says damn, that they

may herald it to the world that we have

a blasphemous governor.  He it was

who, in the railroad strike, protested

against U. S. marshals.   He it was who

refused to permit the use of the militia

at aid a band of cut throats who were

willing to murder the metal miners at

Cripple Creek for $3 per day.  He it

was who went into the coal mines to

ascertain for himself the true condition

of the men therein employed, and then

took the first step toward making the

office of mine' inspector what it was in-

tended it should be - and office for the

protection of the miner, and not merely

a bureau of information for the mine

owners.  He it was who, when he learned

that his own appointees constituting the

Fire and Police Board of Denver were

aiding the opponents of good govern-

ment in maintaining a political ma-

chine of Republican [ ] who

were pu[]ing in their [ ] Re-

publicanism on the street corners not-

withstanding the fact that they owed

their further employment to a Populist

board compelled them to vacate and

make room for men who will do all in

their power to prevent the intended

overthrow of the will of a majority of

the people of this state by methods

for which the gang in Arapahoe county

has become so justly noted.  Although

-------------------------------------------------

in the removal of the old board, who

were trying to remain in office by for-

tifying the City Hall with dynamite

and rifles, and with the assistance of

the entire Republican gang of Arapahoe

county, the governor was compelled to

gain his ends by a trick for which the

gang will never forgive him.  They

doubtless imagined that all the shrewd-

ness and political wisdom was to be

found within their party, therefore, when

the governor called out the militia, after

having carefully estimated the courage

of the dynamiters and having foreseen

that it would not be necessary to fire a

shot and having thereby secured the

immediate hearing of the case by the

Supreme court and, as we know, won,

as he always does, the other crowd

simply went wild, so wild in fact that

they soon afterwards developed into

full-fledged redeemers.  I could enu-

merate several other instances in which

he has been found on the side of the

people, but these are sufficient answer

to those who ask what Waite has done

for the laboring men.

            Then, in this party we find the only

candidates for congress who are pledged

for the free and unlimited coinage of sil-

ver at the present ratio.  And speaking

of the free and unlimited coinage of sil-

ver, what has become of those people

who were continuously day, during the

campaign of two years ago, that if we

had the free and unlimited coinage of

silver in this country that it would be-

come the dumping ground for all the

world's silver, including all the old silver

coffee and tea pots, spoons and such like

which, according to their theory, this

government would be compelled to buy

from their owners, not knowing, perhaps,

that if we had free coinage this govern-

ment would not buy any silver, but would

simply coin so much of it as its lucky

owners wished to have made into money.

These same persons who were so afraid

we would have too much money are now,

with few exceptions, to be found in the

ranks of the redeemers, who claim theirs

to be the only and original silver party,

notwithstanding the pot and spoon

theories of two years ago, and their lead-

ers votes in congress.  And one of their

leaders ex-Senator Bowen, outdoes the

Populist party saying that after we

have coined all the gold and silver metal

and all of the old pots and spoons we

can lay our hands on, that he favors

bringing the circulating medium up to

from $50 to $60 per capita by issuing

a paper currency based on our gold

and silver.  However, it is easy for this

party to claim everything in sight.  As a

sample of their claims in this campaign,

I will refer to the one made by an annex

of their party, the Business Men's

league, through their secretary, John E

Leet, who, a few weeks ago, stated, in his

now famous letter, that Populism had

swept the state like a devastating forest

fire; that three hundred million dollars

worth of property had dwindled to one

hundred million, and on being roasted

for sending such stuff east, tried to justify

his action by stating, in an address Sat-

urday evening, Oct. 27th, at the Coliseum

hall to the Republican Leagues, that it

was the best advertisement ever sent

east out of this state, because it would

show eastern people that they could buy

Colorado property for one third its value.

This same league held a meeting at the

Tabor Opera house Monday evening,

Oct 29th, from which they send out a set

Of resolutions condemning the Populists,

which the chairman declared were car-

ried unanimously, though he gave no op-

portunity for one-third of this audience,

who were Populists, to declare them-

selves against said resolutions.  Thus it

will be seen that the high and mighty

Business Men are not above stooping to

fraud and deceit.  Another strange thing

about this meeting was, that while the

meeting was arranged for the purpose of

creating Republican enthusiasm, the fire

eating speakers were Democrats, one of

whom was ex-Governor Grant, who went

out of his way to insult Governor Waite.

If this be among the proprieties I have

indeed much to learn.  We also have, on

the Populist ticket, splendid men as

candidates for the various state offices

and our county ticket is all that could be

desired, one of the candidates being taken

from among ourselves.  In this county

we are yet comparatively free to follow

the dictates of our own conscience as to

how we shall vote.  In many other coal

mining sections this is not the case as I

personally know of many men who are

tramping over the country in search of

work, who were told they were no longer

wanted, the reason in some instances

being boldly given was, "You fellows

have too damn much politics about you,"

their politics in every case being Popu-

list.  Every miner owes a special grudge

to John F Shafroth, who stated at Louis-

ville that the miners of this section were

more interested in Lafe Pence's vote for

free coal than anything else in the Wil-

son tariff bill.  In making this fool state-

ment he took us all for fools, as we need

not care whether coal comes in free of

duty or even if a bounty of several dol-

lars a ton is paid to its owners on lan-

ing it in this country, as it will not make

any difference in either trade or prices of

Boulder county coal, or anywhere else

in the state for that matter as we are

amply protected by our high tariff rail

roads.  In view of these facts I trust

every miner will vote the straight Popu-

list ticket.       Yours respectfully,

Wm. Eickelberg

Lafayette, Oct 10, '94