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| Clarence S. Darrow. |
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| Man behind the fence is candidate for New York governor Bird Coler. |
Cortland Evening Standard, Friday, October 31, 1902.
TOUR OF COAL FIELDS.
Arbitrators Making Inspection of Miners' Work.
PARTY CONSISTS OF 14 MEN.
Put In Eight Hours of Observation and Investigation — Many Questions Asked—Discussion as to Amount of a Ton—Clarence C. Darrow Appointed Attorney.
Scranton, Pa., Oct. 31.—The anthracite coal commissioners made a tour of the extreme upper coal field and saw every step taken in the production of coal from the time it is blasted from the ground up to the point where it is sent to market ready for use.
The arbitrators returned at night grimy from coal dust and tired after eight hours of observation and investigation. The commissioners displayed the greatest interest in every feature of coal mining, although they had to endure many discomforts, make their way through wet places in the mines, almost crawl along some of the gangways in the workings and pass through clouds of dust in the breakers.
The day's tour consisted of an inspection of No. 2 mine of the Hillside Coal and Iron company, operated by the Erie company, and the Coalbrook breaker of the Delaware and Hudson company. On the run up the Lackawanna valley the commissioners had a good view of the several mining towns situated along the Delaware and Hudson railroad.
A short drive was taken through the town to give the commissioners an opportunity to view the miners' homes. Soon the entire party was bundled into three small cars. A small locomotive drew the cars to the No. 2 shaft, a mile distant down the valley.
Put on Miners' Clothes.
After the party had been rigged out with rubber overshoes, overalls, jumpers and mine caps and provided with miners' lamps, which they either carried in their hands or fastened to their caps, the descent of the 160 foot shaft was made. At the foot or bottom of the shaft the president and another member of the Forest City local union of the miners' organization, who are employed in the mine, joined the party.
A train of six mine cars hauled them a mile and a half underground. Accompanied by Superintendent May, President Nicholls and one or two others the commissioners went down a plane to what is known as a thin vein of coal, where they saw miners fire a blast.
The thin vein runs into the Clifford mine, adjoining the No. 2. In the Clifford a few hours before the commissioners arrived, a Hungarian was killed almost instantly by the falling of a portion of the roof of the mine. He was doubled up and his lamp set fire to his clothes, almost roasting him. But the commissioners did not know of this.
From there they returned to the main gangway and inspected an average vein, a vein about six or eight feet thick.
On the return journey to the foot of the shaft Bishop Spalding came across a Lithuanian boy who was employed as a door tender. His face was black from coal dirt, but in the dim light of the lamp on his cap the bishop noticed the boy's handsome features. He asked the boy many questions as to his age, the character of his work and the wages he received. The other commissioners also plied the boy with questions.
The arbitrators had an interesting time at the Coalbrook breaker at Carbondale. They went to the top of the great black building and inspected all the machinery down to the ground. Then they were escorted to the chute where the coal, fresh out of the mine, is sent to the breaker by means of a "conveyor," an endless chain arrangement of scrapers.
It is here that one of the principal bones of contention between the employes and employer is found. The miners maintain they are often unjustly docked by the docking boss for the amount of slate, boney or other refuse found in the coal. The commissioners watched the work of a boss closely and saw him dock several miners because, in his judgment, there was too much foreign matter in the car of coal.
Mr. Clark inquired how many pounds constituted a ton at this colliery. Superintendent Bryden of the Ontario and Western thought it was about 2,800 pounds, but District President Nicholls said it was a little over 3,100 pounds. The two began to discuss this, each maintaining he was right.
Mr. Nicholls said that granting that 2,800 was correct these figures are too high. He added that when the companies fixed 2,800 pounds as a ton so as to get out of it 2,000 pounds of pure coal, the operators did not sell pea coal in the market. Now they have a market for pea coal and about three other sizes below it, and the miners' ton of 2,800 pounds has not been decreased.
President John Mitchell of the miners' union came up from Wilkes-Barre last night. He was accompanied by Clarence C. Darrow of Chicago, who has been appointed by Mr. Mitchell as attorney to represent the miners before the arbitration commission. The two had a conference with several members of the commission regarding the submission of testimony.
