The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1888-02-21
WILL RESUME WORK.
The Strike on the Reading Road
Declared Off.
HOW THE RESUMPTION WAS EFFECTED

| Lewis Is national master workman of the miners
district assembly Knights of Labor. He today
| proposed to order the miners strike off in the
Reading mines, provided assurance was given
! him that after work was resumed the subject of
wages would be considered in conference of
representatives of miners and mine owners.
President Corbin, of the Reading road, speak
ing for himself and President Keim of tho
Reading coal company, gave this assurance,
saying the proposition covered the ground as
| sumed by the Reading company. Mr.. Lewis
left for the coal regions today and he is quoted
as saying that he would order the strike Off be-
! fore tomorrow night.
Following is the correspondence between
| Lewis and Corbin
| President Philadelphia and Reading Railroad com
! rany.-Sir: Being DESTROYS 10 bring the strike in
| the mining region of the Reading Coal and Iron
company To a close IN order TO get the working
| people IN and about these mines to work. and
speaking Tor these working men, propose to or Ter
assumption of work at once upon your assurance
| that can promise the men Il at after they have
gone to work and mining operations are in regular
progress, the subject of wages will lie considered in
aconterence between the company and its en-
! ployes or their representatives, and upon the
further assurance trat no shall be Disseminated
Yours &c. W. r. LEWIS
| PHILADELPHIA AND READING RAILROAD COMPANY,
PHILADELPHIA. Pa, February H,-Mr. w. I. Lewis,
Dear Sir: am in receipt of your favor of this date
have consulted Mr., Keim president of the Coal
am authorized by him to say that is substantially
in accord with our position and such action would
be satisfactory TO us. No one will be Disseminated
against because of his connection with the strike;
also, that it is not understood protecting such
men as have made or attempted TO make, personal
assaults upon men remaining at work; and, plo
| vided further, that III any conference over wages
the miners NinhOr are ~, not to expect us to
than those paid by OTHER coal-producing companies
| in competition with lis. namely: The Delaware,
Lackawanna and Western; Delaware and Hudson.
Lehigh Valley Lehgh Coal and Navigation com
with the understanding that we are willing to
adopt bisiS that shall give our miners much as
is paid by either of those companies. it is under
stood that the wages to be paid on returning TO
work will be on the old S2.50 basis and will remain
on that basis until Il change shall be mutually
agreed upon. Yours truly
AUSTIN CoRB1N.
Ex-President Charles Smith, of the Read
ing Railroad company, was the first witness
| this morning before the congressional invest-
| eating committee, which is inquiring into the
| strike on the Reading railroad system and in
the coal regions. Mr.. Smith said he had been
| president of the Reading road from 1861 to
| 1869, and director till 1878. He resigned his
dictatorship because he discovered in 1876, af-
| ter an investigation, that the company was
! publishing false reports and cooking up its
In the reports the truth was suppressed, the
While While the '' road was 'pG not earning ing
any money it was paying dividends
rowing money. Some of the directors were
gambling in stock and other influences i'll the
management were impelled to pay those I'M
earned dividends by vanity. The object of
| the gambling directors was plumber. The
company he had formed, had borrowed $15,-
000,000 to pay dividends which had not been
earned. He specified an account of $1,2s0,0OO
in the report of 1878, which he said was false
and misleading. When asked "who suffered
by this" he answered "the stockholders"
and to the question. who proiited, replied,
"the mon who gambled in the stock"
Mr.. Smith explained how the railroad COM
pany had obtained possession of the mining
company He said that the latter was virtu-
ally the creature of the former under the presi-
dency of Franklin b. Gowen. The original
! charter oil the mining company was obtained
under the title of the Laurel Run Improve
| ment and Mining company. The bill had
| been put before the legislature in that name,
so that it would not be known as the Readings
bill, but as as tho bill was passed its name
was changed to the Reading Coal and Iron
| company. There was no stock issued until the
name was changed and the Reading had CON
troll. Most of the coal property was bought on
credit and double mortgages given which wit
ness eXplained-one regular mortgage and tho
| other, second mortgage, secured by bonds is
sued. The railroad company had no power
| under its charter to 90 into the mining bust
ness. 1t depended for its mining annex upon
the coal and iron company's
charter. which contained a clause pro-
| WANG Illtb us bbDCk cOHlu De
held by the railroad company. The railroad
| company, a matter of fact, had advanced
money to pay for coal lands in the Schuykill
| region which arc now in the name of the coal
and iron company. The railroad company
| rest their claim to the right to own the coal
| and iron company on the theory that their
right to do so was vested before tho new con
| sttuton was passed.
Judge Chapman asked the witness whether
he had noticed any large dealings in Reading
! stock recently
''You have told us that some men in the past
made money by issnng false and cooked-up re-
| ports, which enabled them O successfully gam
| bic in the stock Of the road. Now has there
been such dealings in Reading stock recently
as would lead you to suppose that under cover
Of these difficulties there is some such thing
going on now?"
Witness-I have no knowledge Of such a
thing, and don't think dealing in Reading is
just now surprisingly large.
The dealings in Heading in the New y ork
! exchange today aggregated 1l6,C01 shares on
the report that the strikes had ended, and the
stock advanced two dollars per share Editor. |
Witnesses said that the effect Of tho strike
had been to put up the retail price of coal from
$3.50 TO $G.7j.
Austin Corbin consumed considerable time
on the stand. During his examination, he
was asked by member Of the committee
whether the rumor, which had got abroad
was true, that the strike was ended
Mr.. Corbin replied thai he did not know,
bht hau LlldJ nc llitu III his DpSft
| sion which justified him in expressing the be-
lief thet the miners strikes in both the lie
high and Schuylhill regions would be ended
| within week. lli3~refeience was TO tie
| correspondence between himself and National
! Master Workman Lewis published elsewhere.
There was considerable rasDing between
| Mr.. Corbin and members Of the committee On
| several occasions today. Mr.. Coibin produccd
the documents which he had promised on
Wednesday, and presented copy Of the char
ter Of the two companies. At tho outset Of
his testimony, Mr.. Corbn said that the Road
| ing Coal and Iron company had never been
engaged in the business Of 4 common carrier,
although its charter would hayo allowed it
50 to do.
an Pennsylvania"
"Wherc else 2" was asked.
Il have residences in New York, New
Hampshire and Long Island, as we'll"
Mr.. Anderson: where do you have your
washing donc?'
Mr.. Cornin. Indignantly: 81 think that it is
dcrlish impCrtinent TO 90 into my personal
| affaiis."
Mr.. Corbin appealed 10 tho chairman and
1 was told that it was his own pleasure rs TO an
swering the question, but that he supposed
that Sir. Anderson was seeking 20 get at his
Vgrrfg ~