The Birmingham age-herald., 1902-11-15
\ Large Gathering of Lawyers at Scranton, PenR-
 sy|VaRia
POSITION OF MINERS
 IS FULLY EXPLAINED
Coal Companies are We'll Represented at the Peace Conference Towards Which the Eyes of a Nation
 Are Now Turned.

FTc NoW tuFnSus
 Scranton, Pa. November 1.-The an- thracite coal strike commission appointed by President Roosevelt to arbitrate the differences existing between the mine workers of the hard coal fields of Penn sylvania and their employers, today be- gan the hearing of testimony by which 1t will determine whether or not the work men are receiving fair and just wages for their labor and whether their conditions should not be improved. The star witt ness of the miners President John Mitchell. took the stand in the forenoon and when the commission adjourned at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, he was stiu under the fire of cross-examination by David w Wilcox, general counsel of the Delaware and Hudson company. It was a trying day for the miners leader, but he seemed to stand the test well. The heav- lest fire of cross-duestions was aimed at him late in the afternoon and when the hour of adjournment was reached, MT. Wilcox was still propounding questions and testing MT. Mitchelrs memory. The opening of the sessions was a notable day in the annals of the law in the upper anthracite region. Such an array of law yers has never been seen in this part of the state 1t is doubtful whether attorneys ever have been so numerous on one side of case in this state as were present In the interests of the coal companies to- day The commissions sessions are being held in the room of the Pennsylvania superior court, which is now sitting in Philadelphia. Ranged around three ta- bles in front of the seven commissioners who occupied the judges bench, were no less than thirty lawyers, twenty-four of whom were looking after the interests of the mine owners.
 Court Room Crowded.
 In addition to the lawyers there was large number of members of the bar pres ent who came merely to look on. The court room at both sessions was packed almost to suffocation, and scores of per sons were unable to gain admittance. Only one of the heads of the large coal companies, Chairman Thomas of the Erie, was present. There were among the spectators quite a large number of general superintendents and district and mine superintendents, all of whom took a deep interest in the proceedings and some of them frequently made notes. Among them were B. E. Loonis, vice. president of the Lackawanna; c. c. Rose. general superintendent of the Delaware and Hudson: Superintendent J. R. Bry- den of the Ontario and Western; General Superintendent May of the Erie; Col. Phillips of the Lackawanna; Superin- tendent Thorne of the Temple Coal com pany; General Superintendent Richards of the Lehigh and Wilkesbarre company, and General Superintendent S. D. War nook of the Lehigh Valley company.
 Grouped about MT. Mitchell were Dis trist Presidents Nichols, Duffy and Fahy. the three district secretaries, the three national board members and the members of the three executive boards of the an- thracite field. Scatteredf through the spectators were many pratcica! miners, who will be called upon to take the stand in behalf of the miners.
 The attitude of the commissions was closely followed by every one in the court room. They appeared to be greatly in- terested in the cross-examination of MT. Mitchell, but at times seemed to grow restless under the ceaseless fire of ques- lions aimed at the mine workers lead CT. Judge Gray, as chairman Of the com mission being versed in the court pro ceedings and in the law, was the only spokesman for the commission. He at times asked questions and at the very close of the afternoon session directed a query at MT. Mitchell which MT. Wilcox had been leading up to for some time. The chairman asked MT. Mitchell wheth- CT his organization approved the act of withdrawing from or denying the nec- essaries of life to those who had offended the organization and he replied:
 'I should say, emphatically, mo-.
 During the day MT. Wilcox asked MT. Mitchell many questions as to the policies of the union, the method of calling strikes, the ability of the union to main tain discipline and prevent the members of the union from violating the law and also as to the liability of the union not breaking contracts. It was apparent to many of those present, who understood the situation that Mr. Willcox's object was to attempt to prove by MT. MitchelfS own testimony that the contention of the companies that the miners union was an irresponsible organization, was well founded and that trade agreements therefore could not be safely entered into with the union.
 During the hearing the statements were brought out for the first time since the
 
 disbursed sl,5O0000 among the union and non-union men who were on strike.
 One of the questions which came up be- fore the commission was the adviseability of hearing counsel on behalf of the non- union men who remained at work during the strike. Attorney John T. Lenhan, one of the attorneys for the non-union men asked the commission what his status before the arbitrators was. Judge Cray informed him that the question would be taken under consideration, and that an answer would probably be given him tomorrow.
 Mitcheli's Statement.
 Mir Mitchell, before taking the witness stand in the forenoon, presented the miners side of the case in a statement of six thousand words. It took him forty minutes to read his address and he was