Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-05-23
Eastern and Western Mines to
Be Merged Into a Bitumina
Gus Trust.
Morgan is Back OF tho Scheme
and Capital OF $500, 100000
is Ready.
Eastern Interests Already Joined
and Western Owners Urged
to Come In.

West Virginia, Indiana and Illinois I'M
ration, with capital approximatlng
$500, 100000, are under way in Chicago.
j. Pierpont Morgan. the organizer OF
the anthracite coal trust, is said to be
the financial power behind the b1tumi-
nous coal trust in process OF lorna
ton, and John S. Bays, of Sullivan, Ind,
is carrying on the negotiations Tor the
purchase of the Illinois and Indians.
mines.
Options are being quietly secured at
rrices which it is thought will be ac-
ceptable to the promoters of the trust.
1ne pan includes III mines in Indiana,
and $50 mines in Illinois, practically all
Of the productive mines in the two
states. The capital for the proposed
deal is in New York, awaiting consum-
nation of the plans.
The main Offices of the largest COM
panies 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
remainder 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. He
returned to Sullivan yesterday after in
terviews with the owners Of several
large Indiana and Illinois coal COM
panies, and after having secured
e ic
The soft coal trust is already reality
and the present negotiation is merely
an attempt to eliminate the competition
Of the Illinois and Indiana mines ana
give the trust monopoly of the trade
in the eastern half of the United states.
with the exception of the section sup
piled by the Tennessee mines. Inc
trust was formed recently by the COM
bination of the Pittsburg Coal COM
pany, the Fairmount Coal Company
and the Hooking Valley Coal Company
with a capital of s15o,0OO.oOO. The
Pittsburg Coal Company owns pract-
cally all the great mines of Pennsyl-
vania and owns railroads connectlns
the mines with the market centers lof
coal. The Paramount Coal Company
controls the mines of West Virginia
and the Hooking Valley Coal Company
recently gained control OF the proper
Ties of the Sunday Creek Company ana
other companies in the Hooking Vailey
district in Ohio, with railroad conhec-
tons with Cleveland and extensive
docks at that city.
The merging of the three companies
gave them absolute control OF tne soi'
coal supply of the east. Inc zeal m
Guided the purchase of the Ohio mlne'
of w. P. Rend for $1,5Oo,Oo0, ana the
purchase of the West Virginia prop
critics of Jones G. Adams, OF chicago
for a like figure. 1t also included the
purchase and lease of practically all
the large coal docks on Lake Michigan
and Lake Superior. An agreement
was also secured with the Lake Car
riers' association, it is said, whereby
the trust is granted low rates on ship
ments from Cleveland to Buffalo. All
this was done to put the trust In po-
sition to compete with the mines of
Illinois and Indiana in their own ter
ritory. Docks were secured IN chi
caeo. Milwaukee, Manitowoc. Duluth,
Superior, Ashland and other lake ports
those which were not bought outright
being secured by agreement with the
owners that none but trust coal Would
be handled at the docks. The Jones d
Adams docks are said to nave peeh
secured under such an agreement.
Among the docks at the disposal OF
the trust in Chicago are sad 10 De
the Lehigh Valley and Delamawer and
Lackawanna docks.
In addition to their facilities for
Shipping by water at advantageous
rates the trust, thru its railroad con-
nections, has enjoyed low rate on
shipments to Chicago by rail. 1t IL
said that the rate paid on trust coal
from eastern points to Chicago is only
s1.50 per ton, which puts the trust on
a competitive basis with Indiana and
Illinois companies in Chicago.
The object of these comprehensive
preparations to compete with Indiana
and Illinois companies for the control
of the soft coal trade of the north
western states. is said to be to force
the Illinois and Indiana companies to
come into the trust on valuation
which would suit the trust promoters,
Indiana and Illinois We're included IN
the original plans of the combination
and options We're secured a year ago
on all the mines. These options were
secured in the names of trustees, and
the promoters of the trust did not d.
vulge who their hackers were, but II
was generally considered among tho
mine owners that unlimited capital
was behind the movement and higi
price was placed on the majority o.
the properties in consequence. The
options ran until the last of February
of this year, but when the trust pro-
moters figured on them they found the
prices too high to admit of the pur-
chase of the mines.
With the contamination of the deal
in the east, the negotiations with west
ern companies We're renewed.
TIL mines included in the deal are
situated in twelve counties in south
western Indiana and many of them
are within q short distance of the line
between Indiana and Illinois. They
produce 100000 tons of coal a year,
of which 100000 tons are shipped to
Chicago The value of their output is
about $15,000,000 a year and the
amount of capital necessary to COM
bine them is estimated at s50,0O0,00o
The mines of Illinois are about double
the capacity of the Indiana mines, and
S1OO. 600, 900 would be necessary to eff
feet their combination. Accordingly,
with the s15O,000,O00 capitalization of
the eastern consolidation. the trust
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