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.
