Omaha daily bee., 1903-04-24
CALLS COAL FIRM A SHAM
Opposing Lawyer Declares Temple Iron
Company Mere Trust Tool.
SAYS CONTRACTS WILL PROVE COMBINE
Anthracite Roads stiIl Refuse to Pro-
duce Papers Commerce Commits
sion Demands and Must
Answer to Circuit Court.
Tel enss..

NEW YORK, April 2S.-The Interstate
Commerce commission today continued its
Investigation into the complaint against
the. anthracite coal carrying railroads filed
by William r. Hearst.
When the hearing opened today counsel
for Mr.. Hearst called for the contracts
between the Temple Iron company, the
Lehigh Valley, the Lackawanna and the
Reading railroads. The contracts had been
brought into the room BY the secretary OF
a trust company which held them, but
counsel for the railroads objected to their
introduction on the ground that the Tenn
pie Iron company is not named in the COM
plant. 7r-sr
Counsef for complainant called first for
one dated April 10. 1899, between the Erie
railroad and the Temple Iron company by
which, the railroad company guarantees
the stock and bonds Of the Iron company.
Judge Campbell of the Reading, objected
and at his suggestion Mr.. Shearn called
individually for all the papers he wanted,
that the one objection might cover them all.
Mr.. Shearn said the contracts will show
q combination or pool of the freight agents
IN violation OF, the law. 90
Buy ON Independents.
'Mr. shearn also declared that when
Simpson and Watkins, who controlled eleven
scollieries, made a move to build an indie
pendent railroad, the Baer systems, the
,Lehigh Valley, Delaware, Lackawanna &
Western, New York q susquehanna and
Erie combined and bought them OF through
the Temple Iron company. The roads. he
declared. guaranteed the stock and bonds
of the Iron company to the extent Of S.
100000. All the contracts were alike In
wording and executed on the same day.
THESE contracts" Mr.. shearn said, will
prove every material allegation in our pc
tition. The railroads are banded together
in a hard and fast agreement which stiles
all competition in the coal carrying trade"
y Counsel for the railroads denied this.
They declared that the Temple Iron COM
pany was acquired by George F. Baer and
the interests friendly to him because 1t
owned a charter that the railroad and
mining ~ofhcials needed. A representative
of the trust holding the contracts denied
the right OF the commission to Investigate
Its affairs.
Replying to Commissioner Prouty. coun-
sci for the railroads said the rates on an
thracite were not double those on bitumi-
nous coal.
II claim that these contracts furnish
evidence of a pool in violation Of the
SNdlute, bdlu MI ouehIu. AuO AOmPAO
Iron company is nothing but a sham"
The commission instructed the represen-
tative OF. the trust company to produce the
contracts. but he refused to do so.
According to custom. the commission will
certify the refusal to the United States
circuit court. which will determine whether
the contracts must be produced.
Finds Against Railroads.
In the Proctor and Gamble case the COM
mission finds against the railroads as to
less than carloads, as follows:
The action OF defendants in increasing the
classification OF soap in less than carloads
from fourth to third class was unreasonable
and unjust under the act to regulate COM
merce, and their subsequent practice OF
applying 20 per cent less than third class
rates on such trafic IL also unlawful.
As 10 carloads of soap, the commission
finds the action of defendants In placing
soap with common grades Of grocery mer-
chandise In the nth class, and refusing to
reduce soap in carloads 10 the sixth class,
was not unlawful, while other articles with
which carloads were properly compared
were retained in the fifth class.
But, the decision adds, this shall not
operate TO preclude the commission from
holding in an appropriate proceeding that
NTH class rates in this territory are ex-
cessive."
The, following railroad corporations were
represented at the hearing OF this case;