Gilpin observer., 1902-11-20
MlTCHELLON STAND
STRIKE LEADER sTRoNo UNDER
~ cRoss-ExAMlNATIoN.
Wayne Maeveash Says Miners PresI.
dent 10 Best Witness for Himself
! He Ever onfronted-Resents I'm.
putatIon Of Anarchy.

He Ever onfronted-Resents I'm.
putation Of Anarchy.
Scranton, Pa. Nov. 18.-In the pres.
ence of as many persons as could be
jammed into the superior court room
Wayne MacVeagh, for the Erie com.
pany. and John Mitchell, for the min
ers, continued their brilliant battle of
cross-examination before the anthra-
cite coal commission. The two men,
the one in his thirties. and the other
in his seventies, were followed with in.
tense interest by both the commits
sioners and the crowd throughout the
day.
The fourth demand of the union,
which calls for yearly, trade agree
ment, and which means straightout
recognition of the union, was the bone
0f contention. and although four hours
twas taken up in discussion Of the
question, not much material progress
was made. Wayne Macveagh, skilled
in the art of cross-examination. at.
tempted to show the utter irresponsi-
bility of the union and it's unftness to
\ make contracts, which 1t could not
Nlive up to. His principal argument
Mas the alleged boycott, and he often
hard pressed the miners president for
an answer. The latter. however, slow
ly and deliberately gave some reply.
but they did not always satisfy his in
Quisitor.
Maeveagh Admires Mitchell.
Macveagh. in the presence OF the
assemblage, expressed his admiration
Of the ability Of the witness, and on
one occasion, when Mr.. Mitchell par
ried a question regarding the boy
cotting of coal and iron policeman
by hotelkeeper. the distinguished at
torney threw up his hands, laughed.
and said: Mr. Mitchell. you are the
best witness for yourself l ever con-
fronted."
Mr.. MacVeagh weighed heavily on
what he said was a reign OF terror in
the anthracite region during the Pc
riod of the strike. He read list of
fourteen names of men who were
killed during that time. and also sub
mitted in evidence about seventy-five
printed pages of acts of alleged vio-
lence. boycott and intimidation. Mr..
Mitchell said that in some cases men
may have been deferred, but he denied
the assertion that such alleged acts
prevented the mines from being oper-
ated. He said that when the strike
was declared every mine worker in
the region quit work and remained
Ssut. even after the entire National
Y Guard OF the state had been thrown
into the coal fields. In short. he said
that the men would not have gone
to work under any condition. The min
ers' president, no matter how skill
fully he was questioned, could not be
Ndragged into a fiat admission that he,
as president of the union. approved
OF the boycotts complained of by the
companies.
During the cross-examination the
commissioners often interrupted with
questions II order to stop a long COLO
guy over some disputed point. While
the examination was at times quito
spirited the best of good feeling pre-
vailed. Only once Mr.. Mitchell showed
signs of irritability. This was when
Mr.. Mcveagh. reading the long list of
acts of violence. would take Mr.. Mitch
Gil u ldSk lOI bOIuc vicious act, anu
say: You could have prevented
this b.
Question Of Shorter Hours.
In the course OF the forenoon $685.
sion Mr.. MacVeagh examined Mr..
Mitchell regarding the eight-hour de-
mand. and referred to the fact that
Lincoln. Garfield and Mckinley
worked more than eight hours day
and were thus enabled to climb the
ladder to the presidency. Mr.. Nc
/Veagh added: Il only mention these
because they are the three victims OF
the spirit Of anarchy. which is the
curse of this country today"
The miners president. quick as a
Hash, came back with tho inquiry:
Trade unions are not responsible for
1t, are they7" To which Mr.. Nc
) veagh quickly responded they were
not. and supplemented this with the
remark that labor unions are most ad-
mirable. The bringing of the word
anarchy" into the examination caused
distinct murmur of disapproval from
many mine workers in the court ROOM
The commission decided to invite
Representatives VI thc AhiHois Noni
Operators association to testify be-
fore the commission.
The nonunion mine workers,
through their attorneys, John T. Len
ahan and Joseph O'Brien, filed the
statement OF their case with the an
thracite coal strike commission. They
demand an increase of 20 per cent.
Continuing, the statement says that
instead of desiring n reduction In the
hours OF employment. we insist upon
"a right to work as many hours as we
choose and as opportunity affords, SO
las to better our conditions and In.