The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1902-05-29
All Eastesn and Western Mines
Combined Under One
Management.
MORGAN BACK OF SCHEME
Indiana ard Illinois Soft Coal Plants
Will Be Forced Into the
Combine.

tions which. if completed, will
combine all the soft coal mines
of Pennsylvania, West Virginia,
Indiana and Illinois under the
management of single corpora
ton. with a capital approximat
ing $500. 900, 900, are under way
in Chicago. J. Pierpont Morgan
the organizer of the anthracite
coal trust, Is said to be the finan-
clal power behind the bituminous
coal trust in process of formation
and jain S. Bays of Sullivan,
Ind. is carrying on the negotia-
tions for the purchase of the Ill
inois and Indiana mines.
Operations are being quietly
secured at prices which it is
thought will be acceptable to the
promoters of the trust. The
plan Includes III mines in Indi-
ana, and 80 mines in Illinois,
practically all of the productive
mines in the two States. The
capital for the proposed deal is
in New York, awaiting consuma-
ton of the plans.
The main offices of the largest
companies operating in Illinois
and Indiana are in Chicago. A
large part of the product of the
mines of the two States is used
for the home market, and the re-
mainder is distributed largely
from Chicago. Accordingly this
city is the logical point for the
negotiation to be carried out. and
Mr.. Bays has spent much of his
time here recently.
The soft coal trust is already
a reality and the present negoti-
alton is merely an attempt to
eliminate the competition of the
Illinois and Indiana mines and
give the trust a monopoly of the
trade in the eastern half of the
United States, with the exception
of the section supplied by the
Tennessee mines. The trust was
formed recently by the combina
ton of the Pittsburg Coal com
pany, the Fairmont Coal compa-
ny. and the Hooking Valley Coal
company. with a capital of $3.50,
100000. The Pittsburg Coal
company owns practically all the
great mines of Pennsylvania and
owns railroads connecting the
mines with the market centerS
for coal The .Fairmont Goa
company controls the mines OF
West Virginia, and the Hooking
Va ley Coal company recently
gained control of the properties
of the Sunday Creek company
and other companies in the
Hooking Valley district in Ohio
with railroad connections with
Cleveland and extensive docks a.
that city.
The object of these compre
hensive preparations to compete
with Indiana and Illinois com
panies for the control of the sof
coal trade of the northwestern
states, is said to be to force thu
Illinois and Indiana companies tx
come into the trust on a valuation
which would suit the trust pro
motors. Indiana and Illinois
were included In the origina
plans of the combination and op
tions were secured year ago OF
all the mines. These option
were secured in the names o
trustees, and the promoters o
the trust did not divulge VIII
their hackers were, but it wa
generally considered among tn
mine owners that Unlimited cap
ital was behind the movemen
anda high price was placed o.
the majority OF the properties il
consequence. The options RAJ
until the last OF February of thi
year, but when the trust promo
tiers figured on them they foun
the prices too high to admit @
the purchase of the mines. Eff
forts to get scaling of price
proved unavailing. The promo
tiers allowed their options in III
inois and Indiana to expire an
devoted their energies to a CON
bination of the mining interest
OF Pennsylvania, Ohio and Yves
Virginia.