David C. Coates
Encyclopedia
David Courtney Coates was a Pueblo, Colorado
businessman
, a radical, the 11th Lieutenant Governor
of Colorado
, secretary of Colorado's State Federation of Labor, and a friend to Big Bill Haywood
.
Coates was born in Brandon, England.
In 1901, Lieutenant Governor Coates volunteered, and was dispatched by Colorado Governor James Orman
, to be part of a commission sent to Telluride
to investigate an uprising of miners from the Western Federation of Miners
during a strike. A shooting war was triggered when one of the strikers, believed to have been unarmed, had been shot through the throat by a deputized mine guard. In spite of intense pressure from others, Coates helped to persuade the governor not to send the Colorado National Guard
. The commission was able to effect a settlement between the miners and the company, negotiating between union leader Vincent St. John
and the Smuggler-Union Mine Company's general manager, Arthur L. Collins
.
David Coates was present at the founding convention
of the Industrial Workers of the World
. Coates was offered the presidency of that organization, but declined to accept it. The IWW later abolished the office of the presidency.
In his autobiography, Bill Haywood credited Coates with suggesting a slogan
for the IWW: an injury to one is an injury to all
. The slogan has since been used by a number of labor organizations.
After leaving office, Coates was a member of the Socialist Party of America
. He left the party over its pacifist policies and headed the short-lived National Party
during World War I
.
Pueblo, Colorado
Pueblo is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. The population was 106,595 in 2010 census, making it the 246th most populous city in the United States....
businessman
Businessperson
A businessperson is someone involved in a particular undertaking of activities for the purpose of generating revenue from a combination of human, financial, or physical capital. An entrepreneur is an example of a business person...
, a radical, the 11th Lieutenant Governor
Lieutenant Governor of Colorado
The lieutenant governor of Colorado is the second-highest-ranking member of the executive department of the Colorado state government, below only the Governor of Colorado. The lieutenant governor, who acts as governor in his absence and succeeds to the governorship in case of vacancy, is elected on...
of Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, secretary of Colorado's State Federation of Labor, and a friend to Big Bill Haywood
Bill Haywood
William Dudley Haywood , better known as "Big Bill" Haywood, was a founding member and leader of the Industrial Workers of the World , and a member of the Executive Committee of the Socialist Party of America...
.
Coates was born in Brandon, England.
In 1901, Lieutenant Governor Coates volunteered, and was dispatched by Colorado Governor James Orman
James Bradley Orman
James Bradley Orman was an American politician and railroad builder. He served as the 12th Governor of Colorado from 1901 to 1903. He was a Democrat....
, to be part of a commission sent to Telluride
Telluride, Colorado
The town of Telluride is the county seat and most populous town of San Miguel County in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Colorado. The town is a former silver mining camp on the San Miguel River in the western San Juan Mountains...
to investigate an uprising of miners from the Western Federation of Miners
Western Federation of Miners
The Western Federation of Miners was a radical 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 sharp conflicts – and often pitched battles...
during a strike. A shooting war was triggered when one of the strikers, believed to have been unarmed, had been shot through the throat by a deputized mine guard. In spite of intense pressure from others, Coates helped to persuade the governor not to send the Colorado National Guard
Colorado National Guard
The Colorado Department of Military and Veterans Affairs is a state agency of the Government of Colorado. It supervises both the Colorado National Guard , and non-military state safety agencies.The Department consists of the Department of Military Affairs, and the Division of Veterans' Affairs, and...
. The commission was able to effect a settlement between the miners and the company, negotiating between union leader Vincent St. John
Vincent Saint John
Vincent Saint John was an American labor leader and a prominent Wobbly.-Biography:He was born in Newport, Kentucky and was the only son of New York native Silas St. John and Irish immigrant Marian "Mary" Cecilia Magee...
and the Smuggler-Union Mine Company's general manager, Arthur L. Collins
Arthur L. Collins
Arthur Lancelot Collins was an English-born mine manager in the American state of Colorado. He was born July 8, 1868, in Truro, England. He was the son of a prominent mining expert, Joseph Henry Collins. The Collins family ran a business, J.H. Collins & Sons, Mining and Metallurgical Engineers....
.
David Coates was present at the founding convention
First Convention of the Industrial Workers of the World
When Bill Haywood used a board to gavel to order the first convention of the Industrial Workers of the World , he announced, "this is the Continental Congress of the working class...
of the Industrial Workers of the World
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World is an international union. At its peak in 1923, the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. Its membership declined dramatically after a 1924 split brought on by internal conflict...
. Coates was offered the presidency of that organization, but declined to accept it. The IWW later abolished the office of the presidency.
In his autobiography, Bill Haywood credited Coates with suggesting a slogan
Labor slogans
This is a list of slogans used by organized labor, or by workers who are attempting to organize.-Glossary of labor slogans:* The slogan "An injury to one..." has a long history in the union movement. Initially attributed to the Knights of Labor, the expression took the form "an injury to one is the...
for the IWW: an injury to one is an injury to all
An injury to one is an injury to all
An injury to one is an injury to all is a motto popularly used by the Industrial Workers of the World who are also known as the "Wobblies." In his autobiography, Bill Haywood credited David C. Coates with suggesting a labor slogan for the IWW: an injury to one is an injury to all. The slogan has...
. The slogan has since been used by a number of labor organizations.
After leaving office, Coates was a member of the Socialist Party of America
Socialist Party of America
The Socialist Party of America was a multi-tendency democratic-socialist political party in the United States, formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party which had split from the main organization...
. He left the party over its pacifist policies and headed the short-lived National Party
National Party (United States)
The National Party was an early-20th-century national political organization in the United States founded by pro-war defectors from the Socialist Party of America in 1917. Rather than filing into the Democratic Party, these adherents of the SPA Right first formed a non-partisan national society to...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.