Corporate Tyranny and Lawlessness

Where it surfaces

• Book I: The Domain of King Coal

  The chapter depicts the coal company's absolute control over the region, operating above the law.

• Chapter II

  The camp marshal, a company employee, illegally fines and expels Hal without due process, demonstrating the company's absolute control and disregard for law.

• IV

  Dutch Mike explains that in a coal camp, 'the law is what your boss tells you,' and Hal experiences this firsthand when he must swear he is not a union member and pay for the company preacher.

• IX

  The company ignores safety laws, forces men to work despite gas, and seals the mine after an explosion.

• XI

  The Raffertys' fear of speaking out and the company's control over boarding and trade illustrate the arbitrary power wielded by the mining corporation.

• XVI

  The company ignores state laws protecting miners, uses harassment and threats to suppress demands for a check-weighman, and makes miners' lives miserable if they protest.

• Chapter XVIII

  Old Rafferty describes how companies short-weight coal to cut wages, and how honest men are forced out, illustrating the lawlessness of corporate power.

• XIX

  The company's absolute power is shown through Cotton's harassment, Kosegi's rent hikes, and the threat of violence against any miner who resists.

• Chapter XX

  The company controls the coroner's jury, suppresses damage suits, and uses bribery to assign dangerous work, showing absolute power over workers' lives.

• Chapter XXI

  Stone's bribery and use of a spy system exemplify the lawless, corrupt power structure that suppresses worker solidarity and enforces company dominance.

• XXV

  The company uses spies to monitor workers and suppress union activity, illustrating the lawless control exerted over the camps.

• XXVIII

  The discussion highlights how companies ignore laws and control the political process, rendering legal protections meaningless without union power.

• Book II: The Serfs of King Coal

  The chapter illustrates how the mining company operates above the law, controlling every aspect of the miners' lives through coercion and violence.

• I

  The company forbids any organization, even fraternal orders, and controls financial transactions, illustrating its absolute power over workers.

• III

  The company controls medical care, charges arbitrary fees, and blacklists activists, illustrating absolute power over workers.

• IV

  Edstrom's account of the militia's actions—arresting judges, suspending habeas corpus, exiling workers—exemplifies corporate tyranny and lawlessness.

• V

  Stone openly describes how the company rigs elections, suppresses opposition, and uses economic coercion to control votes.

• VI

  The superintendent's casual offer of an election-clerk position and the use of spies demonstrate the company's lawless control over civic life.

• VII

  The company controls elections, employs armed deputies, and uses the sheriff's office to maintain power, as revealed in the store conversation.

• VIII

  The miners must meet in secret like criminals to ask for a right guaranteed by law, highlighting the company's oppressive control.

• XIV

  The company's use of a planted frame-up to entrap a worker exemplifies the lawless tactics of corporate power.

• XV

  The company uses the camp-marshal and staged evidence to illegally arrest and intimidate Hal.

• XVI

  The company's crude plot to frame Hal and their contempt for the workers exemplify the lawlessness and cynicism of corporate power in North Valley.

• XVII

  The company jails Hal without charge and on a starvation diet, and forges a letter to discredit him.

• XVIII

  Jeff Cotton's threat to frame Hal with a forged letter and send him to prison exemplifies the company's lawless use of power.

• XIX

  Cotton openly describes the company's control over the jury system, district attorney, and judge, demonstrating the lawless power of the corporation.

• XXI

  Hal's conversation with Cotton exposes how the camp-marshal breaks laws with impunity, embodying the lawlessness of corporate control.

• XXII

  Cotton's threat to forcibly remove Hal and his admission of Peter Harrigan's corruption illustrate the lawlessness of the company's rule.

• XXIII

  The marshal's arbitrary power, use of scrip, and banishment of Hal illustrate the lawlessness of company rule.

• XXIV

  Cotton defends the company's use of bribery and strong-arm tactics, revealing the lawlessness of corporate power.

• XXVI

  Olson explains that the company neglected required safety measures like sprinkling, and Jeff Cotton uses force to control the crowd, reflecting corporate disregard for worker safety.

• XXVII

  Alec Stone's callous order and the camp-marshal's use of a revolver against a woman illustrate corporate disregard for human life.

• XXXII

  The company deliberately falsifies the number of entombed miners, uses armed guards to control access, and suppresses information to avoid accountability.

• XXXIII

  The company seals the mine, delays rescue, arrests protesters, and brings in armed guards, prioritizing property over human life.

• XXXIV

  The company's use of armed guards, arbitrary arrests, and banishment demonstrates its absolute control over the camp and disregard for legal or moral constraints.

• Book III: The Henchmen of King Coal

  The company's use of spies, thugs, and arbitrary rules demonstrates the lawless and tyrannical power wielded by the coal corporation over the lives of the workers.

• I

  The company's shadowing of reporters, concealment of miner deaths, and obstruction of safety investigations illustrate lawless corporate power.

• II

  The Raymond machine's control over the legal system, including rigged juries and the murder of opponents, exemplifies lawlessness in service of corporate interests.

• III

  The G.F.C. controls the press, courts, and Governor, making justice impossible for the miners.

• IV

  The company seals the mine to prevent rescue, and the District Attorney refuses to investigate, demonstrating how corporate power subverts legal accountability.

• V

  The justice of the peace refuses to enforce the law against the mining company, showing how corporate power subverts legal institutions.

• Chapter VI

  The company's control over the legal system is evident as Judge Denton, a partner in a firm representing the coal company, refuses to act on Hal's evidence.

• VII

  The police chief and mayor openly side with company detectives, refusing to protect Hal and dismissing threats of violence, demonstrating how corporate power subverts the legal system.

• VIII

  The company uses slander and intimidation to discredit Hal and suppress dissent.

• XII

  The General Fuel Company suppresses laws and humanity, employing armed thugs to chase Hal for trying to rescue trapped miners.

• XIII

  The company's refusal to open the mine and the marshal's violent pursuit of Hal exemplify lawless corporate power.

• XIV

  Cotton's false claim that the company is doing everything to reopen the mine exemplifies corporate manipulation and disregard for truth.

• XV

  The company's sealing of the mine to prevent rescue and the gunmen's violence exemplify corporate disregard for human life.

• XXIII

  The company beats back women, hides bodies, and manipulates death counts, showing its lawless control over the community.

• Book IV: The Will of King Coal

  The company's absolute control over the miners' lives, including the use of spies and violence to maintain power.

• XI

  Edward's view that the town and its people are property of the General Fuel Company illustrates corporate control.

• XIII

  The company's abduction of the strike committee by gunmen exemplifies the lawless and oppressive tactics used to crush worker resistance.

• XV

  Cartwright uses his dual role as mayor and superintendent to enforce company interests, bypassing legal procedures and constitutional guarantees.

• XVII

  Edward's willingness to use legal and financial coercion to control Hal mirrors corporate power over workers.

• XVIII

  The union officials describe the systematic firing of thousands of men for union activity, illustrating the company's ruthless control.

• XIX

  Company spotters follow and fire union sympathizers, break into desks, and threaten death.

• Chapter XXIV

  The presence of armed guards like Pete Hanun and the stockaded village illustrate the company's oppressive control over the miners.

• Chapter XXIX

  The mine guard's unprovoked attack on Edstrom exemplifies the company's lawless use of violence to control workers.

• Postscript

  The postscript details how coal corporations controlled election precincts, polling places, and registration lists, turning public elections into private instruments of corporate power, a 'crime without a name'.