I thought it was interesting that Spade, in "Spade and Archer," betrays obvious pro-labor sympathies, while Archer is more than willing to pin a rap on labor organizers. This seems to align Spade with Hammet's own later political leanings, though perhaps not his work while a Pinkerton detective himself.
Lawrence
________________________________________
From: rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com [rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of jacquesdebierue [jacquesdebierue@yahoo.com]
Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2009 11:48 AM
To: rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RARA-AVIS: Re: The Pinkertons of Yore
--- In rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com<mailto:rara-avis-l%40yahoogroups.com>, "Gerry Adams" <gerry@...> wrote:
>
> The original Pinkertons were more in line with being the predecessors of national investigative law enforcement. Often compared to a template fo the early FBI. So tied into government by contracts that acts of congress were needed to make a distinction. (the Pinkerton Acts)
>
> The Pinkerton acts wre, however mistakenly, used as a recent reason to attempt to eliminate government contracting in Iraq, and other foreign places. The Pinkerton acts essentially prohibit(ed) government from hiring contractors for security services during labor disputes. The Pinkertons were considered gummint-sanctioned strike-breakers.
>
But were strikes illegal when the Pinkertons were breaking them?
mrt
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : 24 Mar 2009 EDT