f!5?,.n.v -li4WUii-. TiFB.fR!111 J- !UWHW-' - WflWBW t V tft irV't- r V"?- ro-u-r vn i" -ir T , ,THE SCRANTON TRIBUNE-SATURDAY, NOVEiVJLBER 15, 1902, -... - OPERATORS TAKE UP MINERS' GAUNTLET (Continued fiom Page 1.) How long hud the agitation l)roti sped ftcnlly proceeding up lo the time of tlio strike? A. Well, It had been c ontliiuous as far m I know, or as for hick as t know no far back ni I have known the nnthrnclto miners. Q. Tlieio hail nlwajs been that difficulty here ntnl thoie claims made? A. Ever rlnce T have known of them. Q. How long have oufiknovvn ot the dlaFatlsfactlon ot the indie woikeis with reference to the method ot ascer taining how much pay they should havc7 A. I hac known ot It of my own Infor mation Rlnce the fall of 1818. Q. Anil that hn, gcnernlly spcnlUng, eijstnll.ed Itself Into a demand for pajment by weight, ha-? It not? A. Yes nit : ns Tat ns they have over Riven expression to the svs tem they wish to be put upon. It bus been bv weight. Q. Is that genciul now, In the bituminous fields A. The system ot pay Injr by weight Is geneinl In the bitumin ous fields. The Principal Reason. Q. AVlmt weie some of the loason, hi lolly,, advanced by the men, whv the lompanlcs should p.iv by weight? A. The principal reason advanced by tho mlneis Is that payment by weight Is the only honest method of determlnlm: the amount they cam. Tho miners know und believe that thev uto not paid for tho real they mine. Q. Has there been nnv ejalm al leged wheic they arc paid bv the ctn, that the sbo of those cats has been Incicnscd without ittcicnslng their pay A. Yes, all. The miners generally complain that tho tars themselves hnve been made luigor within lecent yeais, and that theie has been .a constant and continuous demand by tho companies that the miners shall place moio coal In tho cars: In other words they shnll put more topping on. The question ot topping In those mines vv hero men are paid by cubical measure, or by tho bov, lathei, has been a some.) ot more tioublo thnn any one thing 1 know of. Q. Tell ns what you mean by lopping? A. Tlic companies iceiube that tho miners shall have a eel tain amount of topping on the cai when It comes to the brcakei. That Is to sa, the uile may require that tlieio be sl Inches o coal nbovo tho water level of a rnr when It comes to tho bieakei. It It has not got nix Inches on top at the end of the mine? Is sometimes hauled In the mine a dis tance of a mile. As n consequence, the oal shakes down In tianslt: and whllo the miner may have placed six inches on that car at the place he loaded it, when It leaches tho breaker the coal has settled down or has been knocked off the cai In tianslt. The consequence Is that the miner Is docked for failure to hnve six Inches ot coal or whate' er the rule may 1)0, on tho car when It i caches the break er. Q. In order to get sW inches on the top at the bleaker, the car has to tiavel a mile or two br thiee, or whatever Is re quired, and they must place moie than six inches on top at the en dot the mine? Is that what you mean? A. Ye, sir; It would be necessary, because the coal would settle or be knocked off. Q. And that exact amount could not be nseei tHlned? A. Theie would be no wav of de tei mining It exactly. If thev place a con-f-ldciablo amount, moie than .six Inches ot topping In mines wheic that would be ic qultcd, thev simply incieuse the danger ot falling oft or being knocked off on Its way to the breaker. Q. Supposing that a miner had placed so much oal on a car that at the top of .the bienhei theie weie seven oi eight oi" ten Inches, would ho get anything extia loi that? A. No, sir. Q. lie is simply docked If lie has less than Mx? That is as jou undei stand it? A. That Is my Infoiniation about the svstem. Q. Has that been a Eilevauce Hint they haVe had.' A. Yes, sir; a veiv seilous gllevance. Q Well, all these gilevanres, leal or fancied, wlialevei they weie, weie "nought together at vom convention, weie they not? A. Yes, sli Efforts at Agreement. Heie Mr. 'Mitchell told the stoiy of (he strike piollinimules. and the effoi ts to pffeot an agreement on the Sluiinokln demands through the Civic fedeiatlon He told, among other things, that dur ing the strike $1,500,000 was dlsti United 5n aid to the strikers. Q. Two or tlneo moie questions and then I sh ill have finished. What would vou ay as to the ability, on account of vour organization, and ludged bv vour experience, to maintain discipline and as sist In the settlement of questions and hdp in tlie harmony of the management of the coal Industry? A. I should suv that our expeilence as an oignnlzntlou demonstrates concluslvelv that discipline can be maintained wheie trade agree ments exUt. As a matter of fact, in those states wheie we have, tiade agree ments, if any or our local unions, were to attempt to violate the agieeineut: If they tcfused to go back to wnik when we Instiucted tin in to do so, we would put them out of the union. We would re voke their charteis. Oiu ugiccmeuts take piecedeiico to our law. If our law Weie in conflict with the ttode agiee. ment, the Undo agieement would bo given precedence and we would set thn law aside rather than the agieement. The agi cements must lie kept luvlolnt. Q. Mr. Mitchell, some lomplaliit has been made, and I lefer to it for that reason, In leference to the strike of pumpois. You know what T refei to. do ou pumping men? A, Yes, sr, The steam men went on strike on June "nd. The miners' sttike was on May 12lh, The Instruction to the steum men to ask for a reduction In thn bouts of labor was Issued on May 21, Q, That was for a i eduction to eight houir, itai It? A, Yes, sir: the Instiuctlon was Issued home tvvelvo davs beforo they were to luntigiu ate a stilke If the companies failed to glvo them an eight-hour woik-dav They weto told In tho instiuctlon Issued that they were lo lemnln at vvoik und pioteet tho propei ties of the companies. If thn rnmpanlcs would penult them to vvntlc right hour a il.ij without any