The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-02-13
REPLY TO Mr.. BAER
Mr.. barrow Opened the Argument
for the Miners at Philadel-
phia Yesterday.
The Recognition of the Union and
the Question of Conditions
Child Labor.

Philadelphia. Feb. 13-Nfr barrow, in
opening his argument for the miners yes
terday, made n complimentary reference
10 The patience Of the commission, re-
viewed the strike and all the sufferings
II entailed, and said:
I shall apologize for none of the mis-
takes of the men, but I do say it does
not come from their accusers to call them
criminals"
He went on to tell Of the operators
REFUSAL to give the men higher wages,
and said: LAS consequence of this act,
$4,000 men laid down their tools of trade
and we have seen 100000 men, women
and children reduced to want and starva
ton for six long months. We have seen
the president of the United States ap-
point this commission to settle this diff
ficulty. and then. this afternoon, in the
last hour of this proceeding, the man
moro responsible than any other comes
before this commission and says we will
do exactly that which these men demanded
nine months before and which they. in
their blindness, their ignorance and their
stupidity. refused. Why did not Mr. Baer
so to John Mitchell nine months ago, as
he came to this commission to-day?
The Question of the Union.
You can do just as you please about
recognizing the union. If you do not rec
ogniZe it, it is because you are blind and
more; that is all 1t is here to stay and
the burden is upon you and not upon us.
There is neither the power nor the dispo-
stion In this court, l take 1t. to destroy
the union. And if these agents of the AL
mighty cannot see the union, they had
better blunder along still few more years
and possibly after a while they will know
1t is here and recognize 1t themselves.
Passing to the wage statements handed
to the commission. Darrow said the oper-
ators had been deceived by their own ac
countants, and that when Baer Informed
the senators of this state the president
of the United States and the commission
of how much wages his men were getting,
he gave them information at least 80 or
40 or so per cent beyond any facts that
really existed.
IF, at the end of all this time and
labor, he is willing to give US or 10 per
cent upon figures that he says correctly
represent our earnings Mr.. barrow said,
we will be glad indeed to take it. From
the beginning of this strike until the end,
whatever you may say about whether the
miners knew what they were getting or
not the operators have never given out
a correct figure made statement that
could stand the light Of day for single
moment when they talked to the public.
In this l do not mean to make any
general onslaught upon the figures as
they have been finally brought before this
general charge against the figures of real
living. flesh and blood men that this COM
mission compelled them to give. 1t is not
the real men | am quarreling with; it is
the composite man. the imaginary man,
all of these matters that have been used
by the expert accountants of these gen
uemen in order to deceive somebody.
He then spoke Of The skill required by
the anthracite miner and the dangerous
ness of the occupation. lie brought in re-
. view the crippled and blind miners who
took the witness stand and, called the
commissions attention to the fact tina t
six out Of every 1000 arc killed in the
mines each year. "s=nzz
Five hundred dollars "a year is big
price for taking YOU life and Your limbs
in your hand and going down into the
earth to dig up coal to. make somebody
else rich he said. Il have had a com
putation made covering every company
that has fled schedules with this com
mission. and in Mr. Baer's company only
about third of them got over $500 in the
year 1901 RI -
Only "A per cent Of all of the Read
ing's skilled workmen,' he said, get $500
r. year: per cent get between $500 and