Cortland Evening Standard, Friday, December 12, 1902.
INCREASE IN MINERS' TON.
Witness Testified That It Is Now 3,136 Pounds Instead of 2,240.
Scranton, Pa., Dec. 12.—The representatives of the miners during the course of the proceedings before the anthracite coal strike commission called J. L. Crawford, one of the independent operators, to the witness stand to tell the exact price he received for his coal, and the mine owner refused, giving instead after much questioning, an average of the price he received.
Crawford is president of the People's Coal company. Crawford's colliery, during the strike, managed to get enough men to operate the plant and for one month, according to Mr. Crawford, his company received $20 a ton for coal.
The miners announced that they expected to close their case on Saturday.
Nearly the entire day was taken up in hearing witnesses who had some specific complaint to make, among other things the price paid per mine car and the size of the cars.
At the afternoon session two witnesses, employed by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western company, testified that before the strike of 1900 the men received 94 cents a car and that the strike was ended by the company agreeing to give the men an increase in wages of 10 per cent, 2 1/2 in cash and the other 7 1/2 per cent to be considered in the reduction in the price of powder. Instead of receiving the increase they now get 3 cents a car less or 91 cents.
Patrick O'Boyle, a miner, gave the history of the increase in the size of the miners' ton from 2,240 pounds to 3,136. He said 25 years ago sizes under pea coal were not used and therefore it was dumped on the refuse pile and the ton raised to 3,136 in order that the companies could get out 2,240 pounds of marketable coal. At present the companies are using coal three or four sizes under pea and the men are not being paid for it.
John William Griffith, superintendent of schools of Nanticoke, was called to the stand to show that miners' children do not go as high in the school grades as the children of other parents.
WAR, PURE AND SIMPLE
Says St. James Gazette In Reference to Venezuela Situation.
London, Dec. 12.—Tbe St. James Gazette in an editorial says:
"There is immense blinking at the fact that we are at war with the republic of Venezuela, and it is a fact that will not be altered by headlines describing the situation as 'the Venezuelan crisis,' or 'Venezuela and the Powers.' We are at war, pure and simple, and in alliance with Germany. Both circumstances are such as would have been received with incredulity if they had been predicted a few weeks ago."
Railroads and Telephones Seized.
La Guairá, Venezuela, Dec. 12.—The government, it is stated here today, has seized all the German and English railroads and the telephones.
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| 1902 coal strike commissioners. |
MORE TESTIMONY
At the Session of the Anthracite Coal Commission.
Scranton, Pa., Dec. 12.—The presentation of the case of the anthracite coal miners before the strike commission will be completed by tomorrow afternoon or next Monday at the latest and the operators will then begin their submission of testimony. Some surprise has been caused by the fact that three district presidents of the miners organization Nichols, Fahey, and Duffy, have not been called to the stand, but attorneys for the operators say they will call upon them to testify if the miners refuse to call them. The operators say they will show that violence during the strike was caused by secret orders of the union and promise some interesting testimony.
Some interesting testimony against an independent operator will to heard today.
Edward Ridgeway, a former docking boss of the Temple Coal and Iron Co., was the first witness this morning. He made some interesting statements about the system of docking employed by the company. Ridgeway said that he was required to make an average of anywhere from five to seven per cent dockage. Witness said the dockage was of necessity made regardless of conditions. Witness on cross-examination denied that company's figures showing that the dockage was only a trifle over one per cent., were correct.
Z. B. Evans, a miner in the Temple company, said that the vocation of mining was dangerous and said that both his legs and arms had been broken. His jaw had also been broken. He complained bitterly about the topping system.
PAGE FOUR—EDITORIAL.
Soldiers' Widows and the Land Grab.
The soldier's widow cuts a rather sorry figure in the latest expose of land grabbing from the government. Under the homestead laws the widow of a soldier is permitted to avail herself of a gift of 160 acres of land from the government without living on the property. So the big ranchmen have organized a systematic search of the country for these war widows, and when found they have been induced to go west, make an entry at a government land office, sign several papers, receive a handsome sum of money and return home.
In due season, by virtue of the entry she has made and the papers she has signed, the land allotted to her becomes the property of those who put up the job. Of course, it is all a barefaced swindle; but, womanlike, the war widow is serenely unconscious that she is being used as an instrument. She gets a pleasant trip, with all expenses paid, and a bonus besides. She is told that everything is all right, that she is simply selling her right to a homestead, and her conscience is thus satisfied.
