Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-08-26
FIRES. FAILURES AND RAILWAY NEWS


| Second-Snch q corporation cannot lease
| or dispose of any franchise needful in the
performance OF its obligations to the State
without Legislative consent.
Thfrd-The act of March, 1880, which
amends the seventeenth section Of the act
entitled can act to authorize the formation
OF railroad corporations and TO regulate the
same" is free from constitutional infirmity
in its title and is sufficiently broad in its
terms to confer power upon railroad cor
porations chartered by special law.
Fourth-The act of May 2, 1885, entitled
can act respecting the leasing of railroads" :"
is constitutional.
Mere Technicalities no Defense.
Fifth-Equity looks at the substance, and
will disregard names and penetrate dis
guises OF form to discover and deal with it.
Sixth-When a corporate excess OF power
tends to the public injury or defeat of the
public policy, It may be restrained in equity
at the suit of the Attorney General.
Seventh-A railroad company of this State
leased its franchise and roads TO q railroad
corporation of another State. The lease
was not duly authorized, but was expressly
forbidden by law. Its effect was to COM
bine coal producers and carriers and to
partly destroy competition in the production
and sale of anthracite coal, q staple COM
modify of the State.
which tends to monopoly and The public In
jury. The object of the information is to
have certain indenture Of lease between
the Central and Port Reading Railroads, and
also a tripartite agreement between the
Central, Port Reading and Philadelphia and
Reading Railroads decreed to be ultra
upon the ground OF public policy. in that
they they tend to create q monopoly OF the
anthracite coal trade in the State by sitting
competition between the contracting cor
ions ar.6f fhnr f0 ir,cr ia 1riR "a
of anthracite coal to the inhabitants of the
State. To effectually destroy the effect of
such lease and agreement mandatory de-
cree Is sought to enjoin the Port Reading to
surrender and to return to the Central its
corporate franchise and property and re-
strictive decree which shall perpetually re-
strain the Port Reading from hereafter con-
trolling and intermeddling with such fran
chise and property and the three companies
from all future combinations which will ar
bitrarily increase or tend to increase tle
price of coal to the people.
Courses Open to the Attorney Genera.
1t is well settled, the Chancellor says,
that when corporate excess of power tends
to the public injury or to defeat public
policy, it may be restrained in equity. He
holds that the Attorney General has the
election in case of this kind to proceed at
law to forfeit the charter, or in equity for
restraint of excess.
tion now considered that evince a public
danger much more serious than appears in
the mere transfer of corporate duties to per-
formance by foreign corporation. The
parties interested are producers of an thra-
cite coal They constitute two of the six
great anthracite coal carriers. Through the
lease OF the Lehigh Valley three of the six
great coal carriers are controlled by the
combination. The truth shows that there
are localities in this State which formerly
had the ADVANTAGE of competition between
huuf M U "a n
the monopoly which this lease affords
1t is true that the corporation of the re-
manning coal roads has not been secured. By
this lease only one competitor is silenced
and only q little more than one-half of the
entire coal region is controlled. 1t is only
the second step in the direction of monopoly,
the first being the lease of the Lehigh Valley
Railroad. 1t is to be remembered, however,
that the Attorney General may have his in
junction when the ultra wires act tends or Is
of n nature to produce public injury. He is
not required to wait until all the monopoly
possible is created. or until all the injury
possible is in process of inflction.
The GU ,stion of Ownership Settled.
But the answe ers deny that either the Phil
adelphia and Reading or the Central Rail-
roads own any coal lands or produce or deal
in coal. That is true, but, at the same time.
it is admitted that the Reading Railroad
owns q majority of the capital stock of the
Reading Coal and Iron Company, and that
the CenGfal company owns Cn6 majority OF 1
the capital stock OF the Lehigh and wilkes |
barre Coal Company. What is this but dis |
guise and evasion? Whatever may be the |
nominal ownership or the legal title, the |
railroad companies stand as overs of the 4
coal lands in this court.
Here, then, we have great coal dealers
complaining that they are not sufficiently |
paid for the products of their mines and
so that already they control
more than one-half of the coal fields upon
which this State depends for fuel, and look
to the corporations OF the remaining an
thracite coal producers to effect n change in
the price of their output, so that they may
have more satisfactory returns from their
investments. To say that these conditions
do not tend to disastrous monopoly in coal
would be an insult to intelligence. 1t is
possible that such a monopoly may be used,
AS the defendants suggest, to introduce
economies and cheaper coal; but 1t does yio-
ence TO our knowledge of human nature to
expect, such a result.
The commodities in which these COM
panies deal is a necessity of lie in this
State. 1t is the principal Iuel OF its homes
md its factories. The slightest increase in
is price is felt by population or hundreds
IF thousands of persons, for their necessity
complete monopoly be established by
com petition, whether that be through lease
IL cooperation, the promoters OF it and
in it may have whatever price
his combination suggests. The disaster
which will follow cannot be measured. 1t
will permeate the entire community, fur
1aC0S, IOfY6S laCBOrleS anu nOmes, leaving |
IN it's trail murmurs OF discomfort with n
Government which will tolerate it and all
he other evil effects OF operation.
PRESIDENT Mcleod Not Dis urb-d.
In speaking of the effect of Chancellor
McGill's decision upon the deal, President
Mcleod said this evening:
The decision will have as much effect as
the injunction was directed against the
sioux Indians. 1t would, of course, II not
by higher court, involve some
changes in forms of operation, such as in
methods of keeping accounts and i'll the |
personnel of the officers. AS to its bearing
n actual results it will have none. :
The friends of the Reading Company own
controlling interest in the Central Rail-
Dad Of New Jersey, and as owners of the
no legal decision can disturb them
n their rights. Moreover, the coal in the
ersey Central territory is now controlled
" the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad
Company through the Coal and Iron Com
,any. The Coal and Iron Company,
s the owners of this coal. can direct as
much of it, or as little of it, to
he Jersey Central tracks as it sees fit. You
ZEE these facts show how absolute and COM
lete is the Readings control of the Jersey
CENTRAL and the coal situation. At the time
he lease was made there was an agreement
Dr. an alternate contract which will accom-
lish the same results as the lease contem-
lated.
WORK OF NORTHWESTERN MILLS