The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-12-12
THE MOVE A SURPRISE
Companies Not Prepared for
 Darr0w'S Coup.
L. N. Crawford Declines to Say What His Company is Being Paid for Anthracite-Miners May
 Finish Saturday.

Scranton. Pa., Dec. u.-Representatives of the miners before the strike commis- sion today called L. N. Crawford. one of the independent operators. to the wit ness stand to tell the exact price he re- ceived for his coal Crawford, who Is President of the Peoples Coal Company, refused. giving instead an average price.
 The request for Crawford to take the stand was a surprise. The Oxford col fiery during the strike, managed to get enough men to operate the plant and for one month. according to Crawford, his company received s2o ton for it's coal.
 Objection was raised by the operator s lawyers. and the commission said that the exceptionally high price of coal dur ing the strike was not pertinent to the present inquiry.
 The miners announced that they ex- pected to close their case Saturday, and thus gave notice to the oth,% e:ide to be ready to proceed with the~<eestimony. The companies attorneys a..nounced that they may have to ask for a short recess In order to properly prepare their case.
 Judge Gray said he hoped there would be no Interruption in the proceedings and that the companies will be able to pro- ceed as soon as the miners have con- cIuded their case.
 From the large number of witnesses yet to be called by the miners. it is not likely they will finish Saturday.
 Nearly the entire day was taken up in hearing witnesses who had some spe~ cifc complaint to make, among other things the price paid per mine car and the size of the cars.
 As soon as the afternoon session began. Mir. Darrow with the permission of the commission. requested Mir. Crawford, who was on the stand. to produce before the commission the last bill of sale he had in his possession. MT. Crawford did not think 1t necessar to bring the bill before the commission.
 Two witnesses employed by the Dela- ware, Lackawanna and Western Com pany were then called and each testified that before the strike of 1900 the men. when they worked, received A cents a car and that the strike was ended by the company agreeing to give the men an increase in wages of 10 jer cent. 1-2 in cash and the other 12 per cent to be considered in the reduction of the price of powder. Instead of receiving the in rFFdSe they HOW kct CCub6 & CdA ieHSp VT 9l cents They did not know why 1t was reduced.
 In cross examination the company pro duced figures which showed that one of the witnesses earned an average of &25 day for seventeen days worked in No vember. The witness said he went into the mines twenty-five days during the month One of the same witnesses hand ed in q statement whichIwas given him some time ago by a mine superintendent. showing that there were seven sizes of mlne cars at the colliery. where he work ed. The witness said the same wages are paid for filling all of them.
 Patrick O'Boyle a miner, gave the his- tory of the increase in the size Of the miners ton from 2.240 pounds to s.136. He said twenty-five years ago sizes under ppa coal were not used and therefore it was dumped on the refuse pile and the ton raised to 3.l36 in order that the com panies could get out 2,24O pounds of may ketable coal. At present the companies are selling coal three or four sizes under pea and the men are not being paid for it.
 John William Griffith. Superintendent Of Schools at Nanticoke, near Wilkesbarre was called to the stand to show that miners children do not go as high in the school grades as the children of other