The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-12-04
Revival of Rumors that the Dispute
etwee Miners and Operators
VIII BE "Settled Out of Court"
INVESTIGATION IS TOO SLOW
1T MAY DRAG ALONG UNTIL SOME
TIME NEXT YEAR.
Commissioners Weary of Listening to
statements of Conditions They Are
Already Familiar With.

SCRANTON, Pa, Dec. 3.-The anthracite
coal companies and their employees. having
failed to come to an agreement during the
Thanksgiving recess of the strike commits
sion, the hearing of the miners side of the
case was continued to-day as heretofore.
and unless something is done by the law
yers on both sides to curtail matters its
proceedings will surely run into next year.
With the reassembling of the commission
to-day, however, there was a revival of the
talk of a settlement tout of court" Moth
ing definite has been done and neither side
has approached the other, so far as can be
learned, regarding further negotiations. but
as one prominent attorney expressed it,
there is something in the air." The aw-
yers on both sides have heard the rumor
and profess they know nothing about it,
but would not be surprised IL something
in the way of an agreement is reached
before the hearings are concluded"
Chairman Gray. speaking for the commits
sion, to-day again expressed the hope that
efforts would be made by both sides to
agree on as many points as possible. and
that the commission was ready to lend any
conciliatory help to bring about that end.
To-day's proceedings were of a more or
iNSo uNSditOiy NLdi dIltl. Ol WITNESSES
| were on the stand during the two sessions.
They were President Mitchell, two pho
t~ographers. two practical miners, and the
wife of a German miner. Mr.. Mitchell was
on the stand for a short time only, and
was called to show that a 20 per cent. in
crease in wage did not mean a correspond
ing increase I'm the price per ton of coal.
The photographers produced about half a
hundred photographs they had taken of
the homes of mine workers in the Hazleton
region. The two miners testified with ref
erence to wage paid and working condi-
tons at the collieries of Coke Bros. & Co,
an independent concern in the Hazleton
region, and the woman, whose husband is
employed in the Coke mines, told a general
story of poverty.
The commissioners at times were SEEM
ingly impatient at the way the proceedings
dragged. While they had a half dozen wit
nesSes before them they did not learn much
more than they already knew. On their
trip through the coal fields they saw houses
whose general appearance was worse than
those pictured to-day, and they also re-
ceived much information along the lines
presented to-day from the men in the mines
which they visited. They are anxious for
the documentary evidence, such as wage
statements and other data bearing on wages
and conditions. This was strongly evil
denced to-day when they eagerly seized
upon the due bills handed up by the Hun
garian witness. Every member of the COM
IlloslOh anu a uutSllOIlc
to ask about them. One of the commission
ers said to-day 1T was principally a ques-
ton of wages, and they wanted these facts
as quickly as they can get them.
In this connection there was considerable
discussion between the attorneys for al
sides and the commission regarding the doc.
umentary evidence. Both parties to the
controversy had agreed to try to agree as
far as possible on a summary of the great
mass OF figures that the hundreds of &C.
countants for the different companies are
computing, but the task is such a stupen,
dous one, takin in as il does about 145, 90
men and boys. that neither side is We
ready to go into that feature of the in
veStigatiOn.
The commission has decided to give al
companies who have not been a party Il
the arbitration committee until 10 O'Clock
tomorrow TO file their answer to Presi
dent Mitchelrs original statement of tn,
miners case. This was brought about to
day when attorneys for the large com
panies objected to a witness testifying a
TO what occurred at the Coke Company
mines when that company was not directl,
before the commission. The company 4
not a direct party to the arbitration pro
ceedings, but has agreed to submit tn
award of the commission to its employee
as a basis for employment. The commits
sion decided to permit the witness to ties
tify.
to-day at the Superior Court room, wher
the hearings are being held. The alread
large number of attorneys has been in
creased, prominent among the additions
members of the bar being Samuel Dickson
of Philadelphia. Besides representing tn
also appeared for the Lehigh Coal and Nav
igation Company, an independent concern
which has about ten cOliieries in the Pan
ther Creek valley.