1898 Wilkes-Barre Record Almanac

The County in 1897

	The most stirring event in the history of Luzerne County during the year 1897
 was the strike of miners in the Hazleton region.  In August, a number of the Lehigh & 
Wilkes-Barre men framed a list of grievances and went out.  They remained on strike 
for several weeks and then returned to work on promise of the company that the grievances
would be attended to.  In the meantime other miners became dissatisfied, and towards the 
end of August the Van Wickle  men and a number of the Lehigh Valley men went out.  The 
men of each company had grievances of their own.  Then the Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre men 
claimed that the company did not keep faith with them and several of the collieries of that 
company were again thrown idle.  At one time, over ten thousand miners were on strike.  
The foreigners marched from one colliery to another and persuaded the miners to quit work. 
 Sheriff Martin was summoned to the scene, and he appointed seventy or eighty citizens to 
assist him in preserving order.  Several times, the sheriff and the deputies went out and 
dispersed the marching strikers.

	On the morning of September 10, a body of the foreigners started out on the march, 
and they were met by the sheriff and his men and were ordered to disperse.  The leaders of the 
marchers announced their intention to go to Lattimer and endeavor to persuade the men to 
quit work.  It is then alleged that Sheriff Martin was attacked.  Sheriff Martin denied that he 
gave the orders to the deputies to fire, and alleged that they did so on their own account 
when they saw that he was attacked.  At any rate the deputies fired and nineteen of the 
marching strikers were killed outright and about fifty were wounded.  A large number were 
taken to the Hazleton hospital and two of them died there.  The entire Third Brigade was called 
out, including the City Troop of Philadelphia and was encamped in Hazleton and vicinity for
 nineteen days.  The Ninth Regiment was called out at the midnight hour, and by daylight was 
on a train for Hazleton.  The rapid mobilization of the brigade has no equal in the history of the 
National Guard.  

 	The presence of the troops was without particular incident, before they left the strike 
at all the collieries had been settled, satisfactory terms having been made between the companies 
and the men.  Later Sheriff Martin and his deputies were arrested on two charges, one of murder
 and the other of felonious wounding.  They had a hearing in the court house, the judges sitting 
as justices of the peace, and each of the deputies was placed under $5,000 bail for court, the 
aggregate footing up to more than half a million of dollars, a trust company in Philadelphia becoming
 security.  The cases were to have come up at the November session of the criminal court, but on 
motion of the district attorney were postponed to the January sessions.  The Austrian government, 
several of the subjects of which were killed, sent to Secretary of State Sherman for an explanation 
and investigation, and Sheriff Martin made out a report, which will not be made public until after the trial. 

	As a result of the trouble in the Hazleton region, several smaller strikes occurred in 
various parts of the country, but they did not amount to much.  The most serious occurred at the 
Heidelberg mine of the Lehigh Valley Coal Company at Pittston, at which another crowd of foreigners 
collected and endeavored to stop some miners from going to work.  The leaders were arrested 
and their cases came up at October court.  They were acquitted.

	The unrest among the miners was taken advantage of by the officers of the United Mine
 Workers of America which up to that time did not have a single lodge in Luzerne County.  The officers 
first organized the miners in the Hazleton region and then those in Wilkes-Barre and other parts of the 
county, holding meetings until the end of the year.  As a consequence about 10,000 of the Luzerne miners
 now belong to the union.  

	During the first part of the year the mines were worked very poorly, averaging from five to ten 
days a month.  In May, the legislative mine investigating commission held sessions for several days in the
 Wyoming Valley Hotel, in Wilkes-Barre, and also in Hazleton, and the evidence of the miners was taken
 as to their days of work, wages etc.  Some pitiful stories were rehearsed, a majority of the men stating 
that for a couple of years they had not made enough to support their families and that in consequence their 
was great suffering. The commission later submitted to the legislature a report advising that the immigration 
laws be amended, and also recommended some minor changes about the mines.  During the later part of 
the year the mines worked better but in November the cry of over production was again raised and a 
curtailment was ordered.  About two million tons less were mined than in 1896, and still the production 
was too great for the market.  

	During the first part of the year the mines were worked very poorly, averaging from five to ten
 days a month.  In May the legislative mine investigating commission held sessions for several days in
 the Wyoming Valley Hotel, in Wilkes-Barre, and also in Hazleton, and the evidence of the miners was 
taken as to their days of work, wages, etc.  Some pitiful stories were rehearsed, a majority of the men 
stating that for a couple of years they had not made enough to support their families, and that in consequence
 there was great suffering.  The commission later submitted to the legislature a report advising that the 
immigration laws be amended, and also recommended some minor charges about the mines.  During the 
latter part of the year, the mines worked better, but in November the cry of over production was again raised
 and a curtailment was ordered.  About two million tons less were mined than in 1896, and still the production 
was too great for the market.  

	In the line of capital crimes Luzerne did not show so black a record as in 1896, there having been 
seven murders as against thirteen for 1896.

	During the year the county auditors were ousted from office by decision of the Supreme Court.  
Since the election of county controller there had been a question whether or not the act did away with the 
office of the county auditor.  Controller Lloyd assumed all the duties of the office.


	There were no large mine accidents during the year, the largest number killed at one time at any 
mine being three at the Parrish mine in Plymouth by an explosion of gas, October 5.

	During the year the third class city agitation was raised in the city of Wilkes-Barre, which is governed
 by an old charter.  The contest will be carried to the council man election in February, and will be made an issue. 
 A number of citizens’ meetings were held during the year.

	Pittston city had a school board controversy, and by decision of Judge Bennett,  the ward board of
 school control was ousted and a board of six authorized.  The decision has affected several third class cities 
in the state and the courts of several counties now have the questions under consideration.  The Supreme 
Court will finally decide.

	Nothing much was heard during the year of the agitation, so rife in 1895 and 1896, for the division 
of the county, with Hazleton as the new county seat, though the Hazletonians still have ambitions in that direction.

`				NEW COURT HOUSE

	During the year 1897 there were few developments in the new court house question.  It will be
 remembered that during 1896 Judge Searle, especially presiding, decided the citizens’ bill in equity, his 
decision being that a new court house may be erected on Public Square.  The decision was affirmed by the 
Supreme Court.  The board of County Commissioners then in power got the recommendations of one grand 
jury that a new structure be placed upon the Square, but a second grand jury refused to so recommend.  There
 the question was dropped.  The new board of County Commissioners has not indicated an intention to revive 
the question.  The sum of $10,000 had already been paid to architect Myers of Detroit for plans, and he sued
 the county for the balance, $10,000.  Nothing more was heard of this suit until November 1897, when his attorneys
 applied for a change of venue in order that the case may be tried in some other county, the prosecution arguing 
that the prejudice existing in this county will militate against a fair trial here.  
This question has not yet been disposed of.

Typed by Jean Connell of the Court House Gang