The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1906-12-08
Hartman and Gould Deeply
Involved in Charges of
Grand Jury in Utah
DISCRIMINATION is
ONE OF OFFENSES
Southern Pacific Man AL
legged to Have Flagrantly
Violated Interstate Law

SALT LAKE CITY, Dec. THE Fed
eral Grand Jury. which has been in
vestigating coal land frauds in Utah
and charges that railroad corporations
shippers, made a partial report this
afternoon in the United States District
Court to Judge John Marshall. Indict-
ments were returned against the Union
Pacific Railroad Company, the Oregon
Short Line Railroad Company, the
Union Pacific Coal Company, the Utah
Fuel Company and several of the high
est officials representing the Hartman
and Gould corporations in Utah
The indictment against the Harri-
man companies embraces the Union
Pacific, the Oregon Short Line, the
Union Pacific Coal Company, Everett E.
Buckingham, general superintendent of
the Oregon Short Line, and ]. NJ. Moore,
general agent in Salt Lake of the Union
Pacific Coal Company. 1t charges vio-
lation of the interstate commerce law,
alleging discrimination against D. ].
Sharp, coal dealer in Salt Lake City,
who was forced out of business after he
had cut prices below the prices charged
by other dealers In coal.
GOULD DOES NOT ESCAPE
| The indictment against the repre-
sentatives OF the Gould interests em-.
braces the Utah fuel Company, H. c.
Williams, general manager of this COM
pany; Robert Forester, the company's
| geologist; w. R. Foster, secretary to
Robert Forester; Alexander NJ. Cowie,
general manager of the companys Wa
satch store at Sunnyside. Utah; Elroy
n. Clark. the Utah Fuel Company's at
torney at Denver. and George A. Moore.
the company's agent at Denver. They
are charged with defrauding and at
! tempting to defraud the United States
| Government, the charges being based
on the methods pursued in acquiring
title to coal lands in Utah.
Bench warrants for the arrest of the
persons accused in the two indictments
were issued. Bonds in the case Of each
individual accused were issued at $4,000.
CRUSHED SMALL DEALER
The indictment against the Harri-
man railroad and the Union Pacific
Coal Company and the two officials of
these companies is based on alleged
unlawful discrimination against the D.
]. Sharp Coal Company. Sharp recent
ly told his story before Interstate Com
merce Commissioner Prouty. In the
summer of 1905 the Hartman railroads
made a rate to all coal shippers who
brought in their coal during the sum-
mer months. This rate was SO cents
lower than the regular rate. Sharp
endeavored to give, his patrons the
benefit of this rate and advertised coal
in Salt Lake City at s4.75 ton, which
was so cents less than the rate charged
by members of the Coal Dealers Asso-
citation.
Sharp testified that he was called to
the offices of the Oregon Short Line
Railroad Company and was instructed
ments from the newspapers he would
not be permitted to handle Union Pa
cific coal Sharp refused to withdraw
the advertisements and informed the
officials of the railroad that he in
tended to give his customers an op-
portuntty to fill their bins at a re-
duction in price corresponding to the
reduction granted to the Coal Dealers
Association.
After serving his notice of defiance,
Sharp testified, shipments of coal to
his yards began to be tied up and he
could not get coal when he ordered It,
He continued to sell from the supply
of 1000 tons which he had in his yards,
but ultimately this supply was ex-
hausted. Out of 110 carloads ordered
in one month he got only nineteen cars,
and finally he could get no coal at all
and was forced out of business, being
obliged to close his yards. which had
cost him 1900.