You ought to be out raising hell. This is the fighting age. Put on your fighting clothes.
-Mother Jones
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Saturday February 6, 1915
New York, New York - Mrs. Dominiske Gives Eye-Witness Account of Ludlow Massacre
On Wednesday, February 3rd, Mrs. Margaret Dominiske came before the
Commission of Industrial Relations and testified as to what she witnessed at Ludlow on April 20th of last year when the colony of striking miners and their families was attacked by the state militia. She told of running to the shelter of a nearby barn with her youngest child of six years. Her older children, ages eight and ten, sought shelter in a large well. She described watching in horror as the two older children tried to run to her and were shot at by the militia as they ran:
So we ran to the barn, two of my children had got in the well, and I took the youngest one to the barn and about half past 2 one of the children, the little girl, got up out of the well and came over to where I was, and the men—that is, the militia—shot at her. And they had just quit shooting when the little boy came, and they shot at him and the bullet whizzed right through the top of the barn where we were. It was banked up and we were all laying down. About 3 o'clock was when they started to shoot so awfully hard.
She clearly describes witnessing militiamen going from tent to tent with flaming brooms as the colony began to burn:
And about a quarter to 6 one of the men from the arroyo came up to where we were... And he came up where we were and he said we had better get out of here because he said there is about 50 militia right close to the camp and he said they are burning up the tents and if you crawl out here you can see it. So I crawled out, and I looked down and I saw about six or eight tents burning. And then I saw five militiamen cross from the tents that was burning over to those that was not burning, and three of them had torches and two had cans. I don't know what was in the cans, but I think it was oil...Well, it looked like a broom to me; that is what it looked like from where I was at, looked like they were brooms lit.
In press accounts, the witness's name was spelled "Dominiski," however, as a witness before the Commission, her name is spelled "Dominiske."
Hellraisers will endeavor to verify the correct spelling-for future reference-of this courageous woman of the Colorado coal camps.
We will present the entire testimony of Mrs. Mary Petrucci in tomorrows Hellraisers.
New York City, Wednesday February 3, 1915, Afternoon Session
of the Commission on Industrial Relations:
TESTIMONY OF MRS. MARGARET DOMINISKE.
Chairman Frank P Walsh
Chairman Walsh. What is your name?
Mrs. Dominiske. Margaret.
Chairman Walsh. Margaret Dominiske?
Mrs. Dominiske. Yes.
Chairman Walsh. Where were you born?
Mrs. Dominiske. In Newcastle, England.
Chairman Walsh. Newcastle, England?
Mrs. Dominiske. Yes.
Chairman Walsh. How long have you been
living in the United States?
Mrs. Dominiske. Twenty-six years.
Chairman Walsh. How long?
Mrs. Dominiske. Twenty-six years.
Chairman Walsh. Twenty-six years. Are you
married or single?
Mrs. Dominiske. I am married.
Chairman Walsh. Is your husband a citizen
of the United States?
Mrs. Dominiske. Yes.
Chairman Walsh. Where was Mr. Dominiske born?
Mrs. Dominiske. In Tioga County, Pa.
Chairman Walsh. Have you any children?
Mrs. Dominiske. I have three.
Chairman Walsh. What are their ages?
Mrs. Dominiske. Ten, eight, and six.
Chairman Walsh. When did you move to Colorado and where have you lived there,
please?
Mrs. Dominiske. We moved to Colorado about 17 years ago, and I lived in Erie, Lafayette,
Tollerburg, and Ludlow.
Chairman Walsh. Ludlow. Where are those places located, please, Mrs. Dominiske, with
reference to the northern or the southern coal field? Lafayette, as I remember, it is in
the northern coal field.
Mrs. Dominiske. Lafayette and Erie are in the northern field.
Chairman Walsh. Yes.
Mrs. Dominiske. And Tollerburg and Ludlow are in the southern field.
Chairman Walsh. What has been your husband's business?
Mrs. Dominiske. He is a coal miner.
Chairman Walsh. How long have you been married?
Mrs. Dominiske. Eleven years.
Chairman Walsh. Eleven years?
Mrs. Dominiske. Yes.