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| Cortland Judge Rowland Davis. |
PAGE FOIUR—EDITORIAL.
Facts about Judge Davis.
Facts are what ought to tell with sensible voters—not entreaties, insinuations, mud or abuse. Governor Odell's strongest claim to popular support consists in what he has done as chief executive of the state. The argument in favor of City Judge Rowland L. Davis' re-election which ought to be convincing to every voter who has the interests of the city at heart is the plain statement of his record of past service. Here are a few points in that record:
The amount received from fines and costs paid in police court in 1898, the year before Mr. Davis was elected to the office, as nearly as can be ascertained from the village treasurer's report, and the Supervisors' Journal, was $67.70.
Mr. Davis qualified and assumed the duties of the office on the 17th of March, 1899. The receipts in court under his administration from fines and costs from the 1st of March, 1899, until the 1st of March, 1900, were $280.95.
In March, 1900, Cortland became a city, and in the year from the 1st of March, 1900, to March 1st, 1901, there was received in fines and costs in the criminal department, $298.92, in the civil department $24.68, making a total of $323.60.
To this amount should be added $19.70 received by the city judge as fees in cases where the defendant was charged with a crime not triable in city court, and held for the grand jury, which the county paid to the amount of $19.70, making the total for the year $342.30.
It will be remembered that the court obtained exclusive civil jurisdiction only on the 1st day of January, 1901, and there were therefore only two months to be considered in the amount received from the civil department of the court in this year.
From March 1, 1901, to March 1, 1902, the receipts from the criminal department, in fines and costs, were $345.85, and in the civil department $136.17, making a total of $482.02. To this amount should be added the sum of $38.90, received as fees paid by the county, making the total of the year $520.92.
For the seven months since March, 1902, to wit: From March 1 to Oct. 1, 1902, the receipts from the criminal department have been $225.90, and from the civil department $90.39, or a total for the seven months of $315.29.
The board of supervisors have not yet met to determine the amount of the fees to be paid by the county this year, but the amount is much larger than either of the previous years, where the figures are given, there having been many more cases where parties have been held for the grand jury, and there are still five months remaining in the year.
To the taxpayers of the city of Cortland the above figures will speak volumes in Judge Davis' favor. Could they ask for a better administration of the office of city judge than he has given them? Could they reasonably expect a man new in the office to do better than he has? Would not Judge Davis himself, with the experience already acquired, do better during his next term of service than any new man could possibly do?
ESCAPED FROM JAIL.
Two Young Prisoners Sawed Off Two Bars in a Window of the Corridor.
WERE EARL W. SMITH AND FRED ROWE.
Escape Made at 7:15 Thursday Night—Smith Arrested at 1 o'clock in Syracuse and Brought Back to Cortland This Morning—Rowe Went South and Has Not Yet Been Heard from—Supposed he Went Away on F. J. Peck's Bicycle—Excellent Work of Officers.
Earl. W. Smith and Fred Rowe broke jail at about 1:15 o'clock last night by sawing off two large bars at a window on the east side of the jail with a saw for cutting steel. Smith was captured at 1 o'clock last night in Syracuse, where he was expecting to take a New York Central train at 2 o'clock for Buffalo. From Buffalo he intended to go to Canada. Rowe is not yet located, but it is thought that he will be overtaken shortly.
Conditions in the Jail.
Smith and Rowe, with William Ferris, William Brown and an umbrella mender, occupied cells on the east side of the jail on the lower floor. These had access to the corridor running along east of the cells and also the corridor that runs east and west along the south side of the double tier of cells. At night the prisoners were always locked into the corridor along the east side of the cells.
How they Escaped.
The window through which the two passed out was at the east end of the outer corridor, and near this window is an iron sink with a water faucet. The water had been turned on while the two were crawling out of the sawed hole that had been made by cutting the bars, in order that the other prisoners, who were sitting in the inner corridor, might not hear them. The others say that the two had spent a-great deal of time of late around that window, while they were otherwise engaged in their cells or in the inner corridor, and that the water had always been left running while they were out there, either alone or separately.
