Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-02-03
THE COAL STRIKE ENDING.
CHAIRMAN LEES EFFORTS TO PRO
 LONG THE AGONY.
Foreign Miners Assaulted by Strikers Rescued by the Coal and Iron Police. Urging the Attorney General to Issue 8 Writ Against the Company.

READING, Pa, Feb 3-When Chairman John Lee heard of what the strike committee had done, in allowing private colleries to work and ship coal over the Reading road, he hur- ried into the mountains, crossed over to Shen- andoah, and journeyed to the mining patches about the William Penn colliery, determined to arouse tho miners to open rebellion against the order to resume. It was late before he had rallied 800 miners about him. Very few of the William Penn miners attended. Lee saw before him the miners, not of a private col fiery, but of the Reading company They are doomed to idleness for long time Lee had no difficulty in arousing them to the highest pitch of excitement and by seven-elghths vote the meeting decided to continue the strike in all collieries the same as before. To nine-tenths of the William Penn colliery miners the news was not known until yester- day. They went to work, but when some twenty of them were attacked, threatened to be shot, thrown down and kicked and beaten, and the contents of their dinner pails scat tered over the highway, timid miners re- treated. The coal and iron police hurried to the assistance of the foreigners and arrested several of the assailants, who were placed un- der S6OO bail at Shenandoah for court. Last evening the employees were sent home under guard.
 Chairman Lee intends carrying on his meet ings at all individual collieries. There is a probability that each and every meeting will be packed by Reading railroad miners, and, after speech by Lee, the vote not to resume will be nearly unanimous, simply because the individual miners will not attend the meet ings, but will remain away, content to obey the first order of the joint committee which gave them permission to go to work So far as the individual collieries are concerned, the strike is over, though trouble is expected at the Reading company'S mines.
 HARRISBURG, Feb. 3.-H. J. Bennett, Joseph Cahill and Edward Moore yesterday appeared before Attorney General Kirkpatrick, and presented a petition asking him to issue a writ of quo warranto against the Reading Railroad company, on the ground that it wa. violating the constitution. The Reading com pany was not represented. The petition says that the Reading Railroad company is violat- ing the constitution by engaging in the busi ness of mining and carrying coal It quotes from various reports to show that the railroad company has acquired certain coal lands, and in conclusion says:
 "We do not aim to indicate the methods you should pursue in enforcing the state con- stitution. We feel we have done our duty in presenting this fact to your notice, believing that the responsibility now lies with you. In other words, that it is your official duty to place the matter in such shape as will secure constitutional enforcement
 The attorney general asked if these facts were all they had, and called attention to the fact that this right of the Reading company was acquired prior to the constitution of 1874 by legislative contract which the Federal courts say cannot be annulled The attorney general took the papers and said he would forward his answer.