Chairman Walsh. What kind of churches are to be found in the coal fields of southern
Colorado?
Mrs. Dominiske. I never saw one only in Trinidad.
Chairman Walsh. How is that?
Mrs. Dominiske. I never saw any one only in Trinidad.
Chairman Walsh. In Trinidad. Are there any halls in these camps for the people to meet
in?
Mrs. Dominiske. No.
Chairman Walsh. Do you know why not?
Mrs. Dominiske. No; I do not.
Chairman Walsh. Are there any saloons?
Mrs. Dominiske. Lots of saloons.
Chairman Walsh. Did you ever trade at the company's stores in those towns in which you
lived in Colorado?
Mrs. Dominiske. Yes.
Chairman Walsh. How do the prices in those stores compare, would you say, from your
everyday standpoint as a housekeeper, with those stores in the little towns nearby?
Mrs. Dominiske. Why, they were quite a bit higher in the camps.
Chairman Walsh. How did you come to observe that, Mrs. Dominiske? How did you come
to know they were higher in the camps?
Mrs. Dominiske. Well, whenever I got a chance I would go to these other stores and buy,
and then you could see the difference.
Chairman Walsh. Did you ever know of anybody having trouble because of not trading in
the company's stores?
Mrs. Dominiske. Well, a friend of mine told me when she lived in Tercio, Colo., that the
prices were so high in the company's stores that they could not buy there, and they
used to go and take their trunks to Trinidad and get what they wanted and ship them
back. But on one occasion one of the men was caught, and he was fired, lost his job;
and after that they were not allowed to take their trunks any more unless they were
going to stay or on a long visit.
Chairman Walsh. Why did you trade in the company's stores when you could get stuff
cheaper at the towns nearby?
Mrs. Dominiske. We was not allowed to go to those other places. I knew my husband
would be discharged if it was found out.
Chairman Walsh. Well, now. why do you say that.
Mrs. Dominiske? Was it anything except suspicions, or a thought, or had anything been
said to you about it?
Mrs. Dominiske. The people that were in these coal camps before I went there told me.
Chairman Walsh. So that was the thought of the coal camp?
Mrs. Dominiske. Yes.
Chairman Walsh. That you had to trade there?
Mrs. Dominiske. Yes.
Chairman Walsh. Have you ever gone to the expense of trying to determine what
difference it made in your husband's wages trading under those circumstances in the
camp as compared with what you might do if you could get out and buy where you
could get cheaper?
Mrs. Dominiske. I don't understand your question.
Chairman Walsh. The point is—maybe it is too involved—Mrs. Dominiske, did you ever try
to determine how much of a difference that made in your husband's real wages; that
is, the increased amount that you had to pay for provisions in the coal camps? I will try
to put it plainer. About how much higher would you say that the provisions in the
camps were over what they were in the little towns nearby?
Mrs. Dominiske. I couldn't say how much higher, but they were quite a bit higher. I do
not know just how much.
Chairman Walsh. Is that generally known among the women keeping house in those
camps?
Mrs. Dominiske. Yes.
Chairman Walsh. Do yon remember what took place the day before and on April 20?
Where did yon live on April 20, 1914?
Mrs. Dominiske. Ludlow tent colony.
Chairman Walsh. In the tent colony?
Mrs. Dominiske. Yes.
Chairman Walsh. Was your husband in the colony with you?
Mrs. Dominiske. Yes.
Chairman Walsh. Do you remember what took place the day before and on April 20,
1914?
Mrs. Dominiske. Yes, sir. A ball game the day before.
Chairman Walsh. A ball game?
Mrs. Dominiske. Yes; on Sunday.
Chairman Walsh. You heard read here, I believe, by the commission, and yon have
probably seen it in our records before, or read it, a so-called publication that was
made, signed by Mr. Lawson and many others, and entitled "A call to arms"? You saw
that, did you?
Mrs. Dominiske. Yes, sir.
Chairman Walsh. And that was issued on April 20, 1014, according to its purport. Now, do
you remember what took place the day before and on April 20, 1914? Just describe the
happening at Ludlow on those two days as concisely as you can in your own way.
