Arizona republican., 1906-07-03
NO MORE INVESTMENTS
 BY PENNSY OFFICIALS
A Recommendation by Special Committee
 of Board of Directors
It Has not Yet Found Though that the crlmInatiOn Brought Out at the Interstate Com merce Commission Hearings Were Well Founded

Philadelphia, July "A preliminary report of the special committee of the board of directors of the Pennsylvania Railroad company recently appointed to investigate the alleged discrimina- tion in the distribution of coal cars. as revealed at the hearings of the inter- state commerce commission, was sub mitted today to the full board of the company. After short discussion the report was unanimously approved The committee, after stating that it had been requested to extend its investiga- tion to all the companies controlled by the Pennsylvania road and that it had carefully considered the testimony taken by the interstate commerce com mission, says that the testimony show ed that of more than 300 operators of bituminous coal mines situated on the lines of the Pennsylvania Railroad company, less than ten operators in all have testified that they believed them selves to have been unfairly discrim- mated against either in the distribu- ton of cars or in the matter of sidings connecting mine workings with the railroad line.
 "Fffty-one of the more than 123.OOO officers and employees of the PennsyI- Vanta Railroad company the committee says, were examined before the inter state commerce commission, and of these witnesses, twenty-one were shown to have acquired, in various ways, interests in coal companies or properties, alleged, but not proven. to have received undue and easonabIe preferences in the distribution of coal cars or in the construction of sidings Despite the public impression to the contrary derived from the fragmentary publication of evidence in the newspa- pers. the testimony of the witnesses ex- anined before the commission does not prove that there have been in fact any undue or unreasonable preferences either in the distribution of coal cars or in the construction of sidings"
 The committee says it has received replies from all officers and employees, having charge of the distribution of cars to inquiries made by the commit tee regarding car distribution. but un- til the company's records of the daily movement of cars can be examined. the committee will be unable to know whether the distribution of cars varied from the rules governing the same
 The committee calls attention to many difficulties encountered in the distribution of cars, and says: There must be a fair system of pro rata dis tribution. but whatever be the system N-AN4N 'NAAA OSs AiiCN lldDly, DeIlOQS when the demand for cars will exceed the supply of cars, because of increased market prices. sometimes caused by weather. sometimes by strikes in other territories. or sometimes by suddenly increased industrial development Un- der such conditions, priority must be gwen. nrst, to shippers who furnish coal to the companies engaged, and, next. to those whose fulfillment of con- tracts will keep other railroads in op- eratlon, prevent municipalities from being left in darkness, or enable steam Snlps to sail, etc. It is not to be as sumed without proof that any special order was issued by any officer from any improper motive. On the contrary. the reasonable presumption is that ev- cry such order was issued only because ot sufficient business necessity
 The report says that the question os privately owned coal cars is not new question, nor one which admits of an oifhand solution. It continues: The greater portion of the coal tonnage of England is moved today in privately owned cars. The use of such cars on the Pennsylvania lines is not peculiar to few favored shippers. They have