New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-08-03
ROOSEVELT SEES
MINERS FIRST HAND
Puts In a Busy Day in the
Hard Coal Region of
Pennsylvania.
ALL HAIL HIM AS TEDDY"
Some Think It a Joke When He
Tells Them Who He Is-Had
Planned Trip for
Long Time.
[Ry Telegraph 70 The Tribune. I

by Telegraph 20 The Tribune
Scranton, Penn. Aug. ITO study w.
ing conditions among miners and mill
operatives, more particularly the phases
or their social life, ex-President Theo-
I dore Roosevelt made a whirlwind auto
mobile trip through the anthracite
regions and the mill districts hereabouts
to-day He was a dinner guest to-
night at the home of Bishop Hoban.
where ne met group Of Catholic clergy
men. John Mitchell. the labor leader:
officials and prominent business and pro-
fessional men of this city. He ended a
Strenuous day at the home Of Father
Curran. at Wilkes Barre
The ex-President has long had il in
mind to get a first hand knowledge OF
conditions among the workers IN the
coal fields and the mills He succeeded
to-day. and found il both interesting and
instructive He visited coal breakers
and silk mills. He shook hands with
miners until he was as grimy as they
He entered their homes, and talked with
their wives and daughters about the
mixture of work and play in human life
The play element in theirs ne found
largely wanting, owing chiefly to lack Of
opportunity for development and facility
for amusement He held receptions.
formal and informal. He refused an in
vitation of the Scranton Board of Trade
to make a speech at their coming fair.
He had to labor sometimes TO convince
skeptical miners that he really was the
former President Once convinced that
1t was no joke. the miners took him to
themselves joyousIy.
Wanted Trip Secret.
Mr.. Roosevelt started cut with the idea
of having the trip as secret as possible.
Yet his automobile hardly came TO a
stop before the doors of the Hotel Jer-
myn here this morning when there was
a throng of hundreds around il, with
other hundreds on the run for blocks TO
get a sight of him. They cheered him.
fought to touch his hand. his coat, and
even the hands of his travelling COM
panions. 1t was Hey, you. Teddy
and Give US your fist, Teddy" So il
went all the day, wherever he showed
himself. The suspicion in the minds OF
miners. farmers and mill hands that a
joke was being played on them once dis
PEELED. he was received with famii1-
arity and air of equality that pleased
him immensely
Teddy and John Mitchell have been
the idols of the coal regions since the
settlement of the coal strike. When il
was learned that both of them were in
town tonight, miners in their working
clothes. scattering coal at every step.
came by tWOs and threes into the city.
eager for a glance at the two big men,
Leaders among them said it would have
required no effort to have had half the
miners in the Lackawanna Valley here
tonight, with torches and brass bands
Talks with John Mitchell about condl-
tions here and information gained from
research work conducted in the mills by
Miss Florence Lucas Sanville. executive
secretary of the Consumers League OF
Philadelphia. and Miss Fannie Crosby.
director of that body. determined Mr..
Roosevelt TO make the trip to-day Ac-
companied by the women and Lawrence
Abbott. son of DR.. Lyman Abbott. he
left New York in an automobile yester-
udE dIlcI HULL III ReAA >
river to Weehavken to avoid pursuit and
then ran through New Jersey and Penn
svIvania to the Delaware Water Gap.
where they spent the night at one of the
summer hotels
Lost Their Way.
incidentally. they lost their way at
crossroads. and the ex-President got out
to reconnoitre He found a genial old
countryman who directed him Then
Mr.. Roosevelt introduced himself. i
am Mr.. Roosevelt. the ex-President." be
said. TN very much obliged 10 you for
setting us right"
Mr. Roosevelt - ex-President.' the
farmer gasped Well I swan" he
calculated in abject establishment Mr..
Roosevelt left him open-mouthed-
There was much excitement among
the guests of the summer Hotel when the
Roosevelt party reached I Q Water Cap
unannounced. and before MIR. Roosevelt
could get To his room. he had To shake
hands all around Though he left there
early this morning. he found all the
guests and others from other hotels lined
up ItdtiN -ipI num- anu III iiSs4 W
the handshaking performance When he
had lodged the crowd which surrounded
his automobile when he reached this
city. he found that its component atoms
had patience. They watched him from
the street as he sat al a window of his
room: they jammed the lobby until IL
looked like a Saratoga hotel on a con-
vention day and they stayed there. de-
spite policemen and dishevelIed hotel
clerks. until his party left the place.
Then. and only then. with shouts OF "Oh.
you. Teddy did the thronS dissolve
Mr. Roosevelt's party took the state
road from Scranton 10 Binghamton.
which winds along the base of Green
Ridge Mountain Between this noun
tain and Moosic stretching roughly.
from Scranton To Wilkes Barre lies the
Valley. the L.ackawanna
River now a mere trifie Of muddy water.
threading il. Down the valley are
stretches of farm land and pastures. but
the timber along the TANKS of Green
Ridge and Moosic seem dwarfed and
Over ALL dominating every
thing in sight. are coal breakers. mine
shafts. culm heaps. rusty railroad sid
lrgs and switches and the mills
Gets Out and Walks.