Mrs. Dominiske. On April 19 there was a ball game, and all the people from the tent
colony was over there watching the ball game.
Baseball game at Ludlow Tent Colony
Chairman Walsh. How many people were in the tent colony?
Mrs. Dominiske. Oh, I don't know how many, but I should judge maybe five or six
hundred.
Chairman Walsh. Women and children living there in the tents?
Mrs. Dominiske. Yes.
Chairman Walsh. That was after the strike?
Mrs. Dominiske Yes.
Chairman Walsh. The miners bought or leased a tract of land and put up tents, and you
were all living there, Mrs. Dominiske?
Mrs. Dominiske. Yes.
Chairman Walsh. Go ahead.
Mrs. Dominiske. We were over at this ball game, and four militiamen, one on horseback
and three afoot, and the ones on foot had rifles with them, and they had them pointed
toward the men that were playing ball. And one of the men in there said: "You can
watch this ball game, but it does not need any guarding." And one of the ladies that
was there said in a joking way that if they would take some B. B. guns and start after
those militia that they would take those guns and run for their lives. He said: "Go
ahead, have your good time to-day, and to-morrow we will get your roast."
Chairman Walsh. Get your what?
Mrs. Dominiske. Roast. The ball game was over, and we went on home, and didn't think
no more about it till next day.
Chairman Walsh What occurred on April 20?
Mrs. Dominiske. About 10 o'clock next morning we were late getting up that morning,
later than usual ; it was about 8.30, I guess, when my husband went up to the office
tent. And I had let the children sleep late on account of their being up late the night
before, and I had thought I would wash and put on my wash water, and I went up to
Mrs. Jolly's to get some postal cards I was going to send away from our Easter, and I
went up there to get the cards, and while I was up there somebody came and said that
the militia was out there and wanted to see Mr. Tikas.
Louie Tikas
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Chairman Walsh. Who is Mr. Tikas?
Mrs. Dominiske. He was the Greek leader.
Chairman Walsh. What kind of a man was he personally?
Mrs. Dominiske. Well, he was an awful quiet man.
Chairman Walsh. And as to disposition, was he a kind man?
Mrs. Dominiske. Yes.
Chairman Walsh. With reference
Mrs. Dominiske. Well, he was an awful kind man and everybody liked him.
Chairman Walsh. Proceed.
Mrs. Dominiske. And when he went out to talk to this militia
Chairman Walsh. Now, please speak a little louder. Mrs. Dominiske. I know you are not
accustomed to speaking, but you will have to lift your voice so that it will carry farther.
Mrs. Dominiske. When he went out to see this militia, Mrs. Jolly and I went with him, and
they handed him a piece of paper with a name on it and told him they wanted that
man, and Tikas asked him who gave them authority to come after him—did he get it
from the militia or civil authorities, and they said they got it from the military
authorities. And he said that the military authorities was at Las Animas and Huerfano
County now. And they told him to produce that man in half an hour or they would
search the camp and take him, and he told them that he could not produce the man
because the man did not live there, and he was not in the camp. And so we came on
back over to Mrs. Jolly's house. And we had just got in there—was in there a few
minutes—I don't know how long—when they came and telephoned for Louis Tikas and
said that Mr. Hamrock wanted Tikas to go over to the military camp.
Chairman Walsh. Who was Mr. Hamrock; was he a soldier?
Mrs. Dominiske. Yes: he was one of the militia.
Chairman Walsh. Maj. Hancock, of the militia?
Mrs. Dominiske. Yes; I believe he was in charge of the militia.
Chairman Walsh. He was some sort of an officer?
Mrs. Dominiske. He was an officer, yes; and Tikas told him he would meet him half way.
Tikas went, but Maj. Hamrock did not come, so Tikas came on back. He had only been
over to the house, to the tents a few minutes when he got another phone to go up to
the depot, Maj. Hamrock wanted to see him at the depot, the Colorado Southern depot.
So he went up. And then I went on down home. And I heard some singing and music
and I looked out the end of my tent, and I had a window in it, and I went and looked
out and it was the Greeks celebrating their Easter Monday. They were singing and
dancing and playing music.
