The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1902-11-20

Mr.. Burns. IL seems to me d little
vague In that respect.
The Chairman: or course, II 1t Is vague
1t will be unfortunate, and we will have
to make the best we can of IT, but ths
| submission. as we understand it, and we
have considered that matter very care
| fully. is contained In the letter OF the
operators, on the one side, to the presi
| dent or to the public, and the acceptance
of the mine workers. on the other. That
Is the submission, and that. as we under
| stand. defines our authority, and also
defines, as we consider, somewhat, the
obligations of the two sides. / fnd IN
the letter of the opera tors at the close
Of IT, after consenting that commits.
| sion be appointed by the president OF the
United States II he is willing to perform
| that public service. to- whom shall be
| referred all questions at issue between
| the respective companies and their owr
employees. whether thy belong to a union
or not. and the decision of that commits
sion shall be accepted by us, the com.
mission to be constituted as follows-ther
comes the following: "That Immediately
| upon the constitution of such commission
In order that idleness and non production
may cease instantly. the miners will re-
turn to work and cease all interference
with or persecution OF any non-unior
men who are working or who shall here.
/
upon which the operators offered a sub.
| mission. which was afterward accepted
| that the miners shall instantly return Ia
| work, necessarily implies that they shall
have work to which they can return.
The Witness: That is the position we
take in the matter absolutely. Mr.. Burns
| We take the position that so far we have
been denied the right to return to work
Mr.. Burns: That applies to the opera
| tors who signed that letter, but our peo-
| pie. whom I represent. were not parties.
The Chairman: If they are here. why
they become practically parties to this
agreement. A bill in equity. you know,
| may be filed on behalf of the immediate
parties and all of those who shall there
| after come in and make themselves par
| ties.
Mr.. Burns: The section that you honor
| just read provides as to what shall be
done Immediately. and is evidently for a
temporary purpose: that Is. that they
| shall return to work. but that. it seems
| to me, does not furnish u permanent
rule. 1t is very important for us to un-
derstand az to whether we are to be al
| lowed to employ non-union men, and to
| retain those we have.
Finding Of Commi ssion.
will be involved in the finding of the
commission, take 1t. I think the under
standing. so far as the commission can
| interpret 1t, Is that pending the hea airing
pending the consideration Of the questions
by this commisson-that the strikers
should return Immediately to work: and
| I think it is the further Understandings
| do not let us be misunderstood-had by the
| commission. is that non-unlon men
should not be interfered with nor dis
placed from employment generally by the
return of the striking miners.
Mr.. Burns: And that the commission
will take all these things into considera-
| tion in their final findings in regard to it..
The Chairman: Well I think we will
have 10.
BY Mr.. Burns: Q. One more question,
Mr. Mitchell. Perhaps it does not bear
very heavily upon this. understand the
Eleventh Commandment is. "Thou shalt
| not take thy neishbor's job Does that
rule apply outside of the union, or does
| 1t only apply as to union people, and
! between union people? For instance, dur
ing the strike, a considerable number of
your men went up in the country and
worked on farms. evidently supplying la
Dor there that might have been done by
the farm laborers themselves, and at a
reduced price; for instance. they worked
for fifty cents day and. their board.
Would you consider that as taking an
other mans job?
a. do not understand that the strikers
took other mems jobs. There is always.
in the summertime, temporary labor to
perform on farms. and our people dis
placed no one, and did not take a job
that had formerly been held by onyone.
Q. Perhaps you sare not as well in
formed about farming as I am, because
have been there: but a farm laborers
opportunity for work is only in the sum-
mer. and some of them only for the
haying and harvesting. as We call It.
Now, If your men Went there and took
those jobs at the commencement of hay
ing, they necessarily took the work away
from those men who had been accus-
toned to do that amount Of labor there.
! was only asking you If you considered
that as taking another mans job.
a. l cannot say that it was taking an
other mans job unless it was a position
formerly held by some other man.
Necessary Consequence.
Q. Then perhaps as necessary conse-
quence of that, some farmers boys came
down to work in the valley, and one of
them. at least, I rember now, went to
work at washery at Mayfleld. A few
days afterward he was filled full of
buck-shot and made a cripple for life.
DO you consider that as taking one Of
Your jobs? Was he coming down to take
job that belonged to you? He worked
in washery, where none of your men
We're employed before: certainly where
none OF Your men We're ready to take EN-
plOyment.
A. Well, 1 think it is rather an abstract
proposition all the way through, and I
should simply say this.as / said before
that when strike ends, the conditions
OF employment are ipulated-are speci-
fed. In this termination, we were to re-
turn to work. The operators made the
condition themselves that we Immediately
rAt tI11n tn 'I,n of