The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1917-02-10
RESTORE PEACE IN
LABOR COMMITTEE
Records Of State Labor Depart
ment Ordered Produced at
Hearing at St. Paul.

ST. PAUL, Mimi, Feb. S.-After a
stormy executive session at D. m.
Saturday the labor, committee of the
house in the legislature decided to
pass the pipe of peace.
The result was the first session
without ne'r violence Saturday after
noon since the committee began Jan
so to investigate labor conditions in
Northern Minnesota
Lewis Bauer, mayor of Crosby
Mimi, was the first witness in the
afternoon.
All mining companies on the Guy
; Una range are independent" he said
land not a part of the steel trust
Since 1913 men have worked and
been contented. On Aug. last we
heard u strike would be called the
next day. I went to miners meet
ing and they were going to fight the
and told them l would see the mining
captains. The latter told me they
would have nothing to do with the
I. w. W., but would consider prop
osition from real laboring men.
Miners DcmanuS.
THE men wanted So Il day to work
in dry places, $3.50 in wet places and
an eight-hour day. The mine owners
said they did not object to organiza :
tons like the American Federation OF
Labor Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, an I.
W. w. leader, advocated a boycott OF
business men not in favor of q,
strike"
Walter jacobson, store clerk at
Crosby and member of the l. w. w..
said no threats were made by the l.
w. w. during the strike, but .ome
We're made by the other side.
G. M. Atkinson, Hibbing editor, said
it was wrong to have mine guards
who are deputy sheriffs.
1.-THE miners respect regularly con-
stituted officers of law" he said, but
not the mine guards who overstep
their authority. I know many 7. w.
w. members and I have always
known them, as we'll as other miners,
to be good citizens.
II do not think it right to send a
man to Jail for 80 days without the
option of fine, such as was done in
Duluth, for splitting on the sidewalk,
just because he was an 7. w. w.
Conditions Improved.
"There is not so much dissatisfac-
ton now as there was before the
strike. Conditions are better. The I.
w. w. have been misrepresented.
They are not the wicked class of peo-
pie they are reported to be.
II think the mining companies
would oppose any attempt to organize
the men working for them into d
union, no matter who did the organ
ling"
G. A. Anderson, mine superintend-
ent, Crosby, told how miners were
taken to work in automobiles during
the strike in order to get past picket
lines.
P. J. Long, mayor of 1ronton, said
most of the miners were satisfied
with conditions when the strike was
called.
"There was a parade in our town, y
he said, land l noticed few miners
from Ironton marching. I asked the
strangers there if they wanted me to
! go to the mine captains and get them
work, but they didn't seem to care
! much about it. A vote was taken on
! striking and about IS wanted to
strike and about 500 wanted to work.
It cost Ironton about $4,000 to sup
! press the troubles
Take Red Flag.
! Carl Thiel, Hibbing photographer
! told about a parade last June II In
Hibbing of about 700 miners.
1.-TWO steel trust men, ne said
! took red flag away from the
! marchers. They got into an auto and
attacked the parade about three
! blocks further on. Then city police
! man stopped them. Mayor Victor
Power told these steel trust men their
rough stuff would not go there. as he
! had given the miners a permit to
! parade"
! "a few weeks later I went to Ev-
eleth to get pictures at picnic ana
! of a miners parade. Gust Llndqulst
| the governors representative was
there and asked me to take his pic
ture marching with the miners
! II attended a number of strikers,
meetings. They were all peaceful.
! never heard any violence advocated
The men are back at work now IN the
! mines and getting higher wages than
; they demanded"
Movie In Evidence.
! Mr.. Thiel introduced in evidence
number of postcard pictures and
moving picture reel of the miners pa
rades The committee expects to take
| the movie to some theater and see 1t
! Most of the public and mine OF
! ficials who testified urged that the
state appropriate money to help coun'
ties and municipalities in. suppress'ne
labor troubles.
A resolution by Representative T.
4. Sutherland, Fairmont, was carried
| ordering l. w. w.. lumber and mining
companies to produce all records anc
books they have throwing light or
matters being investigated.
Senator Richard Jones of Duiuth
! asked that labor department RECORDS
! also be produced. One of these al
ready in evidence, the 18th biennia
report of the state labor department
| for 1911 and 1912. says facilities In
| some of the lumber camps for keep
ing them clean are far from adequate
that there is no hot water for men ir
which to wash their clothes, no facil'
tiles for the men to dry their we
| clothes and it is impossible for mer
| to keep their bodies free from YER