Chairman Walsh. What sort of music?
Mrs. Dominiske. They had mandolin and a violin and a flute, I think. While I was standing
there, there came a lady by and she told me, she said "You better get out, the militia
are coming.'' I said I didn't care; let them come. They have been here before and they
won't hurt us.
She went and a few minutes after she left there was a bomb fired. I went out and
looked up toward the tracks to where the military camp was and I could see the
smoke; I saw the men going, that is, these militiamen going on horseback over toward
Water Tank Hill, what we call it. Then in a few minutes there was another bomb fired.
So the lady that lived next door to me said "I am going over to the pump station and
get over there out of this; I think there is going to be something doing." I asked her if
she would take my children over, that I wanted to see my husband before I went. So
she took my children and went to Water Tank Hill—to the pump station; and I went up
to where my husband was. We saw Tikas coming running over from the depot and he
had a handkerchief in each hand, waiving a handkerchief, and he said something to us.
but we didn't hear what he said. When he got near enough to us he called to us to get
back, to go up to Water Tank Hill. And so then there was another bomb fired, and I ran
over to the pump station. After we got over there, there was, oh, several, I don't know
how many—maybe 15 or 16 women and children standing on top of this well looking
around, when they started to fire at us. And so then we got down the well as quick as
we could.
Chairman Walsh. How many went down into the well?
Mrs. Dominiske. Oh, I don't know, maybe there was 60 or 85 in there, counting the
women and children and all.
Chairman Walsh. It is a great large well which contains the water that is used to put in
the tank for the railroad?
Mrs. Dominiske. Yes. The boy that was left in charge of the pump house came, and he
told us, "If you don't want to get shot you better go to that barn." So we ran to the
barn, two of my children had got in the well, and I took the youngest one to the barn,
and about half past 2 one of the children, the little girl, got up out of the well and came
over to where I was, and the men—that is, the militia—shot at her. And they had just
quit shooting when the little boy came, and they shot at him and the bullet whizzed
right through the top of the barn where we were. It was banked up and we were all
laying down. About 3 o'clock was when they started to shoot so awfully hard. And
about a quarter to 6 one of the men from the arroyo came up to where we were.
Chairman Walsh. What is that arroyo?
Mrs. Dominiske. It is a ditch back of this barn. And he came up where we were and he
said we had better get out of here because he said there is about 50 militia right close
to the camp and he said they are burning up the tents and if you crawl out here you
can see it. So I crawled out, and I looked down and I saw about six or eight tents
burning. And then I saw five militiamen cross from the tents that was burning over to
those that was not burning, and three of them had torches and two had cans. I don't
know what was in the cans, but I think it was oil. They went into one of these other
tents, and I got back into where my children were. Pretty soon some said it looks like
there is a train coming, and maybe we had better get out under the cover of this train,
that that will be our only chance of escape. So I went and crawled back out and looked
out again to the tents and I saw the militia going into them, they was all on fire, so I
judge from that they had set it on fire, and when this train came-
Chairman Walsh. You say that they had torches and that they were lighted?
Mrs. Dominiske. Well, it looked like a broom to me; that is what it looked like from where
I was at, looked like they were brooms lit. Then when the train came, why, we all got
out of the well and out of the barn and went to the arroyo. And on the way there as she
stooped to get under the fence, one of the ladies had a big apron on, and she stoops to
get under the fence and there was a bullet passed right through her apron and another
passed over my head and exploded. It was an explosive bullet and exploded in front of
another lady, and she had a baby in her arms, and she fainted. We got into the arroyo
and we went down to a ranch about 5 or 6 miles from Ludlow. Next day we went to
Trinidad.
Chairman Walsh. The next day you went to Trinidad ?
Mrs. Dominiske. Yes.
Chairman Walsh. How many people lost their lives at Ludlow on April 20, 1914?
Mrs. Dominiske. There were 12 children and 2 women and 5 men, I think.
Chairman Walsh. Who were those people and what positions, if any. did they hold among
the striking miners?
Mrs. Dominiske. Tikas was a Greek, and he was a Greek leader. Fyler was the secretary
of the local.
Chairman Walsh. What local, the miners' local union?
