The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1903-01-09
STIR AT STRIKE HEARING


| CONTINUED from First Page.)
Shenandoah before the big riot there
and added there had been no disturb
ance until the caol and iron police were
sent to the place
, Chairman Gray then asked
80 you wait for conviction by the
civil authorities before dlsciplining
your men. Do you think you can have
effective discipline unless you make in
vestigations yourself and bring the
men up and punish them in some way?
l ask you as a member Of the order
and as a man who would be glad to
see your order come up out of the mire
and the clouds that are around the
baser part of it into the sunlight and
into the air Of free government and a
free country"
IF it is proven that our men have
committed acts of violence there is no
question about our disciplining them, 4"
replied the witness.
There followed discussion over the
Shenandoah riot and the killing of q
man and in reply to Mr.. Mtchell's re-
mark that it was not the miners who
did it, Chairman Gray said:
But there was a crowd and as yet
l have heard no evidence of a disci-
plining voice in that mob No man
there said: Shame on the cowards.'
Mr.. DarroW-'YOu must not expect
. the railroad company to furnish that"
The witness said the union would
prove that union men tried to prevent
the riot, to which Judge Gray replied
he hoped so.
There was further discussion on
this subject and then MI Mitchell rose
and said to Chairman Gray:
Il do not know whether | quite I'M
derstand you in expressing yourself to
the witness as to your solcitude for
the organization that it should arise
above the mire or that part Of it
should rise above the mire"
Chairman Gray-"Perhaps | may
have been misunderstood. 1t was not
an unfriendly wish that was expressed.
| said l hoped 1t would lift itself out of
the mire and out of the conditions Gre
ated by these things which have been
testified to, around its baser parts"
Mr.. Mitchell in reply said that while
the commission Is going to determine
all the questions that are being present.
ed here, there is a greater jury passing
on the attitude Of the strikers "As to
the action of your organization and the
said there is n doubt in my mind
that many of the witnesses are brought
here and do not come as witnesses Or
dinarily do. to tetify against the strik-
ers and indirectly against the United
Mine Workers. 1t does seem TO me, I'M
til there Is some connection shown be-
tween the United Mine Workers of.
America and acts of lawlessness, the
organization should not be placed under
any indictment at ALL
Chairman Gray said that he did not
wish Mr. Mitchell to understand that
anything he said indicted the organiza-
ton.
Il did hope" continued the commits
si0ner, that it would disentangle itself
entirely from those scenes of violence
and lawlessness With which the st rike
was attended. They may have been
exaggerated, as you contend. | am not
passing upon that now. We have
heard isolated instances of outrage
which we must all admit. We are not
saying that the organization is respon-
sible for every act of violence, and we
only wanted to see whether the organ
ization has interested itself in main
tanning the order which you have ad-
vised, and whether it has disciplined
those who actually were convicted Of
disorder"
Mr.. Mitchell said he did not know
that any member Of the union had been
expelled, and added thai until more are
convicted of violat ion of law the organ
ization had no right to eXpel them and
thus prejudice their tas4 before the
tribal court.
Chairman Gray said that Mr. Mitch
ellis point was we'll taken 50 far as it
concerns those under indi, tment but
what he wanted to know was whether
any of those men were ever called up
who had been VIGOROUSLY engaged in
illegal acts, and whether they were
subjected to discipline by the organza-
ton.
This ended the incident
Witness Ginley further testified that
witnesses were aVerse to coming before
the commission because they were
afraid of losing their p stions. He told
of one instance where man was re-
fused work because he appeared before
the arhitrators, and the commission
made a note of it and said an investiga-
ton would be made. The witness, in
reply to Commissioner Wright, said
that many of the coal and iron police
were of bad character Some had
served time in Jail and were hired as
guards as soon as they were liberated