The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1902-11-21
MITCHELL IS THROUGH
MINERS LEADER COMPLETES HIS
TESTIMONY BEFORE COAL
STRIKE COMMISSION.
REV. ROBERTS ON STAND

Congreeationa|ist Minister Who Has
; Written Book on the Subject Of
Anthracite Mining Now Giving Evi'
dence 49, Commi ssioners Again Re-
mind Both Sides They Would Like
! to Have the Submission of Testi-
{ mony Expedited.
Scranton, Pa, Nov. 20.-After being
! on the stand for four and a half days,
President Mitchell of the miners
union completed his testimony at noon
before the anthracite strike commits
sion. During his ordeal he was exam
ined by his own attorney. and those
| of the Erie company, the Delaware
and Hudson, Lackawanna and West
ern, the Lehigh Valley and the Phil
adelphia and Reading Coal and Iron
! company, and also by the attorneys of
the independent operators. He was
followed on the witness stand by the
| Rev. Peter Roberts, Mahonoy City,
Congregationalist minister. who has
studied the anthracite coal ins.i>.4y
and has written book Cn The su5jns.1.
He was still on the stand when the
! commission adjourned io1 tho day.
One Of the most important things
| brought out during the Gloss cAanlii.i~-
! tion OF President Mitchell during ~"
~ was his emphatic declaration: tha'
| tnc miners were opposed tl SO. ia at:ii
the bitumnous miners troEl TIC an:.:.
racite workers, thus creating two OIL
| ganiZaticns. He made this reply to
| question of Former Congressman
! Simon F. Wolverton, counsel for th:'
! Reading company, as to whrtht i
would nc, i,- better to have So VI Al"
organizations. Mr.. Mitchell's answer
was that III would not he possible Or
! desirable The anthracite mine work.
ers have had an independent o!san!"a-
tion in the past. They have had sew
eral. They have gone. They ale not
here now and the r..l dc i..,. want any
more OF their ol aan:at:"::' to go the
same way"
! Commissioner Wright, as the head
OF. the depart ment Of labor in his re-
/ pifyssst to President Roosevelt on the
coal strike, dated June 20, suggested
among other things as reasonable
and just to
| Prevent Industrial Conflict
in the anthracite fields. that the "an-
thracite employees should organize an
anthracite Goa! miners union, in its
autonomy to he independent of the
United Mine Workers of America
| 1, tod with -
has been some gossip among the small
! army of attorneys at the hearings that
the commission may possibly s'CS"':!
such seuarate union. and tic lact
| that Mr. Wo|verton touched on the
matter shows that it is being seriously
| thought OF il. some quarters. What e.
i feet Mr. Mi1cil:'iIs declaration Will
! have on tie attit',d" Of :h" commits
stones $. if this phase OF the Labor
question is taken up by them, IS, Qt
course. not !, OWN.
! The nun!::.jOn men, that is. those
! who :cn.airr'! AZ work during the
strike. were made party TO the 2rll-
trati0n isa during the day by their
counsel agicene to make public the
| names y: 90 u =" ~ ''' ''*'u the
| cUmmiAs inE. VIZ y::''.:: Hevs lOf
/ the 'nOnStii,iing WOrnnlen. as CHAIR
| man Gray designated them. and VINO
numbcr about 2Oo". made a demand
to the commission for 20 per cent
increase in wages with no reduction
in hoWs their attorneys desired to
withheld 1h, names Of the persons
thcv rr;yt;rnted The commission.
however. s."t ided they could not be
party to :u,': Il plan OF secrecy.
IN t,'': '.Iun with the nonUnlon
fcntu!r q: ice i2atiOn, Mr.. Mitch
eli aI'.;,::..:.e that he is also repre-
sent. ,HHi'%2ri;:; Of NOnunlon men
who :, with the unionists. and
that all ;:n >,orlmrn would abide ny
the ave.. the arbitrators "or get
ou' -. /, :-',nl'.'
n; So. =, . tc"tin>cnv contained
little TIN 90: T. :" 20 the commits
sionr:s, ,.pJ I;.'t G.: Ny. Roberts wa'
of a General Character,
regarding the ernlom;t ana Sociolo@-
ical conditions in tie anthracite coal
country.
The commissioners, wlil" rcg:c1ting
they have to do 20. a,'r still r,':)iudil' i,
both sides that they would Gk" to
have the submission Of testimony e>.
during the day, inter- urtrd and showed
that ground then being gone over had
already been covered. l. has been
suggested that counsel for both sides
agree to rules for the submission OF
evidence, but nothing has vet been
done looking toward that end.
In the course Of his examination. by
Mr.. Darrow in the afternoon. Mr.. Rob
erts furnished statistics showing that
the anthracite fields covered 4SO
square miles. Out Of total popula.
tion of $4,000, he said that 100000
were directly dependent on the mines
Answering questions by Mr. Wolver-
ton, DR.. Roberts said there were four
methods of payment in the anthracite
region, by the car, by weight, by the
yard and by the day. The wages paid
are far from uniform.
HAS the question OF mining coal
and being paid by the car 0een a
source of vexation and trouble and