 In one case three hundred miners walked out to protest the policy, the company negotiated, and the Pinkerton guards were replaced by guards nominated by the union.The new agreement stipulated that miners suspected of theft would be searched by a fellow miner in the presence of a watchman.To ensure a cooperative work force, mine managers and superintendents found it useful to urge all miners to join the union.p.71-74

El Paso County included both heavily working class Cripple Creek and more conservative Colorado Springs, home to many of the mine owners.