The bars that were cut were one 1 1/4 inches in diameter, and it is evident that the two had worked upon them for some time.
These Bars Cut Before.
About seven years ago .when John Miller was sheriff, these two bars were cut by DeVer Richards and another prisoner with a case knife, and they were mended by placing pieces of iron pipe over them, the bottom ends of the bars fitting back into the casement stone as they had before being cut. The bars were cut this time just below the iron bands. This would allow the bottom sections to be removed from the beds in the stone, and then the bands, which were riveted only to the bars below the place where they had been cut formerly, slipped off the bars above the old case knife work. This left a hole just large enough for them to crawl through. When outside they had only to scale the high board fence, and be on the lawn on the Church-st. side.
Parted Company at Once.
When they had gained open air, the two parted company. Smith lighted out on a wheel that he now says was his own, going in the direction of Syracuse. Rowe evidently started for Marathon. A bicycle belonging to F. J. Peck was left by the owner in front of his house on Church-st., and this was missing shortly after the two got out, and it is thought that he took this to help him along on his trip toward freedom.
Prisoners Gave the Alarm.
The prisoners in the inner corridor soon missed the two and found the place through which they had escaped. A hurried conference was held and it was determined that Sheriff Overton should be notified at once, and this was done. Immediately telephones and telegraphs began to be put into use and every town and city about Cortland was notified of the escape of the two and officers were instructed to be on the lookout for them. Smith's parents' house on Port Watson-st. was searched, but he was not found.
Just Left Preble.
At about 9 o'clock a telephone call came from Preble, saying that a young fellow had called at a store there to buy a bicycle lamp. He had taken a header before he got to that place and was covered with mud. He told the dealer that he was going to ride as far as Tully, hire a rig there to go to Syracuse as he had to be there in time to take a 2 o'clock train for Buffalo. He had gone on to Tully. Tully was then communicated with and it was learned that he had just started from that town, having hired a rig and driver in that town. He had a chestnut colored team and a single carriage.
Syracuse Notified.
Immediately Syracuse was notified that Smith was headed toward that city, and a description of the rig and escaping man was given. Every road leading into the city was guarded. An officer was stationed at the end of the trolley line at Onondaga Valley, so as to intercept him if he tried to get into the city by the streetcar line.
Nabbed on Arrival.
At 1 o'clock an officer saw the rig driving along by the Clarendon hotel near the Lackawanna depot. Smith was arrested and taken to police headquarters.
Brought Back to Cortland.
At first he was sullen and would say nothing, but later he said his name was Earl W. Smith and that he lived in Cortland. Sheriff Overton was notified at once of the arrest and he went to Syracuse on the early train this morning returning to Cortland at 9:22 a. m.
Rowe's Trip South.
Rowe went, it is thought, in another direction. A young man bearing his description stopped at Herbert Johnson's on the Conable farm, just east of the Port Watson-st. bridge at about 7:45 o'clock. He seemed to be in a great hurry, and was inquiring about the roads and where they led. He asked how far it was to Marathon and how far it was to the narrows. Mr. Johnson could not tell if he had a wheel.
Smith told Sheriff Overton that Rowe expected to go to Binghamton, and the sheriff went to that city on the same train that brought him and Smith from Syracuse.
Alleged History of Saw.
Smith told the Syracuse officers that he had been furnished a saw by Harry Park of this city and Park, who had been in the jail to see Smith, was arrested. Smith says that three weeks ago Park brought a saw into the jail, but it would not cut the hard iron. About a week ago, he said, Park brought him another saw which was passed in through the same window that the two escaped through. Smith tried to implicate several parties when he was arrested two years ago for forgery, but afterwards confessed that they had nothing to do with his crooked transactions. It is not generally believed that Park had anything to do with the escape of the two. He has always borne an excellent reputation, and it will take stronger proof than Smith's unsupported words to convict him of assisting in the escape.
Used Soap Too.
