The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-02-11
Coal ! Combine IS DENIED
The Presidents Have No Fear Of
Legislative Inquiry.
SIMPLY ARRANGED TRAFFIC
Retail Price of Coal Increascd-Thc
Alleged Organization Merely
Central Office for Gen.
eral Information.

| New York. Feb. lO.--Legislative in
| vestigation OF the alleged coal combine
does not terrify the magnates of the
anthracite pool They say they have
nothing to conceal; that the legisla-
ture is welcome to the iacts. They
| maintain that the division of tonnage
! and production effected two weeks ago
| by the presidents meeting was per-
| fectly legitimate and in the lines of or
| dinary trade procedure.
They deny that they are responsible
| for the act of the coal sales agents who
advanced the price of coaF
| following the tonnage arrangement.
President Thomas =. Fowler of the
| New York, Ontario and Western. when
asked his opinion of the Robbins reso-
| luton today said:
II don't mind the proposed investiga-
| tion. In fact. I'd be glad to have them
! send a committee down here to learn
| the truth. But I don't see that there's
anything to be investigated. The
| presidents of these roads simply held q
meeting and arranged to divide up the
traffic. There was no combine or trust
I'm that. 1t was nothing more than the
| Trunk Line association does and no
body makes any objection.
The public hasn't suffered. The price
of coal to consumers is no more than it
| was before the division. In fact be-
lieve ! can buy coal at retail for less
| now than / could then. and the legisla-
ture will find this out. ii they send a
committee down to bear us.
About that proposed permanent or
| ganization | don't think anything has
! been done yet, but the object is merely
| to provide central office to which we
| shall report statistics of tonnage, pro-
| duction and prices for general informa-
| ton. This organization Is not delayed
by any newspaper scare, and will be
duly effected in good time. I'll be glad
| to see the committee when they send
| for me-"
President Albert Walter of the Della
ware. Susquehanna and Schuylkill,
| said: THE presidents have done moth
ing that they need to conceal and moth
ing that they haven't been doing for
years. There was no violation of the
! law In our agreeing to apportion tom
mage"
Sale Agents Fix Prices.
But how about the advnce in
price?"
we didn't advance the price. We
carefully abstained from doing any
thing in relation to that matter. 1t is
not In our department. The people
who advanced the price were the sales
agents, and they have been holding
meetings to regulate and fix the price
of coal for twenty years. No. I'll not
admit that the advance was the result
of our action. That is an important
point. and it remains for our accusers
to prove it, 49,
President Robert NJ. olyphant. of the
Delaware and Hudson. said: .1 don't
think we have violated the law in any
way, and we don't fear investigation.
Am | willing to testify? Well. I
wouldn't say that. But If the commit
tee come down they'll have a right to
call me- and l must so, willing or un-
willing"
But you'll have the right to say
whether you will answer certain of
their questions or not" remarked an
associate in the office who was sitting
by during the interview.
1T doesn't worry me in the least"
continued Mr.. Olyphant. what the
newspapers say about the coal presi-
dents The headlines of Jail Ahead
don't frighten me. I've lived here 20
years and expect to live while longer
without any such extraordinary exper-
ience. | can't even get up a little fit of
trembling for your benefit"
The president of a fourth road, who
modestly refused to permit the use of
his name. expressed similar sentiments.
and in addition urged that there were
two sides Of the question so far as it
applied to the poor man. In Pennsyl-
vania, he said. anthracite coal was re-
garded as a luxury for the rich man.
and in the coal producing regions there
had been for two years past growing
bitter feeling against the coal barons
for producing so much cheap coal for
rich New Workers. Since the action
regulating production the newspa pers
of the coal regions had expressed gem
eral approval. He said also that the
trouble in the past has not been so
much overproduction as the overstock-
ing of the market at times when the
coal was not needed. and prophesied
that If business revived sufficiently
there might be as much coal mined this
year as last. The object of the agree
ment had been to so regulate produc-
ton as to prevent excessive competi-
tion. by which all the roads were
forced to sell at q loss"