A. Not until after the railroad strike occurred.
Q. Another strike preceding that?
A. I have no recollection of any; no, sir. Not a matter of recent date. There may have been some local strikes about here, or some local difficulties, as is frequently the case. Sometimes there would be a strike at one mine because of some local difficulty. That won't affect the general region, whatever. That is frequently the case.
Q. What is the general custom of the men that strike? Is it their custom, when they quit work, to prevent other men from working?
A. Almost universally so.
Q. And by what means?
A. By intimidation of various sorts. Doing it at their houses mainly?
Q. Threatening them?
A. While the miners were idle, it has been the practice, heretofore, in this valley, for pump men to continue at work through the strike. I have never known a case but where they were stopped. In this case—I can speak positively to this one fact—that at one of the collieries that I have charge of, the pump men were visited by a crowd of men at night and threatened, and ordered to stop. This I have from the men themselves.
Q. Threatened with what?