Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1913-06-18
final DAY IN
COAL STRIKE
HEARING
SENATE COMMITTEE PROBING WEST
VIRGINIA SITUATION RETURNS TO
WASHINGTON TONIGHT AND WILL
PREPARE REPORT.
SENATOR MARITIME
IS SILENT TODAY

Charleston, W. Va, June 1S--The
/, senate committee investigating the
!, West Virginia coal strike today rushed
along the examination of witnesses in
order to hear as many as possible
before leaving for Washington tonight
The coal operators had on hand
score or more of witnesses whose tes-
timony was brief The attitude of
Senator MARITIME of New Jersey, who
Yesterday clashed with Quinn Morton,
one of the operators on Paint Creek,
and attorneys for the operators. be-
came a matter of contention today
The operators declare that Senator
MARITIME had been unfair in his ex.
animation of witnesses and was pre-
JUDGED in his attitude toward the
operators. They said that when the
committee reaches Washington they
will put into the record evidence of
oral and written statements by Sena-
ltor MARITIME to show that he has "pre-
Ijudiced the case" The other men,
bers of the committee will take up
this question among themselves and
will probably place it before the full
senate committe on education and la
Dor. A statement purporting to come
from Senator MARITIME and reproduced
in fac-simile of his handwriting by a
newspaper circulating throughout the
state today aroused considerable dis
cussion. The statement set forth that
Senator Ma, tine "would rather sweep
the streets than earn his money as the
West Virginia coal operators do"
Attorneys for the operators declared
that they would place this statement
with others made by the senator in
the record.
Today Senator Martine took little
part in the proceedings.
Although he sat at the committee
table throughout the hearings he
asked no questions. under an agree
ment reached after Yesterdays out
break, that Senator Kenyon was to
take sole charge of the examination Of
witnesses.
John A. Greene. superintendent of
he Mucklow mine of the Paint Creek
Iolliery company, when the strike
broke out, was the first witness. He
Paint Creek until men at work had
)een interfered with by the strikers.
When these guards arrived, they were
lot armed, but after so or rs strikers,
'arrying guns, had made a demonstra-
ion, he said the guards were increas-
d and armed.
He declared that the conduct of the
uards was not the cause of the var
GUS outbreaks of violence.
Walter Belk, who served on Paint
'reek as guard and who was for
ime in charge of the guards, defend
d their conduct. He described the
rst battle of Mucklow, May 20, 1912,
hen the town was attacked from the
ills. The firing, he said, continued
1r about half an hour and after it
eased, he searched the hills and
ound places carefully prepared for
le shooting. He said men had evil
emily been in these places for hours
efore they began firing.
Belk described another battle in the
ills when the guards killed one min
r and wounded another He denied
le story told to the committee by
RS. S. E. Villa that she had been
rutally attacked by mine guards.
enator Kenyon examined him at
myth as to the general plan OF the
guard system and the
'neral conduct of guards in the
-rike. Attorney Becher caused
ir in the committee room when he
ked Belk: Isn't it true that fifteen
twenty armed men connected with
'ur agency, have been in this room
roughout this investigation?
Il couldn't say as to that answered
,lk
Don't you know that your men
We been hired to shadow men con-
cted with the investigation.
Il could not say as to that, because
at is not my line of work"
This precipitated an argument be-
cen counsel, in which Attorney
light denied vigorously that detec-
es had been hired by the operators
shadow men connected with the