Mrs. Dominiske. Yes; in Ludlow.
Chairman Walsh. How many of his family were at Ludlow on that day—Mr. Fyler's family?
Mrs. Dominiske. There were two boys and three girls, and one of them a married
daughter with a child.
Chairman Walsh. Did you spend part of the day with any of them?
Mrs. Dominiske. Yes; I was.
Chairman Walsh. Did you later Identify any of the dead?
Mrs. Dominiske. Yes.
Chairman Walsh. When and where?
Mrs. Dominiske. In Trinidad, at the undertaking parlors.
Chairman Walsh. Had you ever seen this cellar in which the women and children lost their
lives?
Mrs. Dominiske. Yes.
Chairman Walsh. Just describe what kind of a cellar it was, whether it had been used as a
room or a place to sleep, or what was it?
Mrs. Dominiske. It was a cellar; it was all timbered up and finished nice and was used as
a bedroom, and it had a bed in it when I saw it.
Chairman Walsh. Was it used for any particular purpose among the people there?
Mrs. Dominiske. I think it was.
Chairman Walsh. Had children been born there?
Mrs. Dominiske. Children were born in there.
Chairman Walsh. It was a place where they took women?
Mrs. Dominiske. Yes.
Chairman Walsh. So that they could be kept away from any noise in case of any trouble,
away from being disturbed?
Mrs. Dominiske. I think it was.
Chairman Walsh. Was the cellar timbered and did it have steps?
Mrs. Dominiske. Yes.
Chairman Walsh. When did you see the cellar after the colony was destroyed?
Mrs. Dominiske. About a week after.
Chairman Walsh. Describe the cellar as it then appeared.
Mrs. Dominiske. Well it was all smoky on the inside and it was right after a rainstorm,
and it had quite a bit of water in it, and we did not get to go right in the inside of it.
Chairman Walsh. What day did you identify the bodies; was that on the 21st or the 22d?
Mrs. Dominiske. Twenty-first.
Chairman Walsh. The 21st?
Mrs. Dominiske. The day after.
Chairman Walsh. This occurred on—the deaths occurred on the 20th.
Mrs. Dominiske. The 20th.
Chairman Walsh. And you identified them on the 21st?
Mrs. Dominiske. No; it was on the 22d.
Chairman Walsh. On the 22d?
Mrs. Dominiske. Yes; two days later.
Chairman Walsh. Did you advise Mr. Lawson and these other men who signed that call of
what you testified before the commission here substantially? Did you tell your story to
the mine leaders of the mine workers?
Mrs. Dominiske. I told it to some of them.
Chairman Walsh. You told it to some of them?
Mrs. Dominiske. Yes.
Chairman Walsh. Upon the 22d instant when the so-called call to arms was issued?
Mrs. Dominiske. Yes.
Commissioner Weinstock. Did you see the fire when it started, Mrs. Dominiske?
Mrs. Dominiske. No; I did not.
Commissioner Weinstock. You do not know—how do you know how it started?
Mrs. Dominiske. No; I do not know.
Commissioner Weinstock. Did you see the members of the militia in the tent colony
immediately before the fire started?
Mrs. Dominiske. The first I saw of them is when this man told me that if I looked out I
could see the tent burning.
Commissioner Weinstock. I see. Then you saw the militia?
Mrs. Dominiske. I saw the militia in the tent colony then.
Commissioner Weinstock. You do not know whether the militia came there before or after
the fire started?
Mrs. Dominiske. No; I do not, I am sure.
Commissioner Weinstock. Well, did you hear from anybody how the fire did start?
Mrs. dominiske. No; I do not believe I did, but one of the-
Commissioner Weinstock. Of your own knowledge?
Mrs. Dominiske. Not of my own knowledge.
Commissioner Weinstock. You do not know how the fire started?
Mrs. Dominiske. No.
Commissioner Weinstock. At what time did the women and children and men begin to
leave the tent camp?
Mrs. Dominiske. In the morning, you mean?
Commissioner Weinstock. Yes; in the morning.
Mrs. Dominiske. Right after the bomb was fired.
