The Corvallis times. (Corvallis, Or.) 1888-1909, 1903-01-14
SUES COAL TRUST
BUT CLAIMS ATTORNEY GENERAL
KNOX WON'T PUSH CASE.

/ kNDA WONI fUSH OApE.
Claims to Have Documentary Proof
That Coal Roads Are Trust and
Crimina1ly Liable-Wil-
liam R. Hearst to
President.
New York, Jan. S.-Last October
William r. Hearst, claiming to
have documentary proof of their
guilt, employed counsel and brought
proceedings against the coal-rail-
road owners, for conspiracy. The
| suits have not been brought to trial
by the attorney general, and in an
open letter addressed to President
Roosevelt, Mr.. Hearst says
San Francisco Examiner: Theodore
Roosevelt, President of the United
States.-Sir: On October 4th, more
than three months ago, | had the
honor of addressing aletter to you,
informing you that I had petitioned
your attorney general for permits
sion to furnish him with conclusive
proofs of the existence of coal
trust.
At the request of your Attorney
general, I submitted my proofs to
general Burnett, United States dis.
trict attorney for the southern dis
trict of New York.
These proofs demonstrate, over
the hands and seals of the corpora
tions constituting the trust, that
com bination of coal-carrying rail-
roads absolutely controls the coun--
try's supply of anthracite and fixes
its price to the consumer.
In the Judgment Of lawyers whose
professional competency is quite as.
undisputed az tEatof your attorney
general, those proofs II presented IN
court would suffice to dissolve the
coal trust and subject its members
to the civil and criminal penalties
provided by law.
:. - Continuously since the submits
sion of these proofs the eeal trust
has robbed the people, extorting
famine prices for cosl5 q prime me-
cessity Of Industrial and domestic
life, yet no action against this trust
has been taken by youn attorney
general for the enforcement OF the
laws and the relief5of the public.
So remarkable has been the leth-
argy Of your attorney-genera In
the face of condition of things
which reaches the gravity of a
widespread public calamity that in
both houses of congress resolution
has been introduced calling upon
him to disclose the evidence submit
ted by me through my attorneys IN
October last.
These proofs aside. sir, neither
you nor any other well-informed
citizen can doubt the existence of
the coal trust nor be ignorant of the
organized brigandage which 1t
has practiced and is practicing.
You have but to consult the final
report of the industrial commission
tc learn that the lines of railroads
comprising the trust own nine
tenths of the anthracite deposits
and mine three quarters of the
YEARLY product. From the same re-
port you can ascertain that in order
to crush out competition these rail
roads have charged extortionate
freight rates. Compared with the
charge per ton per mile on bitumi-
nous coal trade for carrying anthra-
cite is go high that, in the language
Of Industrial Commissioner Philips,
the excess charge .is greater every
wear than the interest on our ma
| tional debt, and is made possibly
by the railroad monopoly, now eu.
phonious1y called Community OF
interests.
The fac thatthe coal trust exists
is notorious, and its character Is IN
iversally understood.
A former attorney-general OF tbs
1 United States, Richard Olney, or
October 11th last, in public ad
dress at Boston. said that the mem
/ bers Of tue ira are "The most un-
blushing and persistent of the law
breakers" aud he thus specified:
For years they have detied ths
law of Pennsylvania which forbids
common carriers engaging in th
i business Of mining, for years the,
have Disseminated between Gus
I toners in the freight charges ~
their railroads, in violation of tn
interstate commerce law.
For years they have unlawful
monopolized interstate commerce
~ v;olo tion of the Sherman anti