Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1876-08-30
The Stone Coal and Railroad Com
binatiOn in the Anthracite Re-
gion of Pennsylvania Broken.

One hundred years ago the fuel of
the country was wood. Every family
furnished their own fuel. or 1t was fur
Blsbed them by some neighbor. There
was no such thing as forming an organ
iZatlon 10 manage the woud supply 1t
abOunded ON every hand. Within the
past half cen ury the fuel has changed
from that OF wood to that of stone coal.
Coal not being found in every place, its
supply aud demand became an object
that by bold combination or consplr-
acy, 1t was believed could be controlled !;
SO that within the twenty Years just
past debt of sumo two huudred mil
lions of dollars, winch can never be
paid, has been incurred by railroad and
mining companies IN the anthracite re
giOns of this State to control the coal
trade. These monster companles-run
mug ou borrowed capital which caI never
be paid. but which, II kept up, must be
doue by changing the security from
time 10 time, or Dy borrowing from Peter
to pay Pau.-crushed out hundreds of
smaller dealers, and BY degrees secured
the bulk of the coal trade of the region
mentioned, for themselves. The cor
poratiODs combined TO hold the prices
of coal at a certain figure to suit them
selves, and TO limit the amount that
each organization should mine and ship
each year. The companies directly or
indirectly in this combination or con-
spiracy, were the Delaware and Lacka-
wanna, Philadelphia and Reading, Del
aware and Hudson Canal Company,
Central Railroad of New Jersey, and
tue Lebigh Valley Railroad Company.
From all accounts to be learned at
this stage of the trouble, the las; named
company-tbe Lehigh Valley Railroad
Company-was less a mining company
than the others in the combination IN.
deed, during the past year its President,
Asa Packer, has not taken any part in
the meetings of the combination, hold
ing his company to be more a carrying
company than mining company.
In the Lehigh region and the Wy
oming country, there are still a NUN
Der of individual miners who have not
been crushed out by the powerful dou
bic organizations for both mining and
railroading or shipping of the coal.
These men, the better to protect their
rights against the encroacbments of the
mOnopollzIng organizations, also organ
lied, in this, that they met and appoint
ed certain miners to secure for them
the meaDs of shipment to market for
the products of their mines, they own
ing no railroad.
The miners of the Lehigh region del
egated MIR. A. Pardee as their repre-
sentative, ard the Wyoming miners del
egated Mr. J. III. Swoyer-Schweyer-
as their representative to secure for
them the rights of transportation of their
coal TO market at fair rates. The Lee
high Valley Railroad Company is the
company that became the chaonel
through which they sent their coal
chiefly to market.
The combination of the companies
had resolved that each company was to
allow only certain specified amount of
coal to be shipped over their roads to
market so that they could control the
market price Of the fuel The Lehigh
Valley Railroad, as represented BY Nr.
Packer, did not hold the individual
miners confined or chained to the con-
bination of the other companies, but
allowed them to ship regardless Of the
combination resolutions, and the result