leductlou In their pay, Q, Thej wete to lenialu at work while the ntheis went on h sit Ike? A. Yes sir. Q. And thut was because) tho pump men and tho onglnreis wete neces. snry to keep water out of tho mines" A. Yes, sir, Q. And matters of that sou? Were they refused nn olgnt houi day? A, Willi few exceptions, Home few In some mines have granted tho eight-hour day. Q. And did they stay at walk wheie the eight-hour dnj was granted. A Yes, sir, Q, One other mutter that I overlooked, Mr, MltchcH. Do you know instiling about the vailety of "coutiuttH that exist In this icglon, specifically, and as to any eatiso of complaint on that no. count? A. Contracts? Q, That Is, a vai lety In the pa incut ot price for mining roal and the method In which It Is mined? A. Yes, sir; only In a general way, that ull the companies operating In this I,uckuvviiiiim and Womi'g re. glon pay either by tho box, by the cr by what Is called u ton, Q. Is It, unlfom: among the various companies? A. No, sir; It Is vailed. Q. State whether or not thut has been one of tho causes of com plaint? A, It hus made it impossible for the men working to determine how muih coal they wcro loading for the amount they were iccelvlng. Q. In what way? A, They rould not determine how much coal they would have to load, because of tho topping lequiied. Q, I refer now to tho question as to whether different companies huvo not paid different rates of wages for substantially the same work? A, I know that In a generul way, and by comparing tho pay, the state ments Issued by the companies. Q. Mr. Mitchell, you referred to tho question of a local violating any agreement, and slated In that event their charter would bo revoked. A. Yes, sir. Q. What about other men who continued to woik? Would other union men continue to wotk? A. Yes, sir. Mr. Dai row: I think that Is all that occurs to me now. CROSS-EXAMINATION. Mr. Wilcox began the cross-examination about twenty minutes before the noon recess was taken and continued It dining the two liouis of the nfternoon session. By Mi. Wlllcox: cj. Mr, Mitchell, how long did jou art as a bituminous miner. A. Thlitcen venrs. Q. And was It con tinuous? A. Yes. (dr. Q, At what time, would you mind telllngT A. I started when 1 was between 12 and IT years of nge, until 1 was about 26 years of age. i. Have vou dono anything else except lo act ns mi official or this organisation? before' Hint time, howevct, on a fnim, A. I have not pet formed any woik out side of that, since that time. T worked when 1 was 10 veurs of nge. Q. T thought ou had studied law? A. I did nl night, when I came homo fiom the work In the mines. Q, thought sou were u piofes sional brother? A. I have never been ad mitted to the bar, however. CJ. The mine vvoikets' union Is r voliin tuty association, ns I undeislond It? A. Yes, sir. Q. And It Is not Incorpoiated In nnv state or anywhere? A. It Is not an Incorporated oiganlznllon, but Is or ganized the same, ns nil other labor unions. Q. When did these anthracite miners first comp Into It, did you suv? A. They were foimcd of the members of District assembly, 13", which Joined with the Miners' Progressive union in making the United Mine Workers of Amotion. Q. How many ot them were In that District 1 S, do oil know? A. No, sir: I do not know how mnnv were In line. q. It was quite 'a small number, wus It not? A. I could not snv. I might sav, both of these two national unions thut Joined together onlv had a total membeishlp of twenty or thhty thous and, q. What I mean to get at It this; so fur as this organization or Knights of Labor i concerned. It had prartleally ex piied, had It not? A. I cannot nnswer the question accuratelv, but I under stand that a considerable number of Its totul membeishlp wete anthracite mine workers. Q Of this particular district assemblv, or what? A. Y'es. sir: of No. 1.1". q. You do not know what the total membership was? A. T do not. q. Now, I understand that under the constitution ot the Flitted Mine Workeis, the convention In their body has power to order a strike In all the coal-pioduc-lng legions, is not that so? A. Yes, sir. q. Has the national executive boatd that power also? A. They have that authority given them by the Inw. but tlirv cannot do It In violation of any existing con tracts q. Wliv not? A. Because tho contracts themselves are superior to our law. q. Do vou mean by virtue of nny definite piovislon. A. No, bv virtue of the policy and piecedeuce established bv the organization q. But so far as the constitution is concerned, the executive boaid has the power to Older a strike? A. That is our law. Q. Now, I under stand that a convention must be called on the application-of five dlstucts? A. Yes, sir. Q. And that .such onvention mnv older a general suspension of work eveivwhere A. It mnv. except In the event of ngieements existing between the opeiatois and mineis. q. How many dlstilcts ate theie? A. There aie eigh teen distilcts q. Theie aie eighteen dls tilcts, and oly thiee of them aie anthra cite dlstilcts. A. Yes, "dr. q. And ench distilct elects one member of the board, does it? A Yes, sh. q Theie Is n great deal of diffeience as to the size of the dlstucts. as to membeishlp, I nuclei -stand.' A. Yes, a veiv gieat diffeience. q Tor instance, in Michiguu, I believe, theie i no only two cu thiee thousand. A Yes, sr. q And In those thiee dls tilcts, vou sav theie aie one bundled and ten thousand. A. Yes, sir. q But the powei Is divided ace oi ding lo tho num ber of the membeis; that is, the distilct lepiesentatlves? A. No, each district is given one member on the board q. Yes. A. However. In our conventions theii vot ing power is in accordance with the num ber of membeis. q. But In the national boaid, lor the put pose uf calling a con vention, for instance, the state of Michi gan would have as much power ns this Dlsttiet No 1 here, would It not? A. That Is tine. q. And the powers Of the body geneiallv between conventions aie eXeiclsed bv the national