The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1917-02-17
COMMITTEE HEARS
MANY WITNESSES
CONTINUED from page ~

companies; that they are coming to
believe that no permanent peace would
be established in that section Of the
state until the mining and lumber
companies would agree to recognize
the principle Of collective bargaining:
that sentiment among the people gen.
orally was with the miners during the
recent strike.
Foley on Stand. :
David Foley of Virginia, Minn., chief
of the Oliver Iron Mining company's
police force, took the stand Thursday
afternoon. Foley has been police
officer for 33 years, according to his
testimony. He admitted on cross-ex-
animation by Joe Ettor that he had in
his employ agents who acquired men,
bershfp in the Industrial Workers Of
the World to obtain the secrets Of that
organization and what the miners
were attempting to do generally. Foley
said that in 1912 he went from vir-
ginia, MIMI, to Duluth, Mimi, to help
out the Duluth, Missabe and Northern
Railway company when the ore dock
workers struck for better conditions.
Foley made the general statement to
the effect that the 1912. strike was
brought about by outside agitators and
that the men themselves were satis-
fed.
!. ~~. Jones Testifes.
AT this point Senator Richard Jones
of Duluth volunteered to go on the
stand and state his version Of the 1912
strike, claiming that he was attorney
for the strikers at that time and that
the I. w. w. did not have anything
to do with the affair.
Senator Jones afterward stated that
the evening before the 1912 strike was
called five men were killed and two
injured on the Allouez ore docks at
Superior, Wis. That the men hat
complained on numerous occasions be-
cause Of insufficient lighting facilities
J on the docks, and that the accident
| In which these men were killed &C.
| Cured because Of insufficient lights on
the docks
The men on the Mesaba docks, he
said, had the same complaints to
| make, and the killing Of these men
! was ''the straw that broke the cancels
back" and the Mesaba ore dock men
| went out on strike in sympathy.
Senator Jones also said that the
| chief Of police Of Duluth made a.
statement publicly that he was able
| to handle tho situation alone without
the aid of Foley or outside men, but
that the county authorities insisted on
deputizing men in the employ Of the
mining and railroad companies with
! out the chiefs consent.
Representative Tom J. McGrath of
st. Paul objected to Senator Jones
! being allowed to testify before the
| committee on the ground that the 1912
strike was not being Investigated, but
Jones insisted that If Foley were per-
mitted to make hi4 statement to the
committee with respect to the 1912
strike. he (Jones) would not permit
a false impression of the affair to re-
main with the committee members :,
Mining company witnesses in their
! attempts to blacken the I. w. w. con.
stantly refer to Irresponsible" labor or.
! CARNATIONS, but are loath to admit
that they would welcome organizers
representing the American Federation
Of Labor any more than those Of the
I. w. w.
Attitude to Union Labor.
| M. H. Godfrey, general manager for
the Oliver Iron Mining company at
Virginia, testified ais to the attitude Of
the Steel corporation-of which the
Oliver is a subsidiayy-withr respect to
union labor. His company did not
| believe in the open shop, he said. He
spoke Of responsible" and "irrespons-
ible' labor organization, claiming that
his objection to the lasts trike was on
account Of the fact that "4S outside
agitators'' came to the ranges to con-
| duct thes trike, Asked If he or his
| company would deal collectively with
his employees in case they were repre-
scented by officials of the Mine Work
ers' union or the, American Fedora
ton Of Labor, he replied in the mega
tive. #.-
The witness entered fiat denial to
thee barge that the working condi-
/ tons In the mining regions were not
industry. : Il .,/;:5 MP. }Sffss ~