The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1902-12-16

Eyes. He ir my siep-father, not my
| father" said the little girl
II thought as much" remarked the
Judge.
Mr.. barrow tried to mollify things
| by having the little girl tell that the
house Is not paid for. The little girl
| thought 1t was not all paid for
| Judge Gray inquired IL there was any
law In this state forbidding children
from working nights. Nobody could an
swer him. Mr.. Torrey said that he
would look 1t up.
II guess the statutes relative to child
labor are not much better than dead
letters in the coal regions" said the
Judge half inouiringly.
The Judge spent a little time looking
over the statutes, which he keeps be-
fore him, and found law prescribing
that minors between the ages of thir-
teen and sixteen shall not work more
than six months in any one calendar
year. He read the statute and looked
up as IL to say, "IIow about it." There
was no response. 1t was evidently news
to the lawyers.
Wages Fathers Earn.
During the noon recess, Major War
ren made an irvestigst ton Of the Penn
sylvania Coal company's statistics and
found that the fathers of three of the
little girls had earned wages in 1901 as
follows: John Dcnko, $934.36, for eight
and a half months work; Peter Sisack,
$1121.05 for twelve months, and William
Huser, s416.2S for five and a half
months. Tho statistics of the Nay Aug
hn n
the McDermott girl earned s375.O2 in the
six months he worked for that company
in 1901 and that his earnings for the
nineteen days he worked since the strike
were $96.2l. All these are net earnings.
Thomas William, a 14-year-old slate
picker. employed by the Red Ash Coal
company at Reno, Schuylkill county.
told that he works for SAFE a week and
that his ten-year-Old brother works for
81 a week. His mother is a widow.
There is a case" said Judge Gray,
"where a poor woman very likely is
compelled to have her babes earn for
her"
The little fellow was asked by Judge
Gray how it came that his ten-year -old
brother was working when the law pre-
scribCs that no one under twelve years
of age shall be employed in the breaker.
He got a note to the boss" said the
boy.
Yes, so I supposed" said the judge.
'WhO wrote the note, TOmmie?"
Il did," said the lad, laughing.
and who signed it!" asked the judge.
Mother did," replied the boy.
"Wel!, I suppose she had to-" said the
judge. "She probably needs the
money!
At the opening of the afternoon ses-
sion, Judge Gray asked for the name
and address of the factory inspector
Major Warren informed him that the
inspector is Earl f. Bishop, of Dun
more.
Invited Factory Inspector.
"Mr. Recorde-," said the judge. take
that down, and write the inspector in
viting him to come before the commits
sion, and tell what he knows about
these apparent violations of the child
labor laws.
More witnesses from the Philadelphia
and Reading collieries were called and
examined by Congressman Charles
Brumm, Of Minersville. who was called
in specially by the miners to assist in
the examination of the witnesses from
this region. .
Henry Leidich, OF Good Spring col
liery complained that the company re-
scinded a pillar robbing contract be-
cause he was making too much money
and that he was later discharged. Mr..
Wolverton brought out the fact that
the boss who discharged him was his
brother-ir-law. and that there was a
f.I he
Earl Mayer another Good Spring
man, told that he was not re-employed,
after the strike. He couldn't explain
why.
John Kicuski, of Shenandoah, exhib-
ing from d gas explosion which he
blamed on the fire boss. He was idle
sixteen months and received no help
from the company. He was re-employ-
ed for Il while by the Reading company,
but he got sick and when he returned
another man was in his place and he
was sent away. He said he only re-
ceived $3.50 a day for himself and two
men while he worked for the Reading
company.
George Seeg, from the Good Spring
collery, presented his pay checks for
His last pay was $15 for ten shifts.
John Carr, of Ashland, a driver at
the Locust Gap coliery. complained
that he was discharged since the strike
because he refused to tend to two gang
ways instead of one as heretofore. On
cross-eXamination. Mr.. Wolverton
brought it out that the witness really
quit because he would not take the
place of another man who was dis
charged.
John Schlotman, from the Good
Spring colliery complained he and his
boys were not re-employed and that
new men, who never worked at the
colliery before, have been put in their
places.
Charles Burke, from the st. Nicholas
colliery, near Mahonoy City, told of a
lower wage being paid at his colliery
than at surrounding collieries for build
ing a battery.
Testimony anent conditions at Erie
collieries was next presented.
At Erie Galleries.
Anthony Shamus, check weighman at
the Clifford colliery in Forest City, tes-
titled that twenty-nine hundred weight |
or 3,24S pounds are required for a ton |
at this colliery. The company never
allowed him to weigh the empty car, |
but his estimate was that there is diff |
ference of 1000 pounds In the weight
of different cars, but all are rated at
2, 300 pounds. The average at one shaft, |
he said, was 4,421 tons out of 5S,O79 tons
or nine and one-half per cent, and at
another, the average was l53s tons ont
of 34,12S tons or four and one-half per
cent.
Stephen Mcdonald, a Sunday news |