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Show MflRESMINC Conditions in the Michigan Copper District Preceding the Trouble 'Are De-, De-, .tailed by Miners. HANCOCK. Mich.. Feb. 10. Conditions In the copper mines woro described today by four witnesses for the striking union men before the house invcstlgatlnK subcommittee. sub-committee. All except one, Sidney Thomas, previously had told their storlus at lho hearings before Governor Ferris. Thomas, who Is president of the Ah-mock Ah-mock local of tho Western Federation of Miners, related how on ono occasion in his experience as a minor he had been compelled to go forth from the Cliff mlno In winter, his clothes wot, to cut up timber for use below. "I think that's an outrage," exclaimed Representative Casey. "Is there no stato law to protect tho minors from such inhuman in-human conditions?" Angus W. Kerr of counsel for tho Western West-ern Federation of Minors, to whom tho question was directed, replied that thero was no such law. Says He Was Cheated. Olaf Berg, a miner, told the committee commit-tee that a mine ca-ptain in South Kear-sarge Kear-sarge mine had cheated him out of 23 by changing the measurements on the rock he had taken out because he had told him he was going to quit. "Have you no way to rectify theso de-Dlorable de-Dlorable conditions.?" asked Mr. Casey. The witness replied that the mlno captain's cap-tain's word was final. Berg said that he was a stockholder In a small mine controlled by the Calumet : Hecla. , , . "I guess your amount of stock is not enough to control the company." remarked re-marked Chairman Taylor. "That's the trouble," replied the witness, wit-ness, amid laughter. Berg said he was opposed to the one-man one-man drill now used In the mines because it was dangerous for ono man to operate it. He said his brother had been Injured for life by having one of these machines fail on him. Charles E. Hietala. district secretary of the the federation, told the investigators he had been discharged from the. Quincy mine in 1910 because he was a member of the federation. He said ho averaged 560 a month working as a trammer on a dav wage. It was hard, wearing work, he asserted. Questioned about the strlko. Kletala said that the federation officers had tried to persuade the miners not to go out until all other means of getting their demands had boon exhausted. O. N. Hilton, senior counsel for the federation, federa-tion, read into the rocord several letters and telegrams exchanged between the officers hero and in Denvor for tho purpose pur-pose of showing, as he said, that President Presi-dent Moyer and Vlco President Mahonoy were not responsible for tho strikes being be-ing called. Counsel for tho mining companies wanted to know how many members the federation had In the coper country coun-try tho day before the strike began. Hletala gavo the number as 8000 and asserted that 00 per cent of t hem worked underground. A. E. rotcrmann, counsel for lho companies, then asked the witness wit-ness to furnish tho committee with tho mimbov of men who are receiving strlko benefits now. Hletala said he could not do so, as he had sent his books to Denver. Den-ver. Questioned as to Books. "Why did you send them to Donver?" asked Mr. Howell of the committee. "I sent them thero to bo audited, for one reason." was tho reply. "Another was that ofter the South Rango outrage I was afraid to kcop them hero." Hiotala said tho federation was distributing dis-tributing about SHD.OOO weekly in money and store orders among Its members here. "Did you get any relief from tho Socialist So-cialist organizations in this country?" asked Mr. Pctermann. "Not very much." t "Did you get any help from the So cialist Finnish organizations?" "1 don't know." Representative Howell Inquired about the manner In which the referendum strike voto was taken. Hiotala said the mombers had six days within which to drop their votes in the box, which caused Mr. Howell to ask if ho was sure no one voted moro than once. Witness said he was sure, an men wero on duty at the ballot boxes. "You think, then," returned Mr. Howell, "that tho mombers of your union are moro honest than members of an electorate elec-torate usually are?" "Oh, yes. they are," replied Hletala. The committee wil continue Its sessions tomorrow. Mr. Hilton said that at least 100 more witnesses could bo called to give testimony as to conditions In the mines. State Rests Tls Case. HOUGHTON. Mich.. Feb. 10. The state rested this morning In the Seeber-vllle Seeber-vllle murder trial and the defense made Its opening statement. Tho principal witness today was F. W. Denton, general gen-eral manager of tho Copper Range Consolidated, Con-solidated, on the Champion mine property, prop-erty, where tho killing occurred. HIc most important testimony was that on the night of August 1R the military guard around tho properties had been removed and replaced by private guards, the authority of ono of whom was disregarded disre-garded bytwo strikers, thus precipitating the ftoobervllle tragedy. Tho opening statement of the defense advanced self-defense and resistance to arrest by duly constituted officers as the theory of defense. Woman Worker Arrested. STUBENVLLLE. Ohio, Feb. 10. Mrs. Fannie Selllns. a union labor organizer of St, Louis, who has been doing welfare work amonpr tho families of tho striking miners at Colliers, W. Va.. was arrested today .by United States Marshal McAllister, McAl-lister, charged with being tn contempt of court In that sho had violated Judge A. G. Daytdn's Injunction prohibiting interference inter-ference with the men employed at the mines of the West Virginia & Pittsburg Coal company. Sho was held In $500 bond to appear before Judge Dayton at Phllippl. W. Va.. February 17. |