In this book on James McParland, the Pinkerton's most renowned detective, Riffenburgh endeavors to answer "the question of who James McParland really was" (loc. 125). Was McParland a brave force for law and order or was he a tool of the mine operators who used his powers of deception to frame innocent union members for crimes they did not commit and to serve as an agent provocateur urging otherwise peaceful citizens to illegal acts? While Riffenburgh largely comes down on the side of the former he does not shy away from giving evidence of the latter, though he does at times seem to dismiss such evidence with little consideration.
McParland is rightly most famous/infamous for his actions related to the prosecution of the Mollie Maguires in Pennsylvania's coal country. As an undercover agent, McParland infiltrated the union and the the Ancient Order of Hibernians/Mollie Maguires. As Riffenburgh presents the story, McParland, while of necessity concealing his true identity from his compatriots, simply gathered information on illegal activities and reported back to his superiors in the Pinkerton Agency. In several instances he apparently provides warnings to individuals who are targeted for assassination though in other instances he claims to have either been too infirm to give warning or states that the risk to his own life was too extreme. In several instances McParland played a central role in the planning of illegal activities though the author suggests that "he trod a fine line to avoid being a participant." (loc. 1327)
McParland's actions defined the way that what would become known as the "Labor Spy" operated. Central to the activities of the labor spy were the infiltration of the union organization along with working one's way into union office holding. A notable follow up to McParland was the work of CE Lively who infiltrated the mine organizations first in Colorado during the 1912-3 troubles and later in West Virginia in the aftermath of the Matewan Massacre. The parallels between McParland's dramatic courtroom appearance with the Mollie Maguires and CE Lively's during Sid Hatfield's trial are astonishing.
Throughout the book the author shows very little sympathy for the labor movement and gives a rather one-sided account of events such as the Haymarket Affair (loc. 3190). I would assume that the bias stems from heavy use of Pinkerton Company archives in the construction of the narrative but unfortunately the eARC that I reviewed did not include either the endnotes of bibliography from the finished volume.
The book follows the remainder of McParland's career as he oversaw the Pinkerton's Agency's western division and waged a personal struggle against the Western Federation of Miners (WFM). This struggle climaxed in a multi-year investigation and trial whose chief aim was the conviction of Big Bill Haywood, head of the WFM. This investigation and trial saw McParland use dubious legal means to indict defendants in multiple jurisdictions in order to ensure that any time that the accused were released on bond from one charge that another charge was there ensuring their rearrest and transport to yet another cell as well as at several points perjuring himself on the witness stand (and likely the fabrication of confessions from several witnesses). The trials were the show trials of the day with none other than Clarence Darrow for the defense. In the end McParland failed to secure a conviction of Haywood and he was let go free.
Riffenburgh has crafted a splendid narrative of a somewhat elusive character. While I feel that he was overly generous to McParland and lacking in empathy for the right of workers, this volume is an excellent addition to the literature on the Pinkerton's and labor history in general. I highly recommend this book especially when read together with other works written from a more labor friendly perspective.
