Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-11-28
HOLDINGS OF COAL LANDS
Claimed That Railroads Own Supply
and Will Not Sell.
THE SITUATION GROWS WORSE
Citizens of an Idaho Town Take Law
in Their Own Hands, Hold Up
Train and Appropriate Fuel.

SALT LAKE CITY. Utah. November 2s.-
The coal famine in the far west grows dailv
more serious.
III is the direct result of the absolute coal
monopoly established by the Union Pacific
and the Rio Grande Western railroads and
maintained by every device of intimidation
and technicality known to railroad lawyers
and managers.
Ihese two roads. which mean of course.
Hartman and Gould. completely control all
of the available coal supplies of Wyoming.
Utah, Idaho and Nevada and part of Colo
RADIO.
what with the car shortage and the great
~ increased demand. they are utterly I'M
able to supply enough fuel to meet the hare
necessities of these states. Add to this the
fact that by litigation of various kinds they
have succeeded in excluding all independ
ent capital from the field. and the COM
pleteness of their monopoly appears in all
its simplicity.
strated what may be done in such an emer-
gency For weeks the citizens of Nyssa
nave been without coal. They saw train
load after trainload go by while they had
not pound, nor could they with all their
appeals induce the Oregon Short Line a
mon Pacific feeder. TO give them any, So
they took the law into their own hands.
Posse Takes Train.
On Saturday night they formed a posse.
held up coal train. uncoupled two cars
and forced the conductor to run them in on
siding. Before morning every stove in
town was roaring.
NO step to punish them has been taken
and 1t Is the universal opinion that no iury
could De obtained that would convict them.
The city of Ogden. an hours ride from
here, has been living from hand to mouth.
SO 1ar as coal goes, for weeks. One day
Iast week the street car system of the civ
had 10 shut down for lack of fuel Even
mere In Salt Lake the big smelters. with all
theIr great pun. had the greatest difficulty
In getting coal.
From Wyoming comes word that right at
the very doors OF the coal mines of that
sta.e people can scarcely get enough coal
10 keep from freezing to death A number
or merchants from the northern part of
me state are in Cheyenne trying to get
fuel. but have not been able to buv
pound. Local dealers there saw thew cou1d
not snip 1t TO Wyoming towns on the Chi
cago and Northwestern IL they had il as
me Union Pacific has refused to haul a |
single carload from its mines at Pool
Springs, Cumberland or Hanna that is CON
signed to towns off the Union Pacific Yet |
Train load after train load goes through |
cheyenne to points outside of Wyoming.
AIready threats are made that If the |
railroad refuses to sell to the peonIe Of |
wyoming coal that Is mined in their state |
steps VIII be taken to bring the Union Pa |
dc
the people will help themselves There |
IS coal, coa everywhere, but not a pound |
to burn. p0N''u
Investigation Begun.
This state of things gives special noint
10 the inquiry begun here yesterday by In
terstate Commerce Commissioner Clarke
INTO the coal operations and the ACQUIRE
ment OF public coal lands by the Union Pa
cine and the Rio Grande Western. The
no Grande Western owns more than 10000
acres OF coal land in the state of Utah
Most OF II Is held In the name of the Utah
Coal Company.
1t was largely acquired by transfer from
me state of Utah. the land coming to the
state from the United States government,
or grazing land.
Ine railroad attorneys said Yesterday
that II was not known when the railroad |
acquired this land that Their was any coal
uhoer IL: But II the railroad authorities |
did not know ii they were about the only
persons In the state OF Utah who did NOT |
Inc railroads do not own an acre of agri-
cultural or grazing land In Utah. and do
not wish TO own an acre of it.
Railroad Monopoly.
The evidence introduced at yesterdays
session showed beyond doubt that the
COAL INDUSTRY here and in the other states
ihehlioheu above Is an ironclad railroad
rs eAiSSt upon the residents |
OF THESE states is seen in the fuel famine
from which hundreds of thousands are
now suffering. The railroads own all the
available coal lands. BY litigation and in :
umidaton they have excluded other canital |
ana pending an inquiry the Presidents or
ier mas stopped the opening of any more
public coal lands oe g,
Thus the condition of the consumer 10
pitiable 40
II Is expected that evidence will he nro-
inced before Commissioner Clarke that one
ot the means used by the railroads 10 die | ,
courage outside coal industries has haen |
In the matter of rates In Other |
words. the railroads would carry their own '
eoal so much cheaper than that of other | I
companies that they could andersen anv
outside company any
An afndavit by j. A. Smith of Denver '
was read yesterday, In which serfous I
,harges were made against the Union pa
'ilc Coal Company. Mr.. Smith speci6calIv I
lneged fraud on the part of the coal COM :
pahy' and he declared that the lands were
AIKEN up by employees of the company who Il
lau never seen the quarter sections and Il
mat all the filing fees were advanced nv @
ne mon Pacific Company. which subse- 7
luehtly paid its straw men, a bonus of
3uJ in cash for their trouble