Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1902-12-12
OPERATOR ON
The STAND
Refused to Tell Commission
Amount of Profits.
Legal and Moral View Of the
Boycott Given by a Cler-
gyman--Miners Are Ready
to End Their Side of Case.

The representatives of the miners dur
ing the course of yesterdays proceedings
before the Strike Commission called one
OF the independent operators to the wit
ness stand to tell the exact price be re-
ceived for his coal and the mine owner
refused, giving instead after much ques-
tioning, an average of the price he re-
celved. The operator was j. l. Craw-
ford, president of the Peoples Coal Com
pany, which operates the oxford COL
iery, In Scranton. The request for him
to take the stand came as surprise.
The Oxford coliery during the strike
managed to get enough men to operate
the plant, and for Que month, according
to Mr.. Crawford, his company received
$50 a ton for its coal.
The attorneys for the operators OBJ
jected to the inquiry proceeding along
the lines OF what a companys profits
were. Mr.. Darrow said he called the
witness to show that the coal companies
were able to pay the advance in wages
asked for Wayne MacVeagh, in his
cross-examination of Mr., Mitchell, he
said, intimated that the increase, II
granted, would ultimately be placed on
the "bowed backs of the poor" and he
wanted to show that the companies are
well able to give the increase asked for
without putting it on the poor.
Rev. j. j. O'Donnell, OF Olyphant, was
called, and said the mine workers of his
town were, generally speaking, law
abiding, and that there was very little
violence. He sympathized with the men
because he believed their cause was Just
and had done everything honorable to
avoid the strike.
An interesting colloquy took place
between Judge Gray and Rev. O'Don-
nell, on the matter of boycotting
Father O'Donnell said that he knew
of case of hotel keeper in his parish
being compelled to go out OF business
because of boycott placed on him by
the miners
lyon don't approve of boycotting, do
you, Father?" said Judge Gray.
81 would differentiate, said the wit
ness. Il would favor boycotting of bad
literature or immoral playhouses. If |
belonged to an organization" continued
the witness, land l felt it was to my
Interest or to the interest of my organi-
cation to refrain frym patronizing some
merchants | would feel justified in do
ing So"
"Of course I agree with you so far"
said the judge.
"a temperance society, for instance,
has for its primal purpose the boycotting
of saloons, and no one will accuse
temperance society of being an evil in
stitution." "
But Father, how much farther would
you go?
81 would advise my friends not to
patronze that merchant, said the wit
ness.
Just So" said the Judge, "but yon
would not boycott me If / refused to boy
cott the merchant, would you?"
"Oh no, | would not" answered the
witness.
That's whore / draw the line," the
commissioner rejoined.
Nothing that the hearings evoked was
listened to with more intense interest
than this exposition of the legal and
moral view Of the boycott.
The miners called several witnesses
who told Of conditions at the colleries
of A. Pardee & Co. One OF them was a
boy, who said he lost leg in the mines,
received nothing for its loss, but instead
when he returned to work the company
took his fathers debt off his wages.
Three witnesses who are employed in
the mines of the Delaware, Lackawanna
and Western, were called to testify to
the sizes of the cars at the company's
collieres. They claimed their size was
increased without corresponding in
crease In pay.