boaid? A. No, ii. q. fs that so? A. The law piovldes that thev shall have power between con ventions, but the legulatlon of a distilct Is by the dlsttiet executive boaid, which is empovveied to make laws tor its own government, q. Yes, but does not the national board have power over the dls ttiet bouid? A. It has power to Inaugur ate n stilke. q. You spoke of disciplining the mlneis for violating contracts.' A. Yes. sli. q Is theie am thing in the constitution In tcgaid to that? A. No, sh, e ept that tho offlceis aie. empoweted to exeicise snpeivlslon over tho wotklngs nt the ot gnnizatlnn evei j wheie, q. Yes? A. And under that oiu dlsttiet constitutions In some states do make pipvlsion for le voklng or disciplining the membeis, np plihig penalties and flues and so forth. q. Have you got the distilct constitutions of this paitlculai legion? A. I have not got them light wth me. I am trying to Bet some which will be furnished when ihov nulve. q. Do they have any such piovislon In them? A. I do not lecnll that they have. There have been no agieements In these dlstilcts. Q. And nie theie any provisions In the constitution legnidlng the enfoicemkent or canning out of tho contracts? A. Theie nie In the ngieiments; ves, sir. Q. I know, but nie there anv such piovlslons hi the con stitution of the body? A, Or the national mganlzatlon? q. Yes? A. No; theie aie none. It Is pinvided by agreement with the opeiator q. The only provision theiu Is on the subject is contained In the agiee ment Itself? That Is light? A The pio vision Is In tho agi cement Itself; jes, sli. q, What does jour constitution piovlde In legaid to sympathetic stilkes? Any thing.' A. Thorn Is no piovislon at all In It, except that hi a ense wheie a stilke lit one distilct might have the effect ot low ing the wages In another district. Then tho oignnUatlon would hnve power to ex tend tho stilko so as to pioteet the men whoso wages would ho affected by a full me In tho flist district. Now, peihups, I had better lead the provision. Section 4 of article 10; "National ofllceis shall, at unj 1 1 in o the deem It to the best Inter ests of mine wnikeis hi u distilct that is Idle, for just and sufficient leabons, to unlet a suspension in any other district or dlstilcts, that would In any way tin pedo the settlement In the distilct af fected; piovldcd that such action would sol ve to tho best Inteieata of tho United Mine woikers of Ameilcu " That Is the piovislon Is it not? A. Yes, sir. That piovislon Is to bo en foiced In the event of one company opei atiug mines In one distilct vvhcio they might attempt to reduce wages-lu which tlieio would bo no iigieeiuont always by continuing operations In other mines hi another distilct. That power Is Invested In the executive board, so that they might stop tho mines of the company In both dlstilcts; ulnajs with the condition, however, tlieio fs no agieement existing In either of them. O. That statement of yours does not seem to be contained In this Section. A. What statement Is that? q. That which ou havo just made. Mr. Dai row: The puinose of it, Mr, Mitchell: That is what I am tiylng to explain; Just what out laws mean. By Mr. Wilcox; Q. That Is not contained In the section llBelf, Is It? This Is n statement of your own as to tho pttrposo ot that section, Is It not. Mr. Mitchell? A. Yes, sir, nnd that Is what It menlis.j because In our oiganlznllon tho piesldent of tho organization determines what the low means, and a derision ns lo what tho law means In our otgrtnlzatlon makes It the law. That Is, tho laws are Inler ptelod In that wny, q, So that as you testify, tho law Is be ing mnde, Is It? A. I have Just given ou what that law means. q. Yes, so that ns you speak, tho law Is being made, ns you nie president of the organization? (Laughter), A. No, not necessarily: but the consti no tion or meaning of our own laws Is deter, mined by lis chief officers. q. Does the constitution glvo tlirm any such power as that? A. Yes, sir. q. Where In that? A. Under "Tho duties of the piesldents." q. Can you point that out to me? A. See It you find this lan guage: "lie shall decide all disputes as lo the meaning of this constitution." The Chairman: Perhaps you con take the constitution, Mr. Mitchell, and point It out to the commission. Mr. Mitchell: Yes; I have It hero, I think. Mr. Dairow: The poition ot the consti tution you are looking for Is nt the bot tom of page 6, or the top of page T, I think, Mr. Mitchell. Mr. Mitchell: YeH; I find, Mr. Wlllcox, that you hnve not been lending from our constitution. Bv Mr. Wlllcox: I have not ha the pleasure of having one furnished to me. Have jou It now A. Yes q. The one I had Is not up to dale? A. No; I will furnish you with one of our constltu tions as soon as I can get somo copies, q. Have you tho right place? A. It reads: "He shall devote his time and at tention to the affairs of the union: decide all question In dispute concerning tho meaning of the constitution, and exer cise the duties of the president. By Mi. Wlllcox: q. Suppose a man violates an agreement, and the constitu tions contains no provision regarding his expulsion for thut reason, do you think that would constitute a dispute arising regarding the teims of tho constitution, which you would have tho power to de cide? A, If a person had violated this law, do you menu? q. It a person hnd not violated the constitution, but had violated an agreement. A. If he had vio lated an agreement, we would have au thority to tut n him out. Q. You think vou would? A. Yes, sir. q. Although theie is nothing of the kind In the con stitution except thut you hnve the right to decide disputes as to the meaning of the constitution? A. YeH, sir. But he would not be tinned out because the language of the constitution provides for his punishment In that way. We would do It because that Is the established policy of the oiganizatlon, as it Is of nearlv all trade unions, q. Well, it is outside the constitution then, Is it not? A. Usually the process of enforcing the agieement is a part of the agieement Itself, tj The constitution contains no provision to turn a man out becnuse he violates an agreement, does It? A. Not specifically, but it does confer power on its officers to exercise supervision under It q. To decide disputes ns to Its mean ing? A. Yes, sir. q. Now vou remember the Indianapolis convent Ion Sif July 18. 