''The Pinkerton Labor Spy'' (alternately, ''The Pinkerton's Labor Spy'') is a nonfiction book published in 1907 as an exposé of intrigue and abuses by the

Pinkerton Detective Agency Pinkerton is an American private investigation and security company established around 1850 in the United States by Scottish-born American cooper Allan Pinkerton and Chicago attorney Edward Rucker as the North-Western Police Agency, which lat ...

in general, and by chief agent James McParland in particular.
Full-text version, Google Books
/ref> The book detailed the use of spies by mining and ore milling companies during the period of the

Colorado Labor Wars The Colorado Labor Wars were a series of labor strikes in 1903 and 1904 in the U.S. state of Colorado, by gold and silver miners and mill workers represented by the Western Federation of Miners (WFM). Opposing the WFM were associations of ...

. It described the recruiting, utilization, and management of agents who infiltrated the

Western Federation of Miners The Western Federation of Miners (WFM) was a labor union that gained a reputation for militancy in the mines of the western United States and British Columbia. Its efforts to organize both hard rock miners and smelter workers brought it into ...

and the

United Mine Workers The United Mine Workers of America (UMW or UMWA) is a North American Labor history of the United States, labor union best known for representing coal miners. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing work ...

unions for the purposes of disruption, sabotage, and gathering information. The author of the book, Morris Friedman, had worked in the agency as Mr. McParland's stenographer.

Other criticism

''The Pinkerton Labor Spy'' criticized the Pinkerton Detective Agency from a pro-labor point of view.

Charlie Siringo Charles Angelo Siringo (February 7, 1855 – October 18, 1928) was an American lawman, detective, bounty hunter, and agent for the Pinkerton National Detective Agency during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Early life Siringo was born o ...

, another former employee of the agency, had no sympathy for labor, yet wrote books about his experiences as a Pinkerton Detective that were so objectionable to the company, they were repeatedly suppressed. In 1936, the

La Follette Committee In the United States Senate, the La Follette Civil Liberties Committee, or more formally, Committee on Education and Labor, Subcommittee Investigating Violations of Free Speech and the Rights of Labor (1936–1941), began as an inquiry into a Nati ...

of the United States Senate investigated and publicized abuses of detective agencies, including Pinkerton. The Pinkerton Agency eventually shifted from detective work to security services, at least in part due to such criticism.

External links

''The Pinkerton Labor Spy'' on the web

References

1907 non-fiction books Books about espionage History of Colorado Pinkerton (detective agency) Colorado Mining Boom Teller County, Colorado El Paso County, Colorado 1903 in Colorado 1904 in Colorado {{spy-book-stub

Other criticism

See also

External links

References