The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-12-23
They Tried to Bar Him From
Selling to Miners.
PIE MANS DEFIANCE.
Villa ge of the WOrkmen Sur
rounded by Fence.
Tradesman Hews His Way In
and is Arrested.
And Now Great Men of Pittsburg
Must Explain.

Pittsburg, Dec. 2S.-FTve months ago
the name of Joseph Keller, pie, bread and
cake baker at the village of Knoxville,
Pa, was known to only a few little coal
mining communities where he sold his
tOOthSOme products. Today the eye OF
Pennsylvania is upon the humble but
plucky little baker who alone and single
handed, has declared war upon the pow
erful coal combine known as the Pitts
burg coal company.
railroad mines of the Pittsburg district
Mark Hanna's among them-has unlimit-
enough to grind a million little country
bakers to powder. But Keller is putting
tory.
One of the most recent recruits to the
Monongahela Coal-GaS company, whose
mines are at the little town of Wnock,
twenty miles from Pittsburg, on the Bal
timOre and Ohio railroad. There the com
pany village is known as Redtown, and
about 600 peOple-minerS, their wives and
children-live within its fenced limits.
For years this fence has been in exist
ence, but the great gates two of them
opening on the public highway, we're
to drive in with their wagons and solicit
trade from door to door. Just outside
are fence there is a general store, in
which the company. ostensibiy, has no
interest But the miners We're made to
wise they would patrOnize that store
noticed that miners who did business with
outside tradesmen frequently lost their
jobs The reason assigned for their dis
missaI was never that they had failed to
patronize the local store. But there was
no limit to complaints which might be
fastened by a dashing management upon
a too Independent employee
Matters were in this shape three months
ago when the company was absorbed by
the great combine. A few days later Jo-
seph Keller drove up to RedtOwn in his
pie wagon, but found both gates locked,
and barred against him. For seven years
three times each week, he had driven
the miners in RedtOwn. This was the first
locking of the gates in his experience.
Keller sat in his pie wagon, peered over
the fence and yelled for Mr.. Dixon, the
superintendent of the mine Mr.. Dixon
Mss, a sort of assistant boss, came to the
front.
BY dint of hard questioning Keller
learned from Furniss that there were
only two or three keys, one of them held
py the superintendent and another held
by the people at the local store Slowly
me truth daWned on the nttIe baker lie
ana other OUTSIDE tradesInen We're to be
locked out, while the local store, IN which
the company virtually diSclaimed all in
terest, was 10 nave free access with its
Then Keller's spirit rose in arms. It
d1dn make any difference to him that
the great coal combine had millions of
the money where he had pennies or that
It's leaders. We're among the most 1nf1uen-
tai men in the country. Mark Hanna
for the soul of this pluclEy baker. He
saw that there was a conspiracy to rob
patronize the local store and he made up
his mind to fight. Picking up an ak from
tackled the gate with Iusty strokes. Fur
Mss tried to interfere, but backed away
before a shower of flying chips The gate
was reduced to kindling wood and Keller
drove into Redtown in triumph. Two DAYS
later he returned with fresh supply of
goods and slipped in through the gates of
RedtOwn close behind a string of the
ed behind him and he was forced to bring
his trusty ak into play again and carve
Whereupon the coal magnates decided
that it was about time to crush the hum
~ q hoIf fcrcara n F1s1lr IT,
was arrested and later was indicted by
the grand jury of Allegheny county for
A smile went around among the coal
baronS OF the F1ttsburg district. But the
plucky baker journeyed to Pittsburg and
sistant district attorney Of AiIephe13v
county and Arthur 0. Finding a we'll
known lawyer of this city, took his case
Great was the establishment of the coal
barOnS when they were summoned to an
plant. Alderman Torie condiIcted tbe
hearing, where the perturbed combine Of
hcials swOre that the local store at Red
town was not a company store and fur
thermore that the gates of the village had
up of new roads laid by the company
But Kellers' array of evidence was 'verv
convincing and a result the grand iurv
of Allegheny county found an Indictment
for conspiracy against the following:
George w. Schluederberg. general sup
erintendent of the mines of the new coal
combine.
Charles Dixon, superintendent of the
combine mine in RedtOwn.
isaac w. Seaman, owner of the Red
town general store.
Charles Hampstead, manager of the
store
Incidentally Keller has begun a civil
suit for heavy damages against the men
named in the Indictment.
The miners at Redtown and throughout
the PittSburg district are stirred to in
tense excitement over the situation. Al
though the law reads that no corporation
shall have an interest in the general store
OF mining town, miners insist that the
companies obey it only in form The
plucky baker has had his eyes open dur
ing all these years. Miners who have been
thrown out Of employment to starve or
live on charity because they would not
pay two prices for the neceSsarfes of life
at the stores secretly backed by the com
panfes; have pledged their support to KEEL
the witness stand
Moneyed men with a love of fair play
have also rallied to the little bakers as
s1stance, and the combine realizes in
alarm that it has stirred up a hornets
nest.
The conditions surrounding Keller's gal
liant fight are common to the entire min
ing district of the state. A triumph for
the plucky baker viii mean a lively time