New-York tribune., 1902-12-04
STRIKE INQUIRY RESUMED.
COMMISSION SETS FORTH CONDITIONS
UNDER WHICH 1T WILL BE CON
TINUED-EVIDENCE HEARD.
rEY TELEGEArH TO TIE Tn1BuNE.l

tia questions at issue between the anthracl'e
mine workers and the operators The TWO sloes
having failed to agree regarding hilpoI 'oii'
points the commission, through Chairman Gray
this morning, and again this afternoon, Warhso
them thar they are expected to meet might or
tomorrow and before the morning session asieo
regarding points relative to submitting evil
dence in such a manner that time VIII ne saNeu-
II this is not done Judge Gray promised that
the commission in order to conduct the fnVesu-
ration in a businesslike manner. would pre-
scribe rules for them. He laid particular suess
unon this point. He also told the attorneys
of each side that the commission desired 'he
wage figures admitted in tables. and that aS
this information is almost exclusively IN tle
hands of the operators il was their duty u
furnish the tables as soon as they can, so the
mine workers could compare them AS YET 'iie
mine workers have only one table, that OF 'he
Delaware and Hudson company- Mr.. Darrow
exnlafned that they had been after the others
5av after dav but could not get them because
they are not Yet completed. Some companies ne
said had refused them.
Samuel Dickson. representing a nulnoer VI
independen1 companies. said that some OF MS
companies declined to give the profits ana losses
desired f,z the mine workers Mr. Darrow re-
torted with the assertion that the mine "olAei
rro,lld assume that the operators would make no
they could not afford it If they did, he SAID ne
Uould then demand the profit and loss hgures-
There are a number of companies which hau
not this morning informed the commission
whether they desired to appear before the COIL
mission or not, and Chairman Gray deciareo
that as il was the duty of the commission 10
itself and to the public to find who was oe-
fore it those who had not sign1fled ther HI
tention would have until tomorrow morning
-1,az-- in
OF the investigation.
At once there were placed before the COM
mission the names Of the following companies:
The Iebigh Coal and Navigation Company,
G 3 Markle & Co. the St. Clair Coal Company
A. Pardee & Co. C. Pardee & Co, A 3 Wentz
& Co. the Upper Lehigh Company, the Silver
Brook Coal Company. c. NJ. Dodson & Co. and
4 ( Van wickle & Co. This comprises nearly
all the companies in the Hazleton region
When the commission convened this morning
Judge Gray. for the whole commission approved
the work of the subcommittee and the issuing
of statement defining the position Of the COM
rr,ttee toward the proposed settlement and de-
c,srinp that no settlement of any kind could be
@fac,i,-a without being referred TO and passed
upon by the commission.
William Dettrey. president Of his local. dis
trict board member and prominent u1ioi
man employed by the Coke Brothers Company
Was the principal witness He SAID that ne
made $3.50 last wear. but that was the nest ne
had ever done. the average for the company
r1o,-.z l,eine about 5000 for steady work
He told Of how when the strike ended the com
many refused TO take back 4s9 out of 3.ooo en-
,o--.e and how finally the number of those dis
-ri,,5,,a+e5 against was reduced one-haf- These
included every officer Of the union except one
He declared the men had to go into the mine Al
= m and DID not get out until after . p m
sometimes having 10 wait with nothing 10 90
until y 2, m for cars He stated that the company
had standing blacklist, and that he was On IL
co., nine r7,onths because he refused TO work in
A place where all he could make was - week
The wages Of the laborers were 81 62 in the
breasts and 81 a. in the gangways. and OF the
con7nanv hands between 90 and 90 cents the
miners If their contract work was ended, were
often n,,t 10 work as company hands at 81 =,
less than a Ia borer receives
He illustrated by his own case, where for elsh'
6axs he worked after explosion in the DAN
eerols fredamp. making repairs ana setuhs
ont the bodies Of the victims, and was pald only
50 cents a day. At the same time MS ispoiel
had an assistant who had TO be paid. so the
coropsnv said at the rate Of regular laborers-
The two did not make enough TO pay the man.
and 81 00 was deducted from Dettrey's wages TO
give the man the amount needed so tnat % DSo 90
rev got for working the eight days Only >. ~
-ba men continue TO work for the company, anu
replied that they made 50 little they had fiot
MONEY enough TO move. OF the work Of miner
he said. II is something that can never be
fullv learned. 1 have been one for hftefn years
and DO not know it half yet
Chairman GRAY asked about some men VINO
we're ousred from their homes and discharged
bv the company The company said they were
obnoxious" said Dettrey-
Does the union allow the miner to hire sew
erai lahorers?" asked Commissioner Wright
IT does not encourage the practice.
Does IL restrict him to g certain NUMBER
1T discourages his engaging more than
two
Dettrey went on TO explain that the miner
could not hire his own laborer; that he must
take whon1soever the company furnished, and
that frequently the man was foreigner. who did
not understand English. We are expected to
them English he said and illustrated with
q story about TWO Austrian gentlemen who
were la borers.
Mike" Mettick who had worked six years
for the company and active in the strike
said that he had been refused work and evicted
from his house. He made about $3.50 last year
When he and his ''butty'' loaded thirty-five to
forty cars month they usually docked
about eight. The highest he ever made was
SIS for weeks nay; the lowest 81 56 but
he was sick part of the time for that fortnight
The powder smoke in the chambers. he said, was
thick that he could only see across an
eighteen-foot chamber the light of his 'bUttv.''
Twice in six years he had seen mine Inspector
but they did not go into the breasts. being con-
tent to walk along the gangway with the mine
foreman.
Mrs. Mary Boland. wife of miner. and with
seven children. testified about general condi-
Iions.
At the morning session President Mitchell was
put on the stand TO testify regarding some fig
ures- He said he estimated that the granting of
the ~ per cent increase would mean an in
crease in the cost of mining coal bout 10 cents
a ton. The wage cost of coal he estimated at
something less than 81 ton, there being ap-
proximateiy 6oooo,o0o tons mined last YEAR
and about s5oooo.0oo paid for it to the mine
workers.
THE operators he said ar. ro. - -,