 Labor organizations were not persuaded and opposed his candidacy, but the Republicans gained control of the state governmentp.39-41 when the Democrats and Populists split the progressive ticket.p.201

Peabody saw the Western Federation of Miners as a threat to his own class interests, to private property, to democratic institutions, and to the nation itself.He promised in his inaugural address to make Colorado safe for investments, if necessary using all the power of the state to accomplish his aims.p.45

A national employers' movement aimed directly at the power of unions was gaining strength.In his 1972 book "Colorado's War On Militant Unionism", George Suggs, Jr. reported that antiunion employers' organizations in Ohio, Illinois, Missouri, and Wisconsin had effectively stopped the growth of unions through open shop campaigns.p.65-66

In 1903, David M. Parry delivered a speech at the annual convention of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) that was a diatribe against organized labor.