Byrkit - Forging the Copper Collar: Arizonas Labor-Management War of 1901-1921

Arizona copper mining camps before the 1950s were not unlike the British imperialoutpostsdescribedby W. Somerset Maugham in his South Sea Tales. Such Arizona townsasMorenci,Jerome, Ajo and Bisbee were isolated, mercantilistic colonies. Therethelaboringmen enjoyed good wages and a variety of comforts, while local administratorscongregatedinatight, friendly cliquemaintained their identities as wardens if not as nabobs.Inthiscircle, as in a military officers club, an atmosphere intimate and casualprevailed.Unlikepillars of the community in more traditional, familiar Americansettings,themine and smelter operators felt no compulsion toward demagogic propriety;theirappointivestatus enabled them to pursue a self-expressive style of life. Too,fromtheiroften cosmopolitan origins and training they had acquired gracious andhedonictastes.These characteristics, together with the natural spontaneity endemictominingcamps, produced a social vitality among the managers and engineers whichcomplementedthestreet-filled celebrations of the camps wage earners.

Remoteness, crudity and the glaring heat of the area were probably the first impressionsof a newcomer to the upper social stratum of a mining town. The daytime image wasquicklysoftenedby the first evening lawn party, garnished with a lavish cold buffet,tinklingiceand gentle laughter. Here tired and overtold dinner party stories weregivennewlife, while bits of benign if not congenial gossip found their audience.Littleknotsof men chuckled as they joked about the round heels of legislators electedtoopposethe influence of the copper companies.

It was in this atmosphere that I heard originally of the Bisbee Deportation. At thetimeitmade no more impression on me than any of the other numerous sensationalanecdotesthatconstituted the routine repertoire of those evening exchanges. Moredetailedaccountssubsequently fleshed out the storyand tweaked my curiosity. Ibegantorealize that something more substantial lay behind the flippant boasts thatwecaughtthose Wobbly deadbeats with their pants down or in those days we tookcareofthings the old frontier way.

Since then, I have come to understand that the amenities of Arizona colonial societywere only a small, visible part of the states colonial experience. Like the proverbialiceberg, the great substance of that experience layout of view. The aim of thisbook is to reveal some of that substance, a part of Arizona history that has toolong remained obscured.

Without rival, Anne Beller Byrkit, in every respect, did the most to help bring thisbook into being. Four people, Professors John Niven, Harwood Hinton, Melvyn Dubofskyand Clark Spence, provided extensive and detailed critiques of the various stagesof the manuscript. I am indebted greatly to them for their comments.

After reading the underground version of this book, several other scholars helpedmewith their encouragement and constructive suggestionsto persevere with my work.They include C. L. Sonnichsen, Jim Foster, Bob Houston, Jim Kluger, Marjorie HainesWilson, Earl Bruce White, Joe Park and Beverly Springer.

Other people, many from around the state of Arizona, gave me support, too. In particular,John P. Frank, Platt Cline, John Pintek, Selma Pine, Sam and Judy Goddard, JacquieMcNulty, Tom Miller, David Ward and Bishop William Scarlett deserve my deepest thanksfor their interest, enthusiasm and helpfulness. Marie Webner of the University ofArizona Press has been remarkably patient and understanding and a firm believerin my perspective in this book. I am grateful to the University of Arizona Pressfor effecting publication of this work.

-J. W. B.