The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-11-15

'It is the duty of the municipalities to provide centers which may be used for the gathering places of the people in their organizations.
 ITO the task of labor temple building. organized labor may well direct itself. Such movement would give organized labor a dignity not yet achieved in our American life"
  party which went down into the St. Paul mine yesterday.
 At the coroner's inquest. which began today. Cowley who is engineer of the main shaft. testified that he declined to accede to the demand of persons stand ing at the top of his shaft that he at once lift the cage containing the rescuers. The reason he declined he stated, was because he had been told by the third vein boss, Alexander Nosberg, to move the cage only in aswer to the regular bell code. When. tlte reSeuiuy party had reached tine bottom of the shaft some time without getting in communication with the engineers by the usual means, Martin Powers, Dr. Howe and Herbert Lewis. the latter brother of one of the rescue party, rushed to Cowley, the engineer testified, and demanded that the cage be raised immediately.
 Cowley refused, acting under orders from Nosberg, the witness told the coro- ner's jury. For the space of time which Cowley declares to have been perhaps 10 minutes, he could not listen to the frantic appeals, but finally he referred the matter to John Quinby of the top cage Quinby hesitated, and when Ma chnist John Chadester entered Cowley asked Chadester what should be done
 "Go ahead and raise it. answered Cha dester. according to Cowleys testimony, nobody is alive down there"
 Cage Is Brought Up.
 Cowley then brought the cage to the top, but everyone of the men in the res cue party was either dead or dying when he reached the top.
 Cowley defended himself on the stand by saying he had received Nosbergs order to await the bell signal before moving the cage. and that the three men who demanded that the cage be raised had no authority to tell him what to do.
 According to Cowley he feared in rais- ing the cage he would risk injuring some of the men below, and that he might leave them without means of escape should he lift the cage while they were not in it.
 Cowley declared that after the final cage with men in it had been raised the cage was let down and raised five or six times This was done in the hope that some of the miners might reach the shaft He testified he lowered and raised the cage slowly every time.
 One of the jurors asked why Cowley could not have raised the cage slowly when Powers, Howe and Lewis appealed.
 Nosberg's orders again were given as an excuse.
 Bell Signals Mixed.
 Previous to the final raising of the cage bearing the rescue party Cowley said the bell signals had been unusual and discencerting He received one sig nal of three bells to hoist away which was followed almost immediately by a four-bell signal meaning hoist slowly At height of eight or nine feet the cage was stopped at one bell signal and started up at another. Then came a six-bel signal, reverse the fan,' and then two bells. '1ower.'
 Cowley lowered the cage in answer to the signal, the last ever sent from the doomed members of the rescue party
 The jury adjourned as Cowley John Raisbeck, engineer in the air shaft, and several relatives of the dead rescuing party had testified.
 The jurymen will meet again tomorrow and more testimony concerning Cowley's refusal to lift the cage will be heard.
 The inquest is being conducted by Dr. A. H. Malm of Princeton, the coroner; and by L. M Eckert of Princeton, the Bureau county states attorney. The jurors were Peter Dolphin, marshal; Tim othy Mcdonald. farmer: J. c. Thompson, lumber merchant; John Stonstum, barber; Joseph Neidelcher, stock buyer, and w. l. Kendall, deputy coroner.
 Rescued Mans Story.
 William Vickers, who was at work at the face of the coal mine. was one of the. few who came out alive.
 'T and my buddy (partner) were at work on the second vein level when the alarm of fire was sounded" said vickers. We started for the bottom but had gone but a few feet when our lights went out. The entry was fast filling with smoke which filled our eyes and made us gasp for breath.
 Several times we attempted to light our lamps without success. All about us we could hear shouts of our comrades in ad- joining rooms, who, like ourselves had been left in the dark. Calling to my buddy, I wanted him to get close to the roadbed and I myself dropped to my hands and knees and began to crawl along the rails. shouting at intervals to my buddy to let him know where I was.
 At one point we passed about 65 miners sitting by the roadside almost in a stupor. tried to arouse them and encovraas