The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-03-02

! There was a hearing before Judge r.
| w. Archibald yesterday in the equity
proceedings brought by the West Ridge
| Coal company against the heirs of Fer
dinand Won Storch. deceased. In 1891
: the Won ;StorChs leased the coal under
. one hundred acres of land in North
scranton to the West Ridge company,
| the lease providing that a minimum
] of $1,000 tons per annum should be
| mined. The lease was for the coal
underlying the land below the Clark
vein the coal in the upper veins, with
the exception of a plot of three acres,
which had been reserved, was conveyed
Gears before to the Delaware and Hud-
son Canal company
! The West Ridge company was given
all the coal under the three acres re-
! served in the lease to the Delaware
/ and Hudson company and in the re-
| mainder of the one hundred acres the
! coal was to be taken from the two
! Dunmore veins which are deeper down
in the earth than the Clark vein, which
| marks the end of the Delaware and
! Hudson COmpany's domain.
! In 1896 the West Ridge company de-
/ faulted in the payment of the mini
mum amount of royalty and the Won
/ Storch heirs served notice that this
action acted as a forfeiture of the lease.
! The West Ridge people thereupon in
| November, 1896, filed a bill in equity to
| restrain the heirs from forfeiting the
| lease on the ground that it was impos-
! sible to get out the minimum amount
! of coal because of a fault that had
| been struck in the upper DunmOre vein.
! The heirs contend that this would not
| prevent the company from actively
prosecuting mining operations in the
! lower Dunmure vein which contains
! three feet of good coal. Since 1896 the
! West Ridge company has rendered
various amounts in payment Of royal
ties. hut as they did not reach the
minimum amount called for by the
lease they were not accepted
! The hearing OF yesterday was a con-
! tinuation of one held last September,
| the purpose of the continuation being
to enable the West Ridge company 20
extend bore hole fifty feet further
into the earth for the purpose of as
| certainng the extent Of the fault" in
the upper DunmOre vein complained
of by the mining company, as we'll as
| the character of the veins below the
| Clark.
| The West Ridge company attempted
to put down this hole, but in doing 50
had to go into abandoned workings Of
the Won Storch mine Of the Delaware
and Hudson Canal company. Mr.. Rose,
who has charge Of the coal department
| Of that company, refused to allow the
hole to be bored and removed the bor-
ing implements set up by the West
| Ridge people. He took the position
that the Dunmore vein contains great
quantities Of gas and the bore-hole
would be the means of sending it into
their abandoned work. gs, where it
would be difficult to dislodgt it. A dis
astrous explosion might result
After much urging he agreed to al
! low the West Ridge people to proceed
with the hole if they would agree to
file a bond to indemnify the Delaware
and Hudson company for damage that
might at any time occur by reason Of
the bore-hoe This the West Ridge
company declined to do.
They put down a hOre-hOle close to
the shaft, but at the hearing yesterday
evidence as to this was objected to be-
! cause the defendants We're not pres
ent when this hole was made and be-
| cause it was too near the shaft to de-
terminc anything, and was not equiva-
lent to Il continuation of the original
hole.
Judge Archibald sustained the objec-
tiun aud ruled out the evidence con-
corning the new bOre-hole. He ad-
mitted number of argumentative dia :
grams as evidence in the case The
case was then closed and will be argued
March 3. Attorneys j. f. Burr, C. II.
| Welles and Judge Alfred Hand ap-
peared for the plaintiff company and
Judge W. II. Jessup and T. c. Umsted,
of Wilkes Barre, for the Won Storch