1002? A. Yes, sli, q. That was called ror the puipose of deletmlnlng whether there should be a national suspension ot coal mining, was It not? A. Yes. sir. q. And It had the power to consider that? A. It had the power to consider It; yes, Ml. q. And the bituminous mineis could at any time order a strike in the anthra cite region, although none of the nnthia cll" mlneis wanted It, could thev not.' A. Thev could not do so without vio lating their agreements. q. No. but I do not think ou catch iiiv question 1 sav the bituminous miners could older a strike in the an thracite legions, although the untluaclte people did, not want it? A No. sli. Q Whv not'' A. Oh, no, A convention of bituminous men could not order n strike or antlna clte men. q. I am asking about the national con vention. A. A national convention would lune authoiltv to dcteimine that theie should be a national stilke. '). Yes A. But they i ould not do that wheie they had asieements q Although the anthiaclte people weie opposed to It, the bituminous people might enfoice it? A. Thev could not make a mun go and stilke. (Laughter.) At this juncture lecess was tnken foi luncheon. The cioss-exaniinatlon of Jit. Mitch ell was lesunied at L'.IO without any thing Intel venlng. By Mi. Wilcox: q. Taking up (or a moment what we weie at when the commission took a le cess, do ou lemember publishing a state ment of tills chaiacter on or about May 1C, 190.', in tefeienee to the Indianapolis convention, refeulng to the pioceedlngs of the llazleton convention of May to which vou testified at this njornlng's ses sion; that the convention dliected the na tional offlceis to call for a national con vention of all miners emplojed In the United States for the put pose ot consider. Ing the situation in the nnthiarlte fields, (Heading) "It the eleslie of the anthia clte mlneis Is sustained a national sus pension ot coal mlneis will be Innugiuat ed." That was sinned by )ouiself. Do you lemeinbei Hint? A. T lecall the state ment substantially as you lead It; I can not say that Is the language of my state ment. q. That Is substantially the language; A. That Is a newspaper statement, I be lieve, q, i lead that fioni the 8c I an ton Tilbune, A. Ves, It may be exactly cor icot. I do not lecall the exact language. T hnd a copy ot It, however, q, It pur poits to be signed by ou? A. As I say, It may be collect; I urn not sine of it. q. As 1 nndeistand It, the woikeis In tho bituminous Held aie under conduct.' A. Yes, sli, q, And ou say those contiacts nio supeilor to the constitution? A. Yes, sir, q. How, then, could that convention have consldeied the question of Innugui ntlng a national suspension A. It did not inaugiiiate a national suspension Q I'xcuso inc until I finish my question, (Continuing), If the majority of tho membeis wete under contiact and t lie loutiacts prevail ovei tho constitution how could it consider the question at all? A, It did not consider It, because by u unanimous vote It decided thev would not Inaugurate a national suspension, Q. Hut our call sajslt Is going to consldei It f A. It has a limit to meet under oui law foi the pmposu of consldei lug; hut under our ngieements they could not cull n national suspension, and they did not do It foi that lenson. q. It was called, then, nieiely for the purpose ut consldoilut' that It could not call a national suspension? A, It was called for the purpose nt consldei lug the application of the anthiaclte coal mlneis that a sympathetic sttike be tnaugmated u the bituminous coal fields. The con vention, bv unanimous vote, decided that they would not inauguiato a sympathetic stilke, the anthracite mlneis' delegates, voting with the bituminous iniueta hi op position to that policy q. My point Is this, thut heie was a convention, which nuclei juur statement was culled for the purpose ot constdluis the question of a national suspension, and ou now sny that thay had no power to decide In fuvoi ot such a suspension, A, No, not under our agieements with the tout opeiatois. q. What was the object lit culling tho convention, why did you not tell them at the llazleton convention that the national convention would have no such power A. I had my own leusona for not tellug them. They knew It. The real put pose ot the national convention was cairled und fifteen hundred thousand dollars was got ten fiom them to help sustain these uu thractto men whllo they wcro on the strike. Q. Hut that put pose Is not stated In the rail at nil? A, The purposes of tho conven tion was to consider the advisability ot the strike of the autluaclto miners, among other things, the wish ot tho nit thtneite men to have It extended Into other fields, and that was not Its only put pose. q. AVhen :ou spoke nt the opening of the Indianapolis convention, did you not speak ot It as a convention called for the purpose of consldei lug the suspension of work? A. Yes, sir. q. The nuthrnrllo districts, as I under stand, have- onlv three rcpiesontnllves, out of it total of fourteen, on tie na tlonnl board? A, They have onlv three representatives on the nntlonnl executive board. q. And how many are there on the board? A. Twenty-one altogether, Including the national olllcers themselves. Q. Let me call your attention again to this provision ot the constitution, Artlclo 10, section 4, which was rend befote tho recess: "The national officers shall nt anv time they deem It to the best Inlel ests of mine workers In a district that is Idlo for lust and sudlclent reasons, or der a suspension In other districts, or districts that would In nnv wav Impede the interests ot the district