The Minneapolis journal., 1902-11-14

been increased since 1898 an average Of
80 per cent and that there had been q re-
duction In hours of from ten to eight and
also in the number Of children employed.
The price of fuel, both bituminous and
| anthracite. he said, had gradually In
creased. The work Of mining he charac-
terized as the most hazardous In the
| world. 50 @ -. ,.
In answer to further questions by Mr..
Darrow, President Mitchehll said that last
year 513 men were killed in the mines and
1900 injured. He said that most life in
surance companies refused to take en-
ployes of mines. The number Of deaths In
the bituminous fields in proportion to the
number Of men employed was not so great
as In the anthracite regions. a.
Mr.. Mitchell, comparing the rates of
wages paid In the bituminous fields with
| those paid in the anthracite regions, said
| they were from 40 to SO per cent higher in
the bituminous country in some classes Of
| work and from 20 to 80 per cent in others.
The wages paid bituminous miners, he
said. We're practically the same as those
paid to carpenters and bricklayers, but
he was not sufficiently familiar with the
| rates paid for other employment than
| mining In the anthracite fields to draw g.
| comparison. He said the conditions In tho
homes of the miners Of the soft coal re-
gions, speaking generally, were better
| than in the anthracite regions. This was
especially true, he said, Of the houses
| owned by the companies. He said the
agitation for high wages, begun two years
ago. had crystallized into demand to lie
paid by weight which, In his opinion, was
| the only honest method Of determining the
amount the men earn.
"Topping" the Coal Cars.
THE miners know and believe" said Mr..
Mitchell, that they are not paid for the
| coal they mine" He spoke of the in
| n ho ciu of nd 1,n
demand of the operators that more top
| should be put on, which he said, had been
a source of more trouble than any one
! thing he knew Of. Mr.. Mitchell said that
miner must pile coal six inches above
! the top Of the mine cars. The distance
from the place where he is working to
the breaker is often more than mile, and
the coal is shaken down to the level. The
worker Is docked If there are not six
| inches topping on the car at the breaker,
and gets nothing If there are more than
| six inches Of topping.
! In answer to Mr.. Darrow's question II
he was willing to submit to arbitration.
Mr.. Mitchell said he always was, and that
In a public statement June %, the miners
had proposed arbitration.
| The Aid Fund.
Mr.. Darrow's next question brought out
the first public statement made since the
strike was inaugurated regarding the
amount Of aid given the strikers. Mr.
Mitchell said that 81, 500, 900 had been dis
tributed among the workers and that non
union men on strike had shared equally
with the unionists, although they had paid
no dues. He said he did not know Of q
single instance where his organization had
failed to keep it's contracts.
| What do you say as to the ability o1
your organization to, maintain discipline
and assist in the settlement Of questions
and help harmony Of the management
Of the coal Industry" inquired Mr.. Oar.
| row.
Speaking very deliberately, Mr.. Mitchell
| answered:
Il would say that our experience as al
| organization demonstrates concusively
that discipline can be maintained where
trade agreements exist. AS matter O.
fact, in those states where we have trad,
agreements If any Of our local union:
were to attempt to violate agreements Of
refuse to go back to work when we in
structed them to do so, we would .pu
them out of the union. Our agreement
take precedence over our own law. Th,
agreements must be kept inviolate."
When the direct examination Of Mr.
Mitchell by Mr.. Darrow was concluded
Mr.. Wilcox, for the operators, cross -ex
amined Mr.. Mitchell at length regardin,
the general workings Of the organization
Mr.. Wilcox read from the mine workers
constitution and asked if there was an,
provision in it which authorized the ex
pulsion of men who violated agreements
Mr.. Mitchell said that he would have suc1
authority because that had been the pol
icy of the organization.
Usually" said he, 1.-The process Of en-
forcing the agreement is the agreemen
itself. The constitution does not specifi
cally contain any provision for turning
man out of the organization, but i
does confer power on its officers to inter
pref it and to exercise supervision unde
:, it. The Interpretation Is the law"
Q 'Then you are now making the law?
e said Mr.. Wilcox.
Y The hour Of 1880 having arrived,
4 recess was taken until 2 o'clock.