Meanwhile this sort of game has been going on at the rate of something like 500 entries a month, and the cattlemen have been doing a correspondingly rushing business. The soldier's widow is doubtless in most cases innocent of any wrongdoing and perhaps ought not to be censured, but some means ought to be speedily devised to bring the land grabbers to justice.
THE SUPERVISORS
Will Adjourn Tomorrow to Complete Tax Rolls.
THE EQUALIZATION COMMITTEE.
Bond of County Treasurer Foster Received and Accepted—Several Committees Appointed.
The [Cortland County] board of supervisors will complete the business which they have in hand and will adjourn tomorrow morning to complete the work on the assessment rolls in their respective towns. Routine business was transacted yesterday.
The committee, consisting of Messrs. Barber, Webb and Mynard, that was appointed to further investigate the matter of railroad exemptions, reported that it agreed with the committee appointed to apportion the amount overpaid last year by certain towns on account of their bonded indebtedness and recommended that the committees appointed to apportion the state and county taxes this year follow the same method. The report was adopted.
On motion of Mr. Barber:
Resolved, That as chairman F. A. Crosley be authorized to countersign all necessary orders until the annual session of the supervisors in 1903.
This motion prevailed.
On motion of Mr. Shuler:
Resolved, That the supervisors of the several towns be empowered and directed to levy upon the taxable property of the road districts of their town such amounts as may be due on road scrapers which have been purchased by such road districts.
The motion was declared adopted.
On motion of Mr. Wavle:
Resolved, That the amounts appropriated and certified by the several town boards for highway improvement, in such towns as have adopted the money system of highway improvement, be levied upon such towns and collected for such purpose.
This resolution was adopted.
Wednesday Afternoon.
The board of supervisors received the bond of William H. Foster, county treasurer-elect, in the sum of $50,000, with seventeen sureties, each justifying in the sum of $3,000, which bond was upon motion of Mr. Bennett approved by the board.
The committee on appropriations made a partial report giving the estimate of the state and county expenses for the ensuing year, aggregating $51,544.46, which partial report was read by the clerk, and after rollcall adopted by the board.
Chairman Crosley announced the following committees:
To Apportion State Tax—Messrs. Walrad and Rowe.
To Apportion County Tax—Messrs. Shuler and Webb.
To Apportion School Commissioners' Expenses—Messrs. Baker and Allen.
The former resolution of Mr. Walrad, fixing the salary of the surrogate's clerk at $600 a year, was considered and after rollcall the same was declared adopted.
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| Edwin Duffey. |
IN CITY COURT.
The Case of Pearl I. Miller vs. Coroner E. M. Santee.
The case of Pearl I. Miller against Coroner E. M. Santee is being tried in [Cortland] city court today before a jury. The action is to recover $59.10 for taking evidence in the Kiehl case, and is the amount of the bill that Miss Miller presented to the board of supervisors for payment, but which was withdrawn by her to present to the coroner as a personal bill. E. E. Mellon is conducting the case for the plaintiff and Edwin Duffey for the defendant.
Yesterday afternoon Mr. Duffey and District Attorney T. H. Dowd went before the board of supervisors to see if a settlement could not be effected. Mr. Duffey asked the county legislators to audit the bill at $35. Mr. Dowd stated that the services of the stenographer greatly facilitated the work at the Kiehl hearing. A motion was about to be made by one of the supervisors that the bill be paid in the amount asked, when Mr. Mellon appeared and objected to the action upon his client's bill. Therefore no action was taken.
At the time of going to press case had not been completed.
BREVITIES.
—The regular meeting of the Protective Home circle has been postponed until next Wednesday evening, Dec. 17.
— L. D. Lewis of Adams has taken out patents for a paper cheese box, which is said to be a great improvement over the old wooden box, The weight of a box holding a 60 pound cheese is 3 1/2 pounds.
—Two of the men injured in the accident at Lestershire last summer when the Ilion baseball team 'bus was struck by the Erie train have sued the Erie for damages in the amount of $50,000 each.
—The new display advertisements today are—The New York store, Collars, page 4; G. H. Wiltsie, Kid glove sale, page 6; F. E. Brogden, Delicious hot drinks, page 5; Opera House, "Washburn's Minstrels," page 5.
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