affected. ' Now, suppose that there was n strlko in the AVcstern Pcnnsvlvnnla bituminous district, and It should turn out to be tho fnet that the anthracite, coal was going there, could not the uuttunal olllcers .or der n strike In the anthracite, districts. A. No, they could not. The purpose of that law con only be understood bv ex plaining whnt It was Intended to do. I might moie cleat ly lllusliato what would be dono under those circumstances by leading ftnm out agreements. I'dr In stance, this Is In substance the sumo agieement that we hnve In every dis trict; It Is the Illinois agieeineut. T will lead from this: "This contract Is In no case) to be set aside because of any nilcs of tho United Mine Workers of Ameiica now In force, or which shall here'after be adopted; nor Is this conttnot to be set alde bv leason of nnv piovislon of their national, state or 'local constitutions " The provision vou hnve lefeience to, Mr. Wlllcox, Is Intended to apply onlv to nn emergency of this cliaractel thut if one compunv opeiated mines In different dis tricts and they were to attempt to de pi ess wages In one dlsttiet while supplv Ing their own conn nets and tiade fiom another, then the oigaul.atlon claims the light, In the absence of contracts, to ex tend the strike Into the mines opeiated bv that company regaidless of what dis tilct those mines" are located In. q. That does not seem to be the lan guage ot the section. A. It m.iv appear not; but I am explaining what the pur pose ot he section Is q. The constitu tion requires n good denl of consti uctlon, dons it not? A. That is true of everv con stitution. Rven the constitution of the United States, q. Wete theie anv con tiacts in existence at the time this con stitution was adopted. A. Yes. sir. q. Which ones.' A. This constitution that you have leference to now was levlsed In the vear mi last .Tumi at v. Tlieio hnve been some changes made in out law at each annual convention. At the lime the oiganizatlon was origin illy foimed, there weie no contiacts that I know of. q. That Is, when the consti tution was first adopted, ot course? A. Yes, sir: but I am not sine that the constitution is at all similar now to what it was then I do not know nbout that. q. Do jou know wheihci there lias been anv change in that paitlcuhir sec tion. A I do not. q. Theie has not been any that vou recall-' A. I don't know anv thing of it, because I was not a dele Kate at the eaily conventions. At this point Mr. Wilcox lend the ex cel pts ft om Mr. Mitchell's testimony befoie the Industihil commission, ie tetied tu above. following this, Mr. Mitchell was asked if he hud nguied out how much the gi anting of the demands of the Hnzlelou convention In 1000 would In nease the cost ot mining. He leplled that he tindei.stood It would be about M per cent. "Would It Kinpiise oit, it vou weie told the Inc lease In cost nt laboi nlone would be 70 pel cent?" Mi. Wilcox asked , Mr. Mitchell said he had not dune the ilgiulhg. That woik was done by a committee of the iinthiutlte mlneis. He admitted the stilke was settled upon the gianting of a hoilzontal lnciease ot 10 per cent. In wages. Then the examination proceeded, as follows: q Now, whit methods weie adopted foi the puipose of Retting the men out in that stilke, ns jou had only cltht thou sand when It began? A. The offlceis of tho oiganizatlon and tho mine workeis who weie eniploved held meetings and asked the men lo come out. Thev weie notified thiough thu newspapeis that a ceitalu duv was set tor the stilke, as decided by tin If i onvention, and thev came out on stilke In ne uidiiuie with that notice. q. Weie theie not vatious man lies ni omul? A. Yes, in some pails, the men weie nut mulching, und held met tings with men at other places q. And jou went mound nnd made speeches vuiiisnlf .' A. I held thiee or lour meetings dining the entlte stilke. Q, I believe It Is n mnt ter of hlstoiy that jou held two of them nt the Maikle opeiatlon, Is It not? A. Yes. sir; I held two meting in that pait of the leRlon, ono 1 believe at the Maikle piopeitj-. q. You made a stutement in legaid to the number of men now eniolled. I do not know whether I caught that, coitectly. Will you 1nst lepeat It? A. 1 said that theie weie nppiolmately 110,000 or 110,000 of the anthiaclte men In the oiganizatlon, q. Can you state how manv of them aio under age, mlnnis, minor chlldien? A. 1 undeistnlnd that tlieio aie emplojed in the anthracite mines about 21,000 peisons under 21 jenis of age, q, Do they be long to unions? A. Yes, sli; most of them do. W have a sepetate branch for bojs under in to belong to, so that they will not have contiol of our meetings, a Juve nile hianch. q. Over It! yeais of nge, thev have a right to vote, have thev not j A, Ves, bli. q, And under 10, a half a vote? A, Yes, sir, q, Can j-ou state how mnnv ot the iiieni beis inn mlneis and how many Inhalers; A, Tlieio nie somo 37,000 mlneis mid .'0,000 Illinois' laboieis q. How nro votes oidlnailly taken In the locals? A Oidlnailly bv u show ot hands oi a j'ea and nay vole, q, Some times bv telleis, I suppose? A, They may be That I do not know. Wo have no es tablished inle, They cue petmittcd to vote as the) decide themselves, q, Do these demands that you aie mak ing now contemplate any lnciease to tho mlneis' laboieis? A. Yes, an Incieaso ot 20 per cent q. In their paj or a i educ tion In tlieli bouts? A In their paj q. And n leductlon of their houis, too? A, Tho demand for n 20 per tent, Incitaso of wages Is applicable to tho miner and his laborer, Q. The question of horns for the mlneis' laboieis then dues not eutei Into this rotmoveisy? A, Tho inluei's laborer would necessailly stop at elgh,t hours if the lnenkcr stopped and tho mine slopped, q That Is tho wnv you leach It? A. That Is what we think will be tho icsiilt of It. We have not said how long the miner or Ills luhoicr shall woik, however, except that If nn eight-hour agieement weie m.ida, then they would each hnvo to woik eight horns