Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1886-10-04
CORPORATIONS VS.. THE STATE

Our Saturday night dispatches con,
tained the following from Harrisburg
Pennsylvania, which is just now very
interesting topic, as it will tend to prove
how far corporations chartered by State
can go in raising the price of commodities
which they produce, and whether the
State Government can stop them from so
doing or not:
Governor Pattison has addressed a letter
to Attorney General Cassidy on the action
of the Anthracite Pool and requesting him
to move against it in court. In the course
of his letter the Governor says: "My atten-
tion has been directed to the fact within the
past fortnight, that certain corporations,
chartered by the Commonwealth of Penn
sylvania, acting in concert, have ordered
two advances In prices of anthracite coal.
1t has been ascertained upon inquiry that
these corporations comprise what is known
as the Anthracite coal combination, which
was created in its present form at meeting
held in New York on December 81, 1884,
when there were present representatives of
the Delaware, Lackawanna d. Western Rail
road Company, the Lehigh Valley Railroad
Company, the Philadelphia d Reading Rail
road Company, the New York, Lake Erie d
Western Railroad Company, the Delaware
81 Hudson Canal Company, the Lehigh Coal
& Navigation Company, and the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad Company. At that meet
ing an agreement was entered into,
by which six of these corporations
were in effect pledged in writing to restrict
and regulate the production of coal, and to
maintain and advance its price. An appor-
tionment of the total production was then
allotted to each company for the year 1885,
and on January l, 1886, a new allotment
went into operation, based on the annual
production of 30, 100000 TONS"
After referring to the advance of 30 cents
per ton in the price of coal since July 2,
1886, the Governor says: Recently, through
the officers of the syndicate of capitalists
there has been strengthening of the An
thracite Coal Combination, and the claim is
now made by some of the members that
they can mark up the coal prices to any
figure they please, thereby subjecting the
public to their mercy, injuriously and un-
warrantably taxing every fireSide and i'm
posing upon the coal consumers. The
State Constitution declares that no corpo-
rate company doing the business of a COM
mon carrier shall directly or indirectly pros
ecute or engage in mining or manufacturing
articles for transportation over its roads,
yet all, or nearly all of the common carriers
represented in the Anthracite Coal Combi-
nation are engaged directly or Indirectly in
the mining of coal.
By restricting the production and advanc-
ing the prices, 1T has crippled the vast iron
interests decreasing the demand for
anthracite coal, and in the reduction of iron
ores, forcing the iron furnaces out of blast
and placing nearly all the Industries of East
ern Pennsylvania at the mercy of the mana
gers of these companies
The Governor also calls attention to the
Trunk Line pool, which, he says, by its arbi-
trary power holds perpetual menace over
the material interests of the country. In
closing, the Governor says: Against such
combinations the individual is helpless. The
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in Great
ing the corporations that are members of
the Anthracite Coal Combination and of the
Trunk Line Pool, vested them with the
right of eminent domain and other fran
chises of public nature. They owe certain
duties to their creator, and one of these is
to avoid any infringement upon the rights
of individuals or the general we'll being of
the State. Their interference with the
natural current and condition of trade has
been in violation of what is believed to be
sound public policy and against the interests
of the State.
1t prejudices the public and suppresses the
individuals. 1t is a perversion of the pur-
pose for which they were created. These
facts which have been reported to me, and
which are measurably authenticated, | deem
your consideration and such action as the
circumstances may warrant"
1t Is understood that Attorney General
Cassidy will at once proceed against the coal
pool. but IN what manner he has not vet
decided. This is considered one of the most
important steps yet taken by the State
administration, and was not decided upon
until after very careful consideration.
In the above corporations are repre-
sented the wealthiest in the State, and
they handle the greatest industries in the
State, and if they can pool their interests
in the manner described, there is no
limit to the rise in prices they can make,
short of extortion, and every freside in
the Eastern half of the land would paw
tribute to them, while the maddening fact
remains that the thousands who labor for
them are in no manner benefited by the
move. The average reader, with fair
memory, will think that the riots in 1877
in Pittsburg should be warning to the
Pennsylvania railroad company to be
careful how they goaded the poor
classes again, and if for no other rea-
son, they should be slow to again
abuse them. 1t is true that the coming
elections in that State call for political
capital, but this move by the Governor
can hardly be classed as such, while the
nation at large will be earnest and eager
to see just how the law will handle capi-
talists when they combine to iniure labor.
This being the first move of the kind in
Pennsylvania, which, more than anv
State in the Union is cursed with labor
troubles, the workingmen of the nation
will watch with bated breath the outcome
OF the fight against capital, in which they
have no direct hand. Ii these gigantic
corporations can legally be forced to
terms by the law, then the greatest vic
tory ever won by labor will be recorded.
and big stride be made toward forcing
capital to acknowledge that the poor have
rights which it is bound to respect.
VALE KEARNEY.
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