Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1875-06-30
THE PENNA. RAILROAD AND
OUR COAL SHIPPERS.


THE PENNA. RAILROAD AND
OUR COAL SHIPPER,S
Our attention has been called 10 the
following article in last weeks Stand.
afi which we fullv endorse. give
h plsce. bocause the combination enter.
cd into by the Pennsylyania Railroad
and certain coal operators TO crush out
others lcss favored, 4 90 nianiiestly un.
lust, that oyery fair minded man must
condemn the action of the company in
entering into the arrangement. and
which will be 30 DISASTROUS In It's re-
suits TO many worthy and deserving
mon who havc Invested their all in the
business. II is 10 DO hoped that the
company will ut once retrace the step,
and do equal and exact justice to ALL
There has boon great excitement, and,
indeed, CONSERVATION among the btu
minous coal operators for the past ten
days ltappears that on the first of
the month the Penna. Railroad Com
pany leased the preference of fixed
number of coal cars to certain coal
shippers in the bitumnous regions. In
this preference each shipper pays the
company $50 per car per annnm for us
many ears as he wishes, and that num-
ber of cars are set aside for his ex-
elusive use. For instance, If A takes
100 cars and b 200 cars, the company
will keep him supplied with his 100 or
200 cars, as the case may be, to the
exclusion Of everybody else. After all
the largest operators are supplied in
this manner, II is seeu that a large num-
ber of cars would beabsorbed, and the
remainder of the cais are then used by
the company for their own use, for
lumber shippers, stole, &C., and for such
coal dealers as do notenioy The preference.
The effect, ii appears, was instantanc-
ous. Operators who had been ship
ping ten, fifteen, twenty or more cars
of coal day, suddenly get none, or
perhaps one or two week. Their
customers, of covrse, could not be sup
piled and naturally oee compelled to 60
10 those shippers rho enjoyed he prefer
ence Of the company and il is said that
of all the operators in the Allegheny
regions only on, firm is supplied with
cars. The othfs get none, and, il is
said IL the policy is continued, they
will be compelled TO 20 out of busi-
ness at great los.
1t would STRIFE any one with com
mon sense view that policy produc-
ing such DISASTROUS results must be
wrong and wien we have heard the
opinion of tho l,gal profession they say
as common carrier for all shippers, it Is
simply and clearly illegal on the part
of the companyto make any such un-
Just and gross discrimination.
Again, it is sid if an ordinary ship
per wishes to snip coal to parties on
tho Reading road, he must transfer his
coal TO Reading Railroad cars at Har-
risburg, at costto him of say twenty
cents a ton. Bu! ifoae of the prefer
red shippers ships his special cars TO
the same points on the Reading road,
his car and coal pass at once TO the
Reading road AVID without cost of
transhipmcnt.
These arc the complaints, and, II
true II Ia evident tbev arc made with
gnod reason Tho l;,uminous coal
men have thousands ofdolInrs invested
in their business Tbev have sustoin.
cd heavy losses nv rcoson of manic and
str;l.es and now wb,n tbev arc Iook
inc for a revival of t,ado and in some
msasnre wero rcgai,ing n Inv reason