q. Of the ptesent eniollment have ou stated how many uio uuthiucito and how many bituminous, or can Jou state? A I say that the paid-up membeishlp of tho organization la appioxlmately 20,000, on tho only lecoid which we havo, of which number 110,000 or UO.OOO would now be au tluaclto mine woikeis. Q. But at the Wllkes-Buiie convention, tho last conven tion, you voted on a basis of 80,300 mem bers In good btaudlng. did jou not; A. I do not know that wo had any way of de termining what the membeishlp In good staniijiig was. The vote was taken on the membeishlp us shown by our books pilot to the stilke. Owing to thu fact that theie was a strike, due were not paid to LAME BACK ? Vice-Commodore Adam Frcudcnstcin, G. A. R Custer Post, says he was per manently cured of lame back, kid ney and bladder trouble by WARNER'S SAFE CURE A TUIATi BOTTT,n OI' THIS, Till WORLD'S OTtnAT HST KIDNKY CUTtl", SHNT AIJSOMITIHjY KRKU TO HVnitY ItDADRIt OK THU RCHANTON TltmUNM Wilt) atiFrnns i-noM kidnkv, hivnit, bi,addi;h oh BLOOD DISUASU. The following letter from Commodore Frtudcnntdn Is a snraplo of thou stncli ot unsolicited letters received from grateful men and women who havs been cured br Warner's Safe(Cure. Taroma, Wash. I am pleased to Bay that I hare the greatest confidence In Warner's Safe Cure, as I nulfered for years with lame back, kldner and bladder trouble contracted In the army, which nothing aeemed to help until I tried Safe Cure. A few bottles did more fpr mo than all Itae doctor! and medicines pre viously tried: It haa permanently rured me. I now feel atrong and well, and though at an advanced age can enjojr life, thanks to thin medicine. tfffSn ffi6!!!n Senior Vite Thousands of Men and Women Have Kidney Disease and Do Not Know It Until It Has Developed Into Bladder Trouble, Rheumatism, Diabetes or Bright's Disease. Urlgbt's disease, diabetes, rheumatism, rheumatic gout, uric acid poison, Jaundice, gravel, catarrh ot the bladder, painful passage of tho urine, a frequent desire to urinate, especially In the night, n dull, drubbing ache In the small of your back, pains hi your groins and tho lonei bowele, sore Joints and muscles, dlrzlness, pains In the back of your nock, torpid liver, eczema and scrofula, yellow, lallow complexion, coated tongue, tired, worn-out, nerv ous feeling, lack of energy nnd ambition, are all caused by neak, unhealthy kldnejs, neglected, and they Indlratn the disease haa been of long standing, as these outward symptoms seldom make themselves known for many months. THIS SIMPLE HOME TEST WILL TELL. Let some urine stand for twenty-four hours In a glass or bottle. If there la a reddish sediment in the bottom of the glass or If the urine Is cloudy, of It jou sea particles or germs floating about in It, your kldneya are unhealthy. You should take Safe Cute to arrest all theBS unnatural conditions and pre ent serious complications. If, after you hae made this test, you have any doubt In your mind ns to the denlopmont of the disease In your system, send a sample of our urine to Med Dept , Warners Safe Cure Co , Rochester, N. Y., nnd our doctors will analyze It and send jou a report with advleo free. Women may write with perfect freedom, as all letters from woman are read aud answeied by a woman doetoi. All correspondence strictly e'onQdentlal. CURES ALL KIDNEY DISEASES The free trial bottle has eured many light cases which were discovered In the early stages by the simple test. Safe Cure purities and atreugtheus the kidneys and enables them to do their work, It will cure rheumatism, rheumatic gout; diabetes, urignt a disease, uric add poison, gal. stone, Inflammation of the bladder and urinary organs and female g fg Safe Cure Is purely vegetable aud contains no narcotic or harmful drugs: It Ib free from scoimtni aim if vi. eonstlpate; it is a most aluab1e and effective tonic; It kills the disease germs WARNER'S SAFE PILLS move the bowels gently and aid a speedy cure, mevriTIITP"?. ZlX. :Z and TtL-e ,eaRdfnFCUh.t!fth.T solute cure for all forms of diseases of the kldne), liver, bladder and blood. . Beware of so-called kidney cureg full or sediment and of bad odor-they not only do not cure, but are positively harmful SAMPLE BOTTLE "SAFE CURE" FREE. To co.Hli.ee exe.y suffeier fiom diseases ot the hiclnejs, liver, bladder and blood that Warner's Safe Cure IH ciiwi them, a sample bottle lll be sent absolutely f.ee, postpaid. Also a sjenptom blank and a valuable medical boohlot which tells all about the dKeuse ot the kldnejs. met and bladdei. with a piesc.Iptlon foi each disease, nnd many of the l.ousanc s of testimonials lecehed daily fiom s.ateful patients ho have been cu.ed by Safe Cu.e. The genuine, e.s otthhB offer is fully gua.anteed bv the pi.bllshei. All sou h.ue to do Is vilte Waind's Safe Cue Company, Rochester. N. 1., and men tion haUng read this libel ill offer in the Sei.inton Tribune. the distilct oifiimlattons, or to the local union, und eonspquentlv theie was no lecoid In the distilct of the lnciease in membership Q. "c. "What methods do ou utlopt to ptment intcrteience of non-union men wheie union nnd non-union me aie work Inp in the same opeiatlon.' A. Well, or dinarllv, in the bituminous fields all the mine, woikeis in the states where thej have oonliaits ne membeis of the oi (.uni.tlioii In p.tlts ot C'eutial I'win slunlu. Western I"eniis hiini i, thej me not. Tin woik tOKethei in li.ii-liionj-. Theie Is no dit11cult between tliPin The oiit.iiiliitloii tiles bv persua sion to hae the nou-unlonlsts come into the oiKiilllzatlon. In the anthiaclte llelds they woik the same wav. Q. Theie Is no definite method of pic-entiui; Intel feieneeV A. Nothing has heen done on that fciihjcct piillcillatly-. A Theie Is reiiemllv no Intel ferenee and consequent ly no neccssltj ot liming laws to present it. Q. Now, jou know tlieio huie hi en a Mioil mnn lesolutlons on that subject in the nntlitiielte legion, do ou not. A. Yes, I krow theie hue been ieoliitlons adopted In the untluaclte Held Q. Let me read ou a. few. I lead whit pui poits to lie mi exlmet fiom the piocee'd Ings nl ti convention of Distilct No , l'nited Mine Woikeis of America, .Ian univ Hth, l"th and Kith, TKt, at Kdwaids llle l.u.cuie couiitj-, Pennsv lwitiitt. It tends us follows: "Hegularlv moved und seconded, that it becomes coiiipulsoiy on the men of any mine emplojed In and niounl the mlne, lo become a member of the United Mine Workers of Amen lea. Can led." Q. IIae jou any knowledge about that. A I have no Knowledge of It: 1 vns not at the convention. Q. Yim huv,. heard of It, have ou not? A I have not nenrd specially of that leMilutlon. 