Commissioner Weinstock. That was about—do you remember about what time that was?
Mrs. Dominiske. Close to 10 o'clock, if not at 10.
Commissioner Weinstock. They began to leave at that time?
Mrs. Dominiske. Yes.
Commissioner Weinstock. How many left?
Mrs. Dominiske. Well, I guess everybody left that could get out. They started the machine
gun as soon as the last bomb was fired. They started to firing the machine gun and
everybody tried to get out.
Commissioner Weinstock. How many children and women, so far as you can judge left
the camp on that morning?
Mrs. Dominiske. Well, I don't know.
Commissioner Weinstock. Would there be as many as a hundred?
Mrs. Dominiske. Well, I do not know; I couldn't say about that at all.
Commissioner Weinstock. How many women and children in the camp altogether?
Mrs. Dominiske. I do not know that either. There was quite a few.
Commissioner Weinstock. They started to scatter right at that time?
Mrs. Dominiske. Yes.
Commissioner Weinstock. When did the fire happen, about what time?
Mrs. Dominiske. Close to 6 o'clock.
Commissioner Weinstock. Was it after dark?
Mrs. Dominiske. It was just getting dusk.
Commissioner Weinstock. That is all.
Chairman Walsh. Commissioner Lennon would like to ask you a few questions. Commissioner Lennon. I would like to ask you to describe the water
tank for fear the people would not just comprehend what it is, and how 50 or 70 people
could get into the well, and how they supported themselves.
Mrs. Dominiske. Well, this is it.
Commissioner Lennon. Just describe it so that the people may understand.
Mrs. Dominiske. It is an awful big well; it had three landings.
Commissioner Lennon. Running around the inside?
Mrs. Dominiske. Yes; it had three landings.
Commissioner Lennon. A well 18 or 20 feet across, was it not?
Mrs. Dominiske. Oh, yes; I guess it was; it was an awful big well. I do not know just how
big.
Commissioner Lennon. There were steps going down from one landing to the other?
Mrs. Dominiske. Yes.
Commissioner Lennon. And the people stood on the landing?
Mrs. Dominiske. Yes.
Commissioner Lennon. That is all.
Chairman Walsh. Is that all underground?
Mrs. Dominiske. Yes.
Chairman Walsh. Commissioner Ballard would like to ask a few questions.
Commissioner Ballard. I understood you to say that you sent your
children up to the well, but you did not go first because you wanted to see your
husband?
Mrs. Dominiske. Yes.
Commissioner Ballard. Where was your husband?
Mrs. Dominiske. He was up to the office tent.
Commissioner Ballard. What was he doing there?
Mrs. Dominiske. It was Saturday—was their pay day also—and on Monday they always
check up and counted their checks and he had went up there to check up with Mr.
Fyler.
Commissioner Ballard. How long were you in the tent colony—how long did you live in the
tent colony?
Mrs. Dominiske. Since September, 1913.
Commissioner Ballard. You were there some months?
Mrs. Dominiske. Yes.
Commissioner Ballard. Who paid your expenses while you were there?
Mrs. Dominiske. The union.
Commissioner Ballard. Who is paying your expenses now?
Mrs. Dominiske. The union.
Commissioner Ballard. That is all.
Chairman Walsh. That is all. You are excused.
[photographs and emphasis added]
---------------
SOURCE
Industrial relations: final report and testimony, Volume 9
United States. Commission on Industrial Relations
D.C. Gov. Print. Office, 1916
https://books.google.com/...
8183-Dominiske
https://books.google.com/...
See also:
Affidavit of Margaret Dominiske
http://www.dailykos.com/...
IMAGES
Margaret Dominiske & Mary Petrucci
http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/...
Frank P Walsh
(search: Frank P Walsh, & choose p.24)
http://books.google.com/...
Baseball game at the Ludlow Tent Colony
http://www.du.edu/...
Louie Tikas
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
Militia and mine guards ready to attack the Ludlow Tent Colony
http://www.du.edu/...
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Which side are you on Lyrics-Natalie Merchant
Don't scab for the bosses
Don't listen to their lies
Us poor folks ain't got a chance
Unless we organize.
-Florence Reese
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