The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-07-11


which the Lehigh Valley owns. and
these engineers would be put on the
stand to verify the map which the New
ton Coal company had furnished In
spector Mcdonald and which was in
evidence.
After a consultation the commission
ers announced through MIR. Elkin that
an afternoon session would be held and
at It's conclusion adjournment would be
made unit! some day next week to be
agreed upon later Adjournment was
then made for dinner
DOUGHERTY CAME FORWARD.
During the day Chairman Stein an
nounced at different intervals that the
commission would be pleased to have
anybody come forward and give any
testimony that would tend to aid them
in their task. One old miner, Timothy
Dougherty. didn't have any evidence to
offer, but he had something to say and
he took advantage Of the invitation of
the commission to come forward and
say it. AS soon as he had fairly started
Chairman Stein saw that DOugherty
was giving an opinion and not evidence
and called him to order. DOugherty
needed not the rapping Of the gavel
but went ahead with his story and did
not subside until he had said all he
started out to say.
The gist of his remarks was some
thing after this order: 1T is time to
hsin tunt m q
have heard 1t testified to and admitted
by the company that their top pillars
were bigger than their bottom ones.
What's the use OF rehashing this evil
dence and bringing more witnesses here
who only work injury to themselves by
giving testimony against the company.
You know whether or not 1t Is against
the law and against all rules OF min
ing to have a heavy pillar on top OF a
lighter one. 1t is against nature. Look
at Campbells Ledge. Is the base Of that
smaller man the top. Look at the trees.
Look at the abutments of buildings the
world over"
Chairman Stein at his point firmly
but quietly insisted on Dougherty TAX
ing his seat unless he was willing to be
sworn and testify in the regular man
ner Dougherty said he had never
worked in the Twin shaft and could
not tell anything about the mine.
WILLIAM COSTELLO SWORN.
After Chairman Stein had repeated
several times the invitation for any one
to take the stand and testify to any
thing he might know bearing on the
disaster. William Costello. a timber
man at the Twin, came forward and
was sworn.
He testified that there was squeezing
The width Of the chambers was very
unusual 1t varied from twenty-siN to
thirty feet. The chambers were opened
at twenty-six feet and as the miners
got nothing for opening the chambers
there was nothing for them to do but
take out as much as they dared, and as
they proceeded they cut the chambers
wider and wider to make uD fer what
they We're deprived of for making the
opening.
He could not say positively that the
pillars We're too small, but he did know
that some times the company hands
ere sent in ahead of the miners to
clear the main road of the clippings
that came from the pillars. As high as
fifteen to twenty cars would be taken
out some days. In his opinion the pres
sure on the pillars being too great for
! them to bear caused the bursting and
chipping. He quit work at the Twin
about two weeks before the accident
because he was afraid of the roof. He
| a l,,,t hN, h., tgl,
how. because the company hands only
worked on breaker time.
He knew that some Of the cha mbers
we've over thirty feet in width, because
he often helped to turn thirty-foot 7
rail clear about in a chamber. In his
opinion the mine was not worked safe
| ly. 1T was" as he expressed it. 1.-THE
worst gutted-out mine l ever worked
in"
WAS NOT POSITIVE.
In answer to Mr.. Woodward's ques-
tioning he said he was not positive that
there were any thirty-foot rails in
side the mine, as he had never meas
ured them. but always supposed they
were thirty feet in length. Up to the
time he quit work the timbermen only
worked when the breaker worked, al
though the squeeze has been going Oh
continually.
William Siley of the engineer corps
of the Lehigh Valley Coal company,
which Is the lessor of the coal being
worked by the Newton Coal company,
at the Twin shaft was sworn to prove
the reliability of Mine Inspector Me-
Donald's man, to which objection was
made by the attorneys for the families
because it was furnished to the inspec-
tor by the engineer of the Newton Coal
company.
Mr.. Siley at the direction of the attor-
neys made measurements of various
portions of the mine.
AT the foot of No. slope according to
the Lehigh Valley map the gangway
| is sixteen feet wide At LOCO feet be-
yond the width increases to eighteen
feet on the inspectors map the width
| at these points were shown to be iden-
tical.
MIR. Siley then took his scale and
measured the gangways at certain
points indicated by Mr.. O'Boyle. In
not single instance was gangway
found to be as narrow as IA feet and in
number of places the width was
found to be thirty feet
WHERE THE PILLARS ARE
In his opinion the pillars in the fifth
and sixth veins are directly over one
another, or at least as nearly in line
as is practical. BY measurements II
was shown that certain pillars taken
hap-hazzard had as much as 2-3 Of their
base unsupported by any pillar beneath
and that the pillars in the upper vein
were as a rule larger than those in the