The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-09-27
Charged with Securing Philadelphia
for Criminals and Employing
Them as Policemen.
DISORDER STORIES DENIED
ANTHRACITE STRIKERS HAVE NOT,
HE SAYS, RETURNED TO WORK.
Small Riot observation-disclosures
Woman, with n Big Revolver, At
tempts to ROut Soldiers.

PHILADELPHIA, Sept 26.-President
John Mitchell. of the United Mine Work
ers of America. took up at length the
charges of lawlessness on the part of the
miners in a speech at the Third Regiment
Armory tonight under the auspices or
the South Philadelphia Business Mems
League. He made the cOunter-charge that
the operators are guilty of lawlessness in
the employment of professional criminals
as coal and iron policemen. Mr.. Mitchell
came here at the invitation of the league to
assist the meeting. He received about 500
which had been contributed by various or
CARNATIONS for the benefit OF the miners.
Mr.. Mitchell. in his address, said in part:
II have some doubt in my mind whether
the residents of Philadelphia have cause
to feel aggrieved at Mr.. Baer or to feel
grateful to him. 1t is true the trust he
represents is extorting from you fabulous
prices for coal, but as compensating fea-
ture he has taken from Philadelphia the
largest portion of the criminal class that
formerly resided here and now has them
commissioned by the Governor of Penn
sylvania as coal and iron police. Phila-
delphia criminals are now preserving the
law in the coal fields.
but did not come here for the purpose
of discussing that phase of the question.
I came here to tell you something about
the coal strike. 1t is not the miners fault
that the residents OF Philadelphia are pay
ing SIS ton for coal. In this strike the
people have passed judgment. l am will
ing to say that If 80 per cent. of the Amer
lean people would not cast their votes in
favor of the miners If it were left to them,
L would order the strike off now.
Recently the papers, or that small num-
Der of them friendly to the coal trust, have
been printing stories of lawlessness, and
they say the miners want to go back to
work. Let me say to you that for more
than eight weeks the militia of Pennsyl-
vania have surrounded the mines and not
a single striker has returned to work. Yet
1t is true, the people are suffering for the
necessaries of life. 1t is true that their
children are going about barefooted. But
the Pennsylvania coal miners have for
years lived on little and little less is no
uncomfortable hardship.
Some of the papers have printed tabu-
lated statements of the earnings of anthra-
cite workmen. Let me call your attention
to one authority upon the earnings of
miners, and no one Will complain that the
authority is either friendly or fair TO the
miners / am sure-Mr. Baer himself. In a
public statement recently issued he says the
average earnings of men under his company
was $l.S9 day. The largest number of
days the anthracite miners have worked
was 1912, which means that under his COM
pany, and according to his figures the
miners earned the grand total in year of
1868. 1t is sos week. or $1.O1 day
Mr.. Mitchell left late tonight for Pitts
burg, where he will meet w. b. Wilson, of
the Miners Union, for the purpose of trans
acting business connected with the organi-
cation.