Daily new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1897-1906, 1903-03-11
COAL COMBINATION.
Conspiracy Case Opened in Chi
cago in Judge Chetlain's
Court.
PRICE OF COAL FIXED MONTHLY.
Witness Testifies to IronoIad Agree
ment by Which All Coal Mined in
Indiana Was Controlled by One
company-case VIII Go to Jury.

Chicago, March 11.--Assistant
States Attorney Barnes, in Judge
Chetlain's court, made the opening
statement in the coal conspiracy case.
Eight individual coal operators and
nine corporations are defendants. Mr..
Barnes said.
There are 16 counts under these
indictments, and conviction on one OF
them means a verdict of guilty. These
known through their officers as OPP
orators, the defendant selling corpor.
ations were known as distributors.
All Of the corporations, save one, of
which w. S. Boyle is president, have
mines in Indiana Once month each
sent representative to Chicago, and
here the price of coal was fixed. The
entire output was sent to Boyle and
he received 5 cents a ton commission
for selling it. 1t makes no difference,
gentlemen, whether or not the price
was reasonable II needs only to be
shown that the combination was In
furious to trade. We will show by
witnesses that it was so, and that the
men who refused to go into the com.
bination, or who withdrew from it
after they found out it's nature, were
made to suffer loss of business by
illegal methods, which were the result
of conspiracy"
Ex-Judge r. NJ. Wing, in behalf Of
the defendants, declared there had
been no combination in restraint Of
trade and that his clients mined but
one-tenth of the coal mined in Indiana
He contended that part of the agree.
ment upon which it is proposed to
show conspiracy was simply to pre-
vent the shutting down of the mines
at certain periods and throwing of
labor out of employment. He spoke
at length upon the interstate aspect
Of the case, and then the state called
its first witness.
Max Eiehberg, president Of the Wa
bash Valley Coal company, was one
of the signers of the agreement drawn
by the defendants According to his
testimony an ironclad combination
existed between the Indiana coal OPP
orators and the Crescent company, by
which all coal mined in Indiana was
to be sold only through the Crescent
company, while monthly conferences
on the situation were held in the
Crescent company's office.
Mr.. Eichberg first identified the
round robin" agreement, which, he
said, was originally entered into be-
tween the Indiana operators and the
Crescent company. He further identi.
fed the signatures to this agreement
and said they were made in President
Rogles Office. The matter of pooling
the output of Indiana mines and dis.
tributing 1t through the Crescent COM
pany, he said, was made known to
him year ago, at a convention of
miners and operators held at Terre
Haute All coal was shipped accord.
ing to the instructions of the Ores.
cent company. He was not allowed
parties. At the first of these meetings
the price of mine-run coal, the wit
ness testified, was raised from S5
cents ton to 90 cents.
Late in the evening Mr.. Eichberg
concluded his evidence and the state
announced that it's case was closed
The defense will be equally brief, and
1t is expected that the case will be
given to the jury tonight Practically
the whole fight is on the validity OF
the agreement between the operators
and whether or not 1t was in restraint
of competition.