The Forrest City times. [volume] (Forrest City, Ark.) 1871-1919, 1902-12-19
some PERTINENT FACTS.
Judge Gray Brings Them Out In
Connection With Child Labor
in the Coal Regions.
CASES WHERE IT WAS NOT NECESSARY.
Fathers Eorni pvards of n Thou
sand aud Nine Hundred Dollars
Respectively, Allowed Their Lit
tie Daughters to Work Nights In
Factories.

Scranton. Pa, Dec. 17-When the
coal strike commission met Tuesday
Chairman Gray opened the proceed
ings by saying that the commission
ers were impressed with the spectacle
of the little girls who were before the
commission Monday and testified that
they worked all night. He said the
people of the community and citizens
of the commonwealth should not let
| the incident pass without taking some
steps toward having the Pennsylva-
| mia legislature consider making IA law
forbidding employment of children at
night At the suggestion of the COM
mission the statement of the wages
of the fathers of two of the girls were
presented. One earned more than ST.
600 last year and the other over 5000.
The miners sprung another surprise
by presenting an individual operator
| on the witness stand against the op-
orators. He was John c. Haddock.
of Wikesbarre, president of the Ply
mouth Coal Co. Mr.. Haddock, in an
swer to questions put to him by c. S.
Darrow, for the miners. said he had
| been in the coal business years. His
company operates the Black Diamond
and Dodson mines near Wilkesbarre.
He said his company went into the
hands of receivers on March IA, and
in November trustees took hold of
the property. Mr.. Haddock then ex-
| planned that the miners ton, which
runs from 2,700 to 5000 pounds, was
fixed years ago so that the employer
could get out of the ton 2,240 pounds
| of pure coal above the size of pea.
Pea coal and all sizes below that was
waste. This waste is now being util-
! lied. Regarding the prices of coal Mr..
Haddock said the middlemen in New
York are paying $l1 and $12 ton.
Mr.. Gompers occupied the witness
stand throughout the afternoon ses-
sion. He began his testimony by Civ
! labor and followed this with a brief
sketch of the progress of organized
| labor, which he said had been very
great. The hours of labor of the
workman generally throughout the
country. he continued, have been H.
terially reduced.
Chairman Gray, who is taking an es
pecial interest in boycotts, asked Mr.
Gompers what he thought of such
methods.
The witness said he would boycott
any person that is unfair to his work
men, but would not boycott man
who chooses to do business with the
person that is boycotted.
The question of the recognition of
unions was then taken up, and Mr..
| Gompers said that employers made n
mistake when they refused to recog-
nize organized labor. The employer,
he said, has no moral right to refuse
to confer with a committee of his EN-.
ployes.
Mr.. Gompers was then crosse xam-
ined by James Torrey, counsel of the
Delaware Hudson Co. Mr.. Torrey
asked the witness if he did not be-
| lieve that members of the United
Mine Workers of America should be
2l years of age and able to read and
write before they were admitted to
membership in the union.
To this the witness replied: "Yes;
ten years from now, and when the
companies stop bringing illterate
foreigners to this country. They are
brought here by the companies. and
the labor union must protect them
and see that they get their rights"
| Mr. Torrey asked him if he could
prove that the coal companies we're
| guilty of such thing. and the wit
ness replied that he felt certain it
was true, because he had seen copies
| of circulars which have been sent
Ground i'll southern Europe asking
| people to come into Pennsylvania. and
stating that there was plenty of mon
| ey to be earned in the mines.
Mr. Torrey asked him if steamship
companies were not the authors of
| those circulars. to which Mr.. Comp
| ers replied that be had seen ten.
! twenty and thirty men huddIed to-
gether in huts in the anthracite coal
| fields, and he noted that ii was not
| long after they arrived here that
they were given employment in the
mines
He offered to give TO the commits
sion the name of a man who could
| give the facts to the commission. He
| did not care to make his name pub
lie.