The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-02-12
THE STRIKE ON THE READING
The Special Committee of the House
Begins the Work Of Investigation,
Version Of the Causes Of the Suspension Of
Work on the Railway and in the Mines.

mittee of the House to investigate the Reading
| railroad strikes got to work shortly after IL
| o'clock this morning. Mr. John L. Lee of
| Philadelphia, sympathizer with the railroad
| strikers, the first witness In answer to
| questions put by Representative Parker, Mr..
Lee said that he did not consider that there was
any strike the Reading railroad-it was
lockout Five crews, he said, refused to
cars at Port Richmond, and General Superin-
tendent Sweigert discharged them without Civ
ing them hearing There agreement
that no shold be discharged except after q
fair hearing When the superintendent
fused TO reinstate the men pending hearing,
general going-out followed. Subsequently meet
ing held in Pottsvile and it was resolved
to effect settlement. The witness and others
went Philadelphia and called upon Superin
tenoent Sweigert and made arrangements to de-
clare the strike off There was written
agreement. Mr.. Sweigert asked to put the
agreement in writing, but he refused and
wanted to know if they questioned his veracity.
The next day Mr.. Sweigert failed to live up to
his agreement and discharged representative
men all along the line. The went out as
there was nothing else to do. Sweigert, when
the committee saw him and asked if he did not
intend to live up TO his agreement said that he
had changed his mind. Mr.. Lee also said that
kilograms sent TO men ordering Inem BACK TO
work had been withheld. and that he believed
the reason was that the railroad company
wanted an excuse to refuse employment
to certain of the men it had agreed to
take back. The result of Sweigert's refusal to
carry put his agreement the cause of the
second strike or lockout. Referring to the
trouble at Elzabethport, N. j.. the witness said
it due to the refusal of the men to lead a
boat with coal for Eckley b Coke, in whose
MIN tbarQ was a str Ike IN imam
the Reading company was trying to aid Coke in
his fight against the strikers. Mr. Lee went
back to September last, and traced the origin
of the difficulties in the Lehlgh region. He
not at that time in the employ of the Reading |
company, bit was representative of the labor i
men and was trying to fix things in the Lebigh |
region. He went to Pottsville and called joint |
meeting of the labor assemblies involved and |
a committee was sent to President Corbin. |
The latter offered COMPROMISE. but |
threatened punishment of the strikers If they |
did not move the coal then on cars TWAS held |
helping the Lehigh Coal Company in the stand |
out against the employees. Mr.. Corbin was asked /
to bring about settlement between the
pany and the men. Corbin. together with Nc |
Leod, of the railroad and coal company, sug- |
gested remedy plan by which the coal |
market would be pulled" and the wages of /
the strikers were to be made to 60 up with the /
price of coal This the strikers refused to I
accept Mr. Corbin, the witness said, did not
want to be known in the matter. Before the
interview with Mr.. Corbin the witness had |
endeavored to get work in the Reading shops as
machinist, but was told that he could not go to
work; that he doing more for the Reading
Railroad Company in assisting the strikers than
twenty-five machinists would be worth to the
company. This strike" said an officer, lis a
benefit to the Reading Railroad Company. but
we don't want the public to know It." The witness
endeavored to have Mr. Corbin exert his in
fiuence In behalf of settlement between the
Lehigh operators and the men. Mr. Corbin told
him he did not see why there could not be
settlement He was paying the per cent adj
vance. and the Lehigh could afford to pay it. too
Mr. Corbin said he, business man,g
wanted to make money, but he wanted
to make e., it out OF the public
the company would lose nothing by it, because
coal would advance and then he would not have
to stand the expense General Manager Mcleod
suggested another advance on coal, and said he
thought it would be best for the to make
hay while the sun shone; but Mr. Corbin thought
it was likelv the conditions would continue |
only one month, the men would be better salts |
fed to have present arrangements continued.
On cross-examination the witness said that
Mr. VIM. F. Lewis. of Columbus. o.. in charge
of District 135, miners organization. could give
positive evidence that there has existed for
some time a combination between the powerful
railroad companies having headquarters in New
York to break up the organization of the
knights of Labor.
At the conclusion of Mr.. Lees testimony,
Hugh McGarvey, Of the Lehigh region. took the
stand and testified that he had been
miner miner nearly all ., Of his life but but
had been engaged in other business
He familiar with the Lehigh mining bust
far 1t concerned the wofkmen, but |
was not familiar with the operators branch Of |
the business. In order to keep up wages the |
miners union. in 1870. enforced thirty days
storpage, despite the operators protest They
were refused work at the end of the thirty days,
and afrarward were told that they would not be
taken back except at 10 per cent reduction.
After strike they were forced to accept the re- |
ductiou. The witness declared that the op-
orators alone fixed the price of coal in all cases
In answer to Mr. Stone, who asked what was
the immediate cause of the strike in the Lehigh
region, tie witness replied that the basis of
prices low. The paid were 42k |
cents per ton for big vein, while the contract
called for 43s cents. The advance demanded by
the miners was Is per cent. The miners would
hardly average $3.50 per annum as their earn
ings. Perhaps % per cent of the miners ac- |
cumuated little money
Mr. Stone asked if the operators had not accu-
muiated large fortunes. The witness replied
that some of the wealthiest men in the State
were in the Lehigh region. Since the strike be-
gan. many of the miners had found work in
other regions, hut about 40 per cent. still
idle He knew Of mono who were actually starry
ing, but there were many in want Since Sep |
TENDER the labor organizations bad dis
people He said that miners were
valued by the assessor of taxes at 800 and la
borers at SIS. The companies deducted the
amount of the taxes from the miners wages.
together with per cent commission for making |
the collections. and turned it over to the col
lector OF taxes. The tax amounted to as much
as SIS. 90 for miner.
Chairman Tillman believed that the witness
must be in error. saying, "thatis four times
nlgn as ever nearo OF q negro Delng taxed IN |
the South--in the nature of poll-tax-or is this
q poll taxm
In answer to Mr. Parker, the witness said
that the Catholic miners paid their priests
about fifty cents month apiece-through the
compaBys Office. AT the time of the strike |
there were about five Thousand Hungarians
Poles and Italians in the regions.
The chairman inquired whether the witness
was paid for lecturing for the benefit of the
miners, and he replied In the Affirmative
John III. Davidson. miner from Mount Car
mel, in the Schuylklll region. WAC the next wit
ness. He said the general impression was that
the Philadelphia g. Reading company and the
coal and iron company were under the same |
management The witness told how the operat- |
ors had managed to reduce the wages of miners
by gradually increasing the size of
the cars. Increasing the work |