The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-12-07
PAYING OFF A DEBT AT
FOUR CENTS PER HOUR
Hard Fate of Boy of IL Years Working in the
Breakers For the MarkIe Company.
Testimony of Miner Who Had Been Paid in Cash But Once in
Seventeen Years.

Z CRANTON. Pa. Dec. 6.-The min
ers. having finished their attack
on the Coke mines in the Hazleton
region. today turned the attention of
the coal strike commission to the col
lieries of the G. b Markle company in
the same locality The witnesses for
the mine workers scored what ap-
peared TO be telling points with re-
gard to wages ana other conditions
prevailing in the mines of this indie
pendent company. The attorney for
the company was not prepared to
cross-eXamine the witnesses on all the
things they testified to and the COM
mission has granted the company the
privilege Of recalling the witnesses to
the stand for the purpose of cross
questioning them on the statements
made today.
The principal witness called against
the Markles WIS James Gala gher, who
worked in the Markle mines for thirty
years. He asserted that the wages We're
so low that he was always in debt
TO the company and that in seventeen
years he only once received wages in
money. and that was $50. He further
testified that he had To deal at the
company's store, the only place where
the miners could get credit. and that
the prices were from 10 TO 20 per cent
higher than in other places.
Company Kept Him in Debt.
He said he had made large wages
I and wiped out his debt, but the COM
! pany would then give him such bad
work that he would Immediately go
into debt again. He was evicted from
his house and refused work. but he
did not know why employment was not
| given him.
/ The witness, who is about so years
[ of age. and a native of Ireland, kept
the court constantly in good humor by
his wit and sharp answers to thrusts
/ by lawyers. He said a man is never
called hurt in the mines until he was
/ half killed
He was half killed twice. he said,
/ which brought out the remark from
/ Chairman Gray that if he was twice
/ half killed then he was now dead. This
/ caused much merriment, but it was
turned into a roar of laughter when
! the witness replied that the first half
was healed before the other half was
injured.
A 12-year-old breaker boy was called
\ to the stand and gave testimony &c
/ show that he was working at the
Markle mines to pay of the debt in
1 CuETeU DE MS 4dN4tFs VINO " 81 hlllEu
| in the mines eighteen months ago. He
received no pay, but was given due
! bills showing how much his mother
owed the company. The due-bills also
[ showed that the debt his mother was
mourning, such as house rent, etc, was
| growing faster than he. could reduce
it, as he was only getting cents al
| hour.
Lehigh Valley Next.
The conditions prevailing at the LIE
nigh Valley company mines will b,
taken up next. The. miners have Z
large number of witnesses whom the.
desire to call, and there is at this
time no indication when the hearings
will be concluded. Some of the opera
tors desire to place witnesses on TIT
stand in their defense. Unless SOm
agreement is reached on many of TIL
points at issue it is likely the hear
ings will run into next month
While settlement talk IS still hear,
here, nothing of an authoritative ma
tUre has come TO the surface. TIL
belief is still prevalent that an agree