No better term than this: thou art a villain.
—Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
In the general offices of Calumet & Hecla, James MacNaughton is entirely satisfied with the events of the past twenty-four hours. At four-fifteen yesterday afternoon, a grand jury quietly issued fifty-four indictments. Sheriff Cruse’s deputies have fanned out overnight to arrest agitators and troublemakers on suspicion of plotting an attack against C&H employees. Anyone resisting arrest has been dealt with, and those who’ve eluded capture are being pursued with vigor. The whole matter will be wrapped up soon.
Mont Blanc pen in hand, a fresh sheet of stationery before him, he sits still and gathers his thoughts regarding the composition of a report to be delivered at the stockholders’ meeting in Boston.
It will be best, he decides, to begin with an admission of what everyone will know when they walk into the conference room.
As you are all aware, 1913 has been a challenge. The worldwide price of copper has fallen under pressure from the open-pit mines in Montana and Arizona, where the cost of production is much lower. It must be recognized that Calumet & Hecla mines are at a structural disadvantage in this competition; Michigan’s remaining deposits, while rich, are now very deep underground, requiring ever more complex and costly infrastructure dedicated to ore extraction.
That is the bad news. Happily, he can continue on a note of optimism: Despite the inflammatory headlines of the past year, Calumet & Hecla remains profitable.
Just barely, he thinks. No need to make that plain. Investors can study the numbers themselves if they care to go over the charts. And while, admittedly, the company’s losses have mounted up, the Western Federation of Miners is bankrupt after spending eight hundred thousand dollars on the Michigan strike, a third of which was borrowed from other unions’ treasuries.
No doubt, sympathy and donations made directly to the Calumet miners will wither as editorials in the better newspapers nurture doubts and confusion about the issues. His favorite example of the genre was sent to him by a shareholder in Scarsdale; the clipping from the New York World noted, “Houghton County is not a community of self-governing American citizens. It is one chiefly of aliens brought thither to serve the copper monopoly, ruled from Boston in defiance of the law and in spite of democratic institutions.”
Shrugging off the insult to the company, James MacNaughton was pleased, for he knows that readers will simply mumble, “A plague on both your houses.” Soon they’ll turn their attention to other headlines. Suffragettes have bombed a church in London. The Marines have taken Vera Cruz after heavy fighting, killing two hundred with only twenty-four U.S. casualties. Joe Jeannette has defeated the French boxing champ Georges Carpentier; Joe’s from New Jersey, but he’s a Negro, so does it really count?
That’s what really interests the American public, James MacNaughton thinks. Not some obscure industrial squabble in Michigan.
I am gratified to report that the phase-in of the Leyner-Ingersoll drill has continued to increase efficiency. We have already cut the workforce nearly in half with a concomitant decrease in production costs. It can be anticipated that this trend will continue. Automation is the future of industry around the world, and you can be proud to know that Calumet & Hecla is leading the way in mining technology.
He pauses there, listening to the ten forty-seven freight whistling its imminent arrival. Every week, northbound trains deliver another shipment of one-man drills. Every week, southbound trains carry the infection of trade unionism away from Calumet. The workforce is being cleansed of socialists and anarchist criminals. Every disillusioned union member who leaves Calumet is another item crossed off the company’s liabilities: a salary that can be eliminated, a house that can be sold off or razed. All done with minimal disruption.
He ends his report with a promise he means to keep:
The stockholders of Calumet & Hecla have my personal assurance that we have seen the end of labor unrest here in the Copper Country. Every employee who remains will be a man who is willing to do the work for the posted pay—without complaint. The workers of Calumet won’t soon forget this winter’s lessons.
Your company’s officers will, with resolution and integrity, turn the worst of times into the best of times. Those who hold stock in Calumet & Hecla may expect that returns on your investment will reward your patience.
Sincerely yours,
James MacNaughton
General Manager, Calumet & Hecla Mining Corporation
For a few weeks more, the remaining union members persist in their refusal to bow their heads and bend their knees.
Nothing justifies their stubbornness. Congressional committees end their investigations without coming to much of a conclusion regarding wrongdoing by the copper companies. Houghton County officials have absolved the Citizens’ Alliance of any responsibility for the Italian Hall disaster.
The killing blow comes on April 4, when a brief letter to Local 15 arrives from the president of the Western Federation of Miners. “After fighting a most determined battle,” it instructs, “striking miners of the Michigan Copper Country should return to their employment under such terms as they are able to secure.” On April 12, 1914—Easter Sunday—the union votes to end the nine-month strike.
As the meeting breaks up, one or two grim jokes about resurrection are made. No one laughs.
* * *
The next morning, Calumet & Hecla issues an announcement: anyone who worked through the strike will keep his job. Strikers may reapply for employment; they will, however, lose seniority if they are hired. They must also hand in their union cards and sign a company ledger confirming that they have renounced the Western Federation of Miners. Finally, so that the company can be absolutely certain of their loyalties, any man wishing to return to work now must also contribute five cents to a fund for the purpose of buying a fine gold watch to be inscribed with these words:
For James MacNaughton from the grateful employees of C&H.
Due to your attitude of NO COMPROMISE,
the Copper Country is not afflicted with the presence
of the Western Federation of Miners.
At the presentation ceremony, Calumet & Hecla rewards Mr. James MacNaughton with a substantial raise in salary in recognition of his steadfast opposition to the strike. Having returned from their tour of Europe, his wife, Mary, and their two daughters are there for a quiet, tasteful celebration of his success.
The following morning, as he descends the stairs to the dining room, he tarries, as always, to gaze at the town over which he rules with viceregal authority. Mind and conscience clear, he hears his father’s voice and Kipling’s words: “Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it. You are a man, my son!”