This morning a piece of black soap, wound in an old piece of cloth, was found way back under Smith's cot in the cell. The soap was used to deaden the noise of the saw and to cover up the parts sawed into. The escape was made just before the usual times for locking the prisoners into the inner corridor.
Smith's wife and his father had been in to see him shortly before the two made a break for liberty. His wife had been in every day since he was last arrested, and his father was in the habit of coming to see him very often.
Smith's Previous History.
Earl Smith is a self-confessed forger and perjurer, and he is now under arrest for grand larceny in the second degree. His troubles began in the summer of 1900, when he forged several checks in this vicinity. He was arrested on the charge of forgery Sept. 25, 1900, and then it was that he implicated several parties as accomplice in his crimes. He pleaded guilty afterwards to several indictments and sentence was suspended upon him.
On Oct. 6, he was again arrested, this time for changing tags on express packages, making himself the sender, and it is upon this charge that he is now held, with the penalty of his other former misdoings staring him in the face.
Mind May be Unbalanced.
This morning in an interview Smith said that he wished he had broken his neck when he crawled out of the window last night. His parents say that they believe his mind is unbalanced for if he was all right mentally he would not have gone to the places he did when he was free.
It is thought that William Ferris who returned from Elmira reformatory with Rowe knows more about the escape of the two than he is willing to tell. He claims that he knew nothing of their work until they had gone.
Nothing had been learned of the whereabouts of Rowe up to the time of going to press.
Excellent Work of Officers.
The efforts of the officers were first lent in the locating of Smith, and the fact that he was captured within six hours from the time he made his escape shows that excellent work was done by Sheriff Overton and his aides. News of the escaped criminal with a full description of him was sent in every direction and it would have been impossible for him to get far away.
Rowe was a second consideration in the minds of the officers, as it is thought that he can be found readily.
Supplied With Money.
Smith had money with him when he started. He offered a $5 bill in payment of the bicycle lamp that he bought in Preble. He probably had plenty of money to take him to Canada. He says that he rode his own wheel, and if this is so he either went to his home to get it or the wheel was brought by some one to him. The wheel is now in Tully.
The wheel that Mr. Peck missed and which was probably taken by Rowe, was a Barnes White Flyer.
Smith has been placed in a cell on the east side of the jail down stairs and will be kept locked in it.
He was handcuffed when brought back to Cortland and was led by the sheriff by a pair of pinchers.
Park Released.
Harry Park was released from custody this afternoon as the authorities here are confident that he had nothing whatever to do with Smith's escape. Park has promised to come to the sheriff's office tonight and talk the matter over with Sheriff Overton after that official's return from Binghamton.
Civil Service Examination.
The State Civil Service commission announces the next general examination to be held on November 29, 1902. Examinations are to be held for woman officer, electrical engineer, assistant electrical engineer, third grade physician (including junior physician), woman physician, instructors in iron-moulding, in steam and gas fitting, and in shoe making in state hospitals and institutions; assistant civil engineer, leveler, Regents' examiner in English, bookkeeper, bacteriologist for state hospitals; guard for Elmira reformatory; pupil nurse for Erie county hospital: principal teacher at State School for the Blind; assistant engineer, foreman and sub-foreman for Richmond County Park commission.
Persons desiring to enter these examinations must file applications in the office of the State Civil Service commission in Albany before noon of Nov. 24th.
Application blanks and information regarding salaries and requirements of examinations may be obtained by addressing the chief examiner of the commission at Albany.
Office of State Civil Service commission.
BREVITIES.
—Tonight is Halloween. The witches are likely to get hold of signs and gates and other movables.
—At the state convention of King's Daughters held at Seneca Falls yesterday it was decided to send the next annual convention to Cortland.
—New display advertisements today are—Scotch Woolen Co., Suits and overcoats, page 8; W. W. Walters, Shoes, etc., page 3; Perkins & Quick, Carved and burned leather novelties, page 6; Baker & Angell, The Crown Prince of Siam, etc., page 6; G. H. Wiltsie, Dry goods, page 6; Opera House, "Next Door," page 5.
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