Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-05-05
THE BUSINESS WORLD.
President Roberts, of the Pennsy, on
His Company's Position
IN REFERENCE TO COAL RATES
A Cordage Trust Official Explains His
Corporations Methods.
FIRES, FAILURES AND RAILWAY NEWS

PHILADELPHIA, May 4-The following
interview with President Roberts, of the
Pennsylvania Railroad Company, will be
published tomorrow:
Questton-In your recent interview you
expressed very freely your judgment as to
| the course through rates over the trunk
| lines and Western lines would likely take.
So far, your Judgment in respect to these
| rates seems to have been justified by the
events. 1t Is admitted now, believe, that
there is a general disturbance of through
| rates all over the country, and that their
general course is downward. In that inter-
view, however, you did not give any posi-
tive expression TO your views on coal rates,
and the public would be glad to know If
there is any reason why you should not ex-
press your opinion on the subject also.
Mr.. Roberts-I see no reason why I should
not, as my views have been well known for
several years past. have never been able
to close my eyes to the fact that sooner or
later, the disparity between bituminous and
anthracite rates would cause trouble to the
anthracite carriers, who are also carriers of
bitiminous coal, and that sooner or later an
equalization of the rates on both classes of
coal will be forced upon them. The rates re-
ceived for carrying bituminous coal are not
over two-thirds of the rates per ton per mile.
In anthracite coal, yet, the rates are con-
sidered fairly remmunerative. The conclu-
sion reached by the Interstate Commerce
Commission in the case of Coke Brothers,
against the Lehigh Valley, also seemed to
indicate that the two rates must be brought
closer together.
Question-But, Mr.. Roberts, as I under
stand, the question now presented is not as
to the maintenance of those rates, which the
Interstate Commerce Commission declared
to be too high; but it is proposed to advance
the price Of anthracite coal, which would, or
course, involve an increase of the rates for
carrying it. Will you give the public the
benefit of your opinion on that subjectp
Mr.. Roberts-It has always been the policy
of our company, so far as possible, to man-
age its traffic in harmony with its COM
petitors, and our recent action simply made
those which were then being charged by
other lines. 1t was made necessary by the
new system established by our competitors
of making the rate bear certain relative
proportion to the selling price of the coal,
and resulted i'll a reduction of the nominal
rates which have been prevailing; and 1T
seemed to me to tend toward proportion
ate reduction in the cost of the coal to the
consumer. But If this is to be followed by
an advance in the price of coal forced by q
curtailment of the production, l fear 1t
would be 1mpracticable for our company to
continue the policy it has always hereto
been in harmony with the policy of restrict
ing production for the purpose of advancing
the price of a commodity. The interests OF
our company are those Of a transporter.
whose object is to stimulate the production
of articles, rather than restrict them.