1 havo hrnicl ot v.ulous t evolutions of that chuiaete I, Q. What action have jou taken about them; unjlhlug? A. They were nevei en forced that I ever know of. They weie past-ed for the puipose of preventing the companies from dlschatglng men betnuso they belonged to the union. The com panies had nt vuilous places adopted a polley of opposition to the uigunUatiou, nnd the membeis of the oignnlzntlou, feaiing that they would all be dlsciiniged or dtlven flout, the union, adopted retio liitlons of that ihniaeler to protect IhenihClves. Q. With the Idea that If thoy adopted u lesolutlou of that kind tho companies A That the companies would cease their hostility to the men that belonged to (he union tor belonging to It, Q, l"nr the ie.if.on that they would think thut If they dl'-chnrged nnv union men theie would bo a sltlhiO Or how wns it to woik? A. It wus pimply Intended to glvo llm men tho light to pioteet theimelvea against illschatge on .iceount of mem heishlp in the union At least, that Is my iufoi motion fiom thohu who are nuiio fiiinllhir with It thuii I am Q. That Is, by making ever.vliody join tho unlun? A. I do not think thej ever did do that Q. That was the puipose nt tlieli i evolution, wus It not' A It was the hope that It would Induce everjbody to come Into It, but pilinuilly foi tho puipose of pioteetlug the men who weiu In It. Q. Insisting upon eveiyhody eleo Joining if, that waa It, was It not? A. Tho lesolutlon, of couibe, speaks for It helf As for Its puipose, I have tiled to explain that ns I uiideiHtaiiil It. Q. Now, let nie call jou attention to tho proceedings of tho Bhniiiokln con vention, M.uch IS to 21, ino.': ''I'roeeed lugs of the joint convention of Pistihts No I, 7 and 9. of the l'lilted Mine Woik eis of Ameilcu, March IS lo 21, 1D0.', aha inukln, retilifSlMinlu." You weio ut that convention, weie, jou not, ami piesldedv Q (Ueadln,'). "Itesolutlon No 7 To the olllteiH and delegates of the convention, assembled: III others Having fiom past expei leiico piotd that the notices posted by tho opeiatois ut the dlffeient col IIciIch nio only a liluff, and that the opeiuicis have not lived up to the spirit of btich notices In settling local dlffci ences with the committees chosen to set tie suth ellffereneesj theiefoie, bo it ie fcolved. that wo demand iccoguitlou of tho union as, the only means of adjusting such gilevuuets. 't'ho committee (on ic-t-oluilimt) concuu In the ubove lesolu tlon. Moved wo cone ui In the report of tho committee. Motion can led. Itesolu tlon signed bj James, Wulters, I'lesldent; Yvlllluni Cook, secrctpiy. Local No. S93." Svus that passed by tho Shamokln con vention A. I du not remember, It It was, the minutes will show lt( If you are IT'S KIDNEY TROUBLE ! Com , Q. A. It,, Custer Post. leading the minutes. I do not know whet hot It was or not. Q f.et me Jk jou about this, lesolu tlon: "Resolution No. 9. To otllters nnd delegates in convention assembled. Brothers Wheieas, we, the mlneis in the vicinity of Nantleoke. having bv past ex perience pi oven that the woiklng caid or button Is, -veiv Utile benefit to us In Its piesent mode or woiklng, theie he it M-olvcd, that the l. M. Y. of A. ut any eollleiy wheie miploves iefuse to be come "menibeM of oui oiganizatlon and wear the woiklng button, the local gov erning siieh colllerv. after using all such persuasive nieoMites to get such em-ploj-es to Join, and tailing In such, have full power to suspend epetallons at such collleiv until such emploves become inemlwn of our otgnnizailou." Do jou lecall that lesolutlon .' A. I leeull that lesolutlon, und my le eollcctlou Is that such resolution was adopted, but I -would not be sine without it foiling to the minutes of tho conven tion Q Will jou pioduee those minutes.' A. I shall look them up, sh ; eeitnlnlj-. Q. Can jou pi dilute the otlginnl constitu tion of the I'nlled Mine Woikeis, and at v changes which have been made? A. I shall tiv to -eeuie It. I hive not got It here. If I have It. It Is ut Indiana polis, Q. .Mr. Mitchell, dining the last stilke, theie was tonsiileinble violence ill the le gion, was iheio not.' A. Tin. e was, some violence. To what extent, I nm not fully iiifoimeel. Heie Mr. Willeox leud the pioelatuu tion of Oovemor Stone, ot October C, vv hen the whole div talon of the National Kiiiuil wus called out. In which It is cleelaiecl that mob law lelgned; that tialus weie being held up, men killed and ussaiilted, etc. Mr. Mitchell was asked if he had tend thnt pioehiinatliiii. He answered In the aflltinntive. Q. In jour lotter to the piesldent, of October Ihth hist, ou stuted that tlieio have been a few ci lines and a number it nilsdemeanois ihuigenble to those on .stilke.