The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1903-02-18
The Al-Day argument Of Attorney
GIaFanes DaTag.
ELOQUENT, STRIKING ARGUMENT
in Behalf of the Miners and a
Seatning Denunciation
Drtha Conduct Of the Operators, John
Markle in Particular.

after being in public session for more
than three months, closed its open
hearings today with an all-day argu-
ment by Clarence S. Darrow In be-
s half of the miners. The commission
will meet in secret in Washington
nsSt Thursday and begin the consider
alton os It's awards &c is expected
that by the end of this month the ar
bitrators viii be ready to make their
announcement. Il an increase IN
wages is determined upon, the in
crease is to date from the 1st Of last
November, the commission having de-
cided upon that date on October 81.
After. the session today the commls-
sion held short conference with the
faESers FOR the several sides and
asked them to-. hold themselves IN
readiness in case they are called upon
BY the commission
The crowd which heard Mr.. Darrow
speak today was fully as great as that
which listened to Mr.. Baer and Mr..
Darrow yesterday. He took up the
entire time OF both sessions-hve and
one-half hours. He touched npon al
most every phase of the strike and
when ne closed he was greeted with
Tong applause, which Chairman Gray
could not suppress. President Mitch
eli was in Court all day, but did not
have anything to say TO the connHis-
sion in parting.
Mr.. DarroW.frst discussed the cause
Of the strike. The responsibility for
Ehe coal famine, he said, rested with
those who were responsible for the
strike. If the men struck without
Just reason then they we're response
BILE; but if the men were right and
The operators not broad-minded
enough to see the justness of their
claims, then the latter we're response
BE for the trouble. He believed the
strike,was due to the blind, auto
cratic, stupid spirit of the operators.
They believed the issue was s@ho
should be the master-the operators
or the men,. / say neither should ~be
the master of the other.''
Taking up Mr.. Baer's sliding scale
PROPOSE tion made yesterday, Mr. Oar
row said if Mr.. Baer believed he made
2 nice, fair proposition. he proposed
10 show that it was not. With the
assistance of the miners expert
statistieian, .Mr. Darrow said the |
per cent. raise on five cents suggested
BY Mr.. Baer would give the operators
an Increase of 3115 per cent in profits
and the miners only 1112 per cent. on
the $3.50 basis. Mr.. Darrow's re-
marks on the proposition plainly indi-
Gated that the miners fatty rejected
the proposition.
Mr.. Darrow asserted that the
miners resogted to every means To
avert strike. EYerF appeal and
every paper Of the mem he.said, was
eontem ptuously rejected by 5he oprea-
tors. They, forced the strike that
they migt demonstrate to the men
and to the generations to come THAI
the owners of capitakare the, masters
of the workmen.
The people do not believe in such
an absolute ownership OF the riches Of
the earth as that which the anthracite
coal combination possess. The time
will come when the operators combi-
nation will be destroyed, not by the
miners union, but by. the people, who
will take possession of the riches
under the ground and relieve them
selves of the tyranny of these men" !"
Mr.. Darrow then laucnhed into
defence Of the men who committed
crime under passion anu said the con-
duct of the men was due to their con-
dition and environments.
Mr.. Darrow said the fact that the
operators called the men criminals,
cutthroats and assassins'' was enough
to exasperate them, and Chairman
Gray interrupted to say that the
commission does not believe the mine
workers are criminals, cutthroats and
assassins."
Mr.. Darrow said it was a wonder
If the operators had insolentiy aEd
cruelty rejected the requests Of tie
men that there was not more violence
among this population which was re-
duced to condi5ien bordering on
starvation. de paid q tribute t. the
foreigners IN the coal regions, whom
ne said were warm -hearte, emotional,
sympathetic, religious people
Mr.. DarroW then took up thehthlr-
teen victims on, the Markle property
and with language which was extreme
ly strong be pictured the eviction OF a
sick wife and of 4 blind woman, 100
years Ola. lou may IOI4 SOSelHei ai
the cruelty and violence commi tied IN
the anthracite region, he exclaimed,
.sand you cannot equal the 'fendish
cruelty of John Markle when be turr-
ed these helpless people into the streets
TO satisfy his hellish nate. y
Brig Gen. Goblin, who commanded
one brigade of the State troops in toe
field during the strike, came in for
seyere criticism from the miners coul-
sci. He read various reports made to
Gen. Goblin by his regimental COM
manders and severely condemned the
Generals now famous Shoot to klll''
order.
He then spoke of the non-union
men, whom he termed ''scabs, - al
though, he remarked, he did not like
the word, but used it because 1t is
commonly used. These men, he said,
have always been hated. Sometimes
they are good Hen; often they act
from necessity, but they are, traitors
to their class. They are men, he con
tiuued, vino are used by the capi ta!ists
&e ,1I ocpi irntionc