New-York tribune., 1903-01-05
MITCHELL And TROUBLE
The T5co Came to the Mines To
gether, John Marble .Says.


Markle & Co, independent coal operators, to
the statement Of the miners was made public
to-day. It will be submitted the Anthracite
Strike Commission. which reassennbles in this
city Tomorrow. It was written by John DIarke,
managing partner OF the firm, and says:
The. present firm was formed December g.
@ @ for the pnrpose OF mining ftor eoa sb uph Don ns i
iary /, 1850 ana from the the Highland Coal company
are situated at or near Jeddo, and the hrm oper-
land, No 2, and Highland. No 5. The flrm employs
npogI al h @ e of aa many % about tTI tWo niles d
tant; and Hazleon, about seven miles distant rom
proTements upon the property. including breakers.
stores. shops and tenement houses; ,,,+t tho
From the time of my first connection with the
dent physician and assistant physicians upon the,
property, until recently with the exception Of a
Short interval The firm. selected the. head ply
75 cents month for the married men and ~ cents
the amount collected was paid over to the phys
ician without charge or deduction therefor. ms us
In the early part Of 1898 my wife employed at her
own expense e trained nurse 10 look after the slcA
and later. when this nurse retired, another nurse
pace who introduced the system of district nursing
in the borough Of Jeddo and in the neighborng VII
Stores for the sale of general merchandise and Of of
npog the pr5pery and have Been and are an
commodation TO the men and their families. Ihe
By the terms Of the coal leases G. b Markle &
Co required to pay d al bv f4S the co o9
constitute the largest portion OF the taxes coecteo
in the county
Continuing, Mr.. Marke says that sliding
scale for the pay Of the miners was agreed on
in 1875 and from that time was generally IN
force in the Lehigh region In September. 1897,
a committee OF miners presented certain de-
rnands 10 the firm. An agreement was then in
existence between the company and the men to
settle differences by arbitration. The company
replied TO the demands and received no further
communication from the miners. Work in the
mines continued without interruption until the
latter part of 1900, when John Mitchell made
his headquarters at Hazeton and endeavored
to organize the Markle employees
In September, 1900. another list of grievances
was furnished TO the firm. the companys an
swer to which ended by saying that II the men
were not satisfied with the reply the officials
would arbitrate. The next communication from
the men demanded arbitration, but the commit
tee selected by the employees reported that the
latter broke their agreement with the company
by striking before their grievances were sub
rnitted to arbitration On October p, 1900 a
committee Of the men appealed TO the firm for
an adjustment of the differences. This was ac-
complished. and on October % work was re-
surned at the mines.
Taking up the specific complaints of the men
in the last strike. the answer says:
Between 1900 and 1902 many requests were made
af taken up and considered and acted upon: but
neither individually nor collectively, orally or IN
writing did the make any complaint in refer
ence to the method of collecting the dues for the
TO sny defect in respect to ventilation. unfair
treatment at the store: nor as 10 the size OF the
until April 1902; and We had every reason e be-
fed with he
In the course Of the hearings at Scranton com
reality the size has not been changed, as will be
proved by the testimony OF the pullders: VINO VIII
was excessive but the accountant will testify thet
IT g Ess ts fs tba fa4 full PSF D per cent Tance was not
given. The manner in which the advance was
and it win be shown by the expert accountant that
II vas correctly calculated
Referring to the appointment of the commits
sion and the eviction of some Of the company s
miners Mr.. 9Iarkle says:
As we had not been parties to the correspondence
was appointed and the strike declared off, We were
without a distinct understanding that they would
abide by the award TO be made by the commission:
TO secure employment should call at the office and
fbey held when this notice was posted we were
informed that some Of the men objected, upon the
B9 Bodv and The runor was started to the effect that
they would be required 70 sn AMI an Man az M
r1o+ices vera torn down pickets were stationed in
the neigh borhood OF the office and along the INES
Of the road to prevent the men from coing to the
Office where they might have learned the truth anu
ARRANGED for a resumption OF work
Meanwhile I had been informed that the same
men who had been making trouble during the strike
were taking q leading part IN intlrn1oatlng am
threatening any one coming TO the once ana Re- Re-
turning to work under the conditions speclned On
the morning Of Monday. October q. 1902 ordered
notice 70 give I'D possession Of the houses to pc
preventing the men from resuming work No at at
ternpt was made to collect the arrears OF rent
which had accrued during the strike. ana the
norice to quit having been served on l'cIoper -.
Judgment in ejectment was en1ereq on NoveInUer D
and the parties evicted November o. 1867
The earnings Of the evicted men for 1901, ae-
cording to the statement, varied from $3.50 to
$1,000
The answer further states that the father OF
the boy Chippie was killed as a result of his
own negligence. He was not indebted to the
firm at the time of his death. His earnings,
from February to July. inclusive, amounted TO
$3.50 Mrs Chippie paid nothing on account OF
rent or coal. Henry Coll, one of the evfcted men,
had always received good wages, Mr.. Markle
saws. The answer asserts Mrs. Coll did not ole
in consequence Of the eviction, as she lived until
December.
Attached to the answer are several exhibits.
one Of which is a statement showing the earn
ings Of certain contract miners during eleven
and one-half months, including eleven of the
highest earners and five OF the lowest. The
highest received 1000 and the lowest S40O.
BASEBALL.