The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1902-11-19

right Of every man to sell his labor,
If he can, and be protected in selling 1t
cannot be arbitrated any more than
his right to breathe.
Mr.. Mitchcll's comment on this was
that Mr. Reid would have made the
same statement about the right of peo-
pie to sell coal wherever they choose,
which freedom he claimed does not ex-
list. Some operators. he alleged, are
compelled to sell coal where others di-
rect. man has no right, he added,
to sell his labor for a dollar a day at
a mine if that would tend to reduce
the two or three hundred other work.
ingmen's wages to dollar a day.
When asked whether or not he con-
sidered 1t wrong to prevent a man from
working by intimidating him, Mr..
Mitchell had recourse to his oft-used
reply of II am opposed to anything
that is unlawful" He, later, declared
1t was not unlawful to tell a man It
was to his best interests to stay away
from work during a strike. Mr.. Mac
Veagh asked If he considered 1t unlaw-
ful to morally persuade a man to quit
work IL the mans next door neighbor,
who had refused to stop work had had
his house blown UP with dynamite the
night before. Mr.. Mitchell held that
that did not enter into the case; that
1t made no difference If the neighbor's
house had been blown up the night be-
fore or year before.
Disrespect for Judiciary.
The alleged growing disrespect for
the judiciary on the part of labor
unions was made the subject of a
lengthy discussion between lawyer and
witness. Mr.. MacNeagh contended
that whether the decision of court
was favorable or adverse it was the
I duty of the witness and other labor
leaders to continuously preach that the
welfare of all classes depended on q
growing respect for the judiciary. Mr..
| Mitchell indicated he would hesitate
some time before he would preach to
people to have a growing respect for
Judge Jackson.
| When in an opinion we are called
vampires and loafers and denounced
as men who live upon the hearts blood
of working, men," excitedly declared
| the witness, I'VE have right to re-
sent it,"
Mr.. Gowan began his cross eXamina-
ton, as did the attorneys preceding
him, by elciting from Mr.. Mitchell an
admission that he knew nothing specific
| of the wages or other conditions at the
mines of the company he was repre-
senting. Mr.. Mitchell explained ne had
only general knowledge, but that
data would be presented later giving
specific information supporting the con-
tentions he makes.
| Next he had the witness tell what 4
| litu,,i,,,,s, IT,, g.; ,,, =
- " -, i.' t"a,s ,eu,i' " GU
~ ~ Nv -, '''i''''is eoa'' anu lhei' tooh up
| tie various matters at issue. Inc eX-
ANIMATION was proceeded with substan-
| TALLY as follows:
| G.. Now. coming to the Question of tho
eight-holr duv. what class of labor dn
YOU regard as the most exactinr and
| laborious in the antbrac cite ,ninnsp
| A we'll 7 nrnsun,n th,t tha ,,.or,. rr =,
miner himself is the most dificuIt-tbe
most resnonsible Possibly II is nor ,,,i,e
| ns laborious as that of thn man who shov-
| els coal hut the resnon sibl;1v ;s r,ucb
greater.
! O. Why is it, then. that in The demands
| which Won have nresanted to tho com
mission. yo,, have NOT asked for an eipbt :
| ho,lr day for tho miner and l,boraro
! That would ncccsasri,y follow. Tbe eisht .
hour dav womb come 10 then, az tbe
result of the eiuht-hoIr day for tb, mine
| laborers
| w.t.,
| "ouio A.eceAVe No Sais'
| q. DO you mean to say that they could
not work except at the. time when the
Others were working. A. No; it would
mean that if an cight-hour day We're
| adopted. the drivers and all the other
| day labOrers would stop at the end Of
| eight hours That OF itself would stop
| the mine" and his laborer. He would re-
ceive no more cars.
| g. And that is the only answer YOU
| have to that question? A. Yes, sir, direct.
| ly. When we asked foT the eight hour
| day and specified the laborers, or parti-
Cularly specified them. we did IL in order
| to secure to them an increase >of pay
| We expect the contract miner and his
| laborcr to work only eight hours day.
Q. How do YOU expect to secure an
increase of pay for the man working by
the month or by the day by limiting his
hours of labor to eight hoursc A. Well
IF a man worked in one of your mines
now 200 days in year. and was paid
$500 a day. he would receive in the en-
tire year 800. He would work 1000 hours.
IF you put him on an eight-hour day, he
would work $40 DAYS, eight hours a day,
or 1000 hours. and he would receive $3.50
@. Now, YOU are assuming. are YOU not.
that under existing, conditions or under
conditions which have latoly nrevatIed
that the mine is NOT run fun time. ard
therefore Tho breaker time can bc in
creasodp Thot &c nccossarv In ordcr IN
Give those, mon nm incroase NJ yages i.
II noto A No Tho breaker rms tho
sal mo n,,mher or hours thot n has r,n onv
other year but you divide 1t into a
n Tolc a man u.hn b,s ,vorl,oa o,ory
dnw last yo,r ,hot The hrootor ran t.n
ho,us NOW is ,,n n, ,no nnd or tho vanr
~ hnvn moro money in his ron,,ot h,,
h,vinr tho hours rcduc.d frn,o ton 10
nirhto A lilo won,d NOT b,,a mnro n,o,o,
Il, his nocl,ot IIo wnn,d s;p,n,,, ho,,o ,ass