- Yon tec-all Unit, do you not? A. Yes, sit. Q. Has anjihiug ever been done to discipline these people? A. I nndei stand that wheie the mlneis weie guilty of lawlessness, they have been ai rested mid ate under Indictment. Q. 1 mean, ot eoutse, has anj thing been dono by your oiganizatlon? A. We have no means ot punishing a mail who hus commuted a, c.lnie, except by expulsion fiom the union AVe have no lecoid that any man that lias been attested Is a member ot the l'nited Mine Woikeis of Ameiica, Q. What did ou mean, then, bysajlng thut theie hud been ct lines ill id iiiisdemcauois iluugeuhle to those on stliUef A Ue enuse nny amount ot iioii-imlnu men weie cm stilke. Q. You think it wus the non union men who got up this state of uf falis' A I do not know 1 think my Iufoi motion Is that it was nut nienibeis of our union, Q What methods have jou taken to liiqulie Into tho subject? A The examination of our books, u to auj seil ouh climes that hnvu been committed, lulls to show Unit thev weto committed bv membeis of the union Q, You huvo not found a single one who was a member of the union? A, 1 havo not Investigated all those ch.iiged with ci lines. Theie huve been veiy few striken s at tested for seilous offenses A laige number or them have been ai tested for mlnoi offeuses.biith as picketing, or alleged hovcotttug but polio of them huve been convicted of law lessness Q You huve not done mo ttling about that, then? A We take the position that thu courts mo tho ptupui persons to detcimliie the Innocence or guilt of a. pel son ui tested, and that until the courts have detei mined that, we huvo no light to pioceed against them Vie liave III eveiy vvuy possible eadeu voted to lestiuln oui men fiom committing aits ot violence Q nut theie nie no Miles of the association on the subject, nu suj .' A Out oiganizatlon has no niles govern ing It, because few ot oui membeis ever commit crime. Q, On this question of violence, genei allj', 1 would like to usk whelhei jou ap pioved of thu methods puisued at the St. Heiuuid eollleiy. ut Iiviugton. KeutucUj', nsiieportcd in the Wood cuse, 1U b'ederal llypoitei I fill-. Dai low-: Tell him what It Is thut jou uio asking him about. Ho may uot be familiar with that ease. Mi. Wileox: Ho can say so If he Is not. Mi. Mitchell: I do not ice all the con ditions picvulllng In Hopkins county, Ken V. mJ j&zS&M III If In Will fir - ""aa" ,-",Ba72ld'',' tucky, any more thun that I know somo of our people weie nirested there and somo were killed by the employes of tho eompanv. I do not know ot any lawless ness committed bv slilkeis or union men. By Mr. Wilcox: Q The lepoit of tho case states that theie weie camps maintained down tlieio for some little time.' A. Tho stilkets who weie tin own out of the company's hoiiseN because thej' weie on stilke, weto main tained bv the union. We hlied grounds and bought them somo touts and kept them that wav until the coal companies, thiough piocess of law, had our tents taken fiom us and our people thiown into jail C Do jou know tho case ot the Uniteil Stutes vs Weber, In ill Kcdeial Repoitet? A. Yen, Mi; 1 know something of it. Q. Tho eae which was decided by Judges Sliuoiitoii and McDowell.' A. I know In a genei.tl way of tho ease. Q. Did vou uppiove of what was dono in that case.' Mi. Danow: I object to that question. Mi. Mitchell: Ot what was dono by Juelge McDowell? Mr. Wilcox-: No Mr. Mitchell: I certalnlv did not. Mr. Wilcox: i understand thaU but T mean whit was done and laid befoie Judgo McDowell for his action. Mi. Mitchell: 1 uudcistaud. Mr. Danow: Just a minute. If coun ht I wants to ask him whether ho wnitlel appiovu of such and sueh a fact, that would be nil light, but what ts piiutcd In a book the witness mav not know I elo not know. The commission may not know. Jt does not stem to me full" to the witness or to thtovv any light on the con-tiovotsj-. The Chalimau: Mr. Mitchell seems lei be veiy compete nt to take cam of him self. I take it for ci.inted that when lin siijs he Is familiar with thu case ho means that he uiuleistunds .something of tho tucts upon which tho case is foundeel. If that Is not so, Mr. Mitchell, of coui.se, jou need not nnswer or (I will put It thH way) we will not exject jou to answer tho question Mr. Danow: It jou will Indulge nie for a moment, to bo lumlllni with a caso fiont a lavvjei's standpoint und from a laj' man'H standpoint, nto very dlffeient prop ositions. It tho witness tindeistnnds, Ic Is all light. The Chad mini: Ho can state. If he H familiar witli the tacts out of which thnC ease tame, nnd If he Is, lies will bo vvilllnfr fo answer tho question, no doubt. If Iioj Is pot, we will not espert him to do so. Mi. Danow: 'I he lepoit of tho case In the books, us vou und T lead It, might not be ns tlie witness iindeiutaudH It, than Is all. The Chad man: Ceitulnlj. - - Mr. AVIlt'ox1 You cun exnmlno tho wit ness again when the tlmo cornea. The Cluiltmuir Of touist, gentlemen, jou will nuclei stand that wo uio supposed to extend lite gieutest llbeiallty hi tho pieseutntloii of ' te.sllmonj und III tho e loss-eNiimlnntion of witnesses Counsel themselves will have to piescilbo mgolv the limitations to both, because wo must tiust to their good inlth and to their knowledge of tluo eiuestlons In the, pin seutatlon of tlieli cases The witness now" on the stand does not icqulio any spe cial piotectlou, nnd If jou will make plait to him exuctlv what vou mean, I havo no doubt vou will get nn nnswer I um not funUllar with that case, but Mr. Mllthcll piobahly Is, und It ho Ih familiar with tho facts, hu will glvo jou an ntiswei, I think the question Is a pioper one. Air. D.irrow I would pot pbieoj. tt 1; the onlv thing Is to have It tii!deist,nod. The Clmlimair I thought wo might save limn: wo aie tiavcling n good ways outside of the lecoid '' Mr Wlllcox: Wheio do you Maud on that? 'Hie Witness: I might suv that 1 havo a tecoiel of a Inter or that case, al though r havo not luul opportunity- U lead It I undeistuiid that Mr, Weber und Mr, I'addle worn se-nt to prison for violating the lestialnlug older Issued by Judge Me Do well At any late, they weiei bent lo Jail I uppealcd tho caso to thet piesldent of the United States, who dl iected the attorney genetul to mako ten Investigation. Jusi us miou as uio inves tigation could be mudo, the pteshlout paidoned those who were convicted. Mi. Danow. I vvlthdiaw my objection, U Mr. Wlllcox: Q. That does not state whether you appiovo of what hap pened in that case. A. I understand thut they veto ustialned fiom holding publlq (Continued on l'ugu S) i ) ' I I
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers