Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-08-12
RAILROADS SELL COAL LANDS
First steps Taken by Companies 10
Comply with New Interstate
Commerce Law.

In the sale Of railroad interests Of valua-
BILE bituminous coal lands in Pennsylvania
there is seen what is believed in financial
circles to be the first step on the part of
the railroads to divest themselves of coal
properties, and in that way to get in post
ton TO obey the clause of the rate law
which provides that no railroad shall en-
gage in business of mining and transport
ing a commodity other than lumber
Information from the coal region during
the last few days is in effect that re-
Gently organized corporation, known as
the Pennsylvania Beech Creek and East
ern Coal company, has acquired under a
g99-year lease valuable properties from
the Pennsylvania Coal and Coke company.
the Webster Coal and Coke company and
the North River Coal and Wharf COM
pany Capitalized at 5000, 900, the new
corporation has acquired control of sew
eral thousand acres of the most produc-
tive bituminous coal land in the country
New York. Pittsburg and Scranton capital
is interested in the new ENTERPRISE.
In the west there has been a accession
of the movement on the part of the rail-
roads, so noticeable during the last two
years, to acquire coal lands. The drift of
independent properties to the western
made II appear that all the coal lands
would eventually be controlled by the rail-
road interests. But since the framing of
the new law there has been a strong coun-
ter movement The lawyers for the west
ern roads have not fully satisfied them
selves just what the new statute means
and many of them have gone to Washing
ton to submit the law to the Interstate
Commerce commission for interpretation
In Chicago last week rumors were per-
sistent that two of the largest coal COM
panies were about to consolidate and the
interstate commerce law was the reason
assigned.
Looked upon first as a possible move
on the part of the railroads to circumyent
the law, the sale of properties is now re-
guarded in financial circles as having a
contrary motive. The clause of the inter
state rate law referring to mining and
transporting reads as follows:
From and after May l. 1908. II shall be
unlawful for any railroad company to
transport Gin interstate commerce) any
article or commodity other than timber
and the manufactured products thereof.
manufactured or mined or produced by it.
or under its authority, or which It may
own in whole or in part, or in which it
may nave any interest, direct or Indirect,
except such articles or commodities as
may be necessary or intended for its use
in the conduct of its business as a com.
mon carrier"
1t is the intent of this clause of the rate
law to compel the railroads to get out of
the coal business, and the sale of the
Pennsylvania coal lands is regarded as
merely the forerunner of transfer of in
terests of much greater magnitude. The
prime movers in the purchase of the
Pennsylvania bituminous fields are James
Kerr of Clearfeld, Thomas H. Watkins
and c. d. Simpson of Scranton, and Sam
uel Peters of New York. Mr.. Kerr's ex-
tensive coal, coke and railroad interests
form the nucleus of the deal A railroad.
the name of which is not made public.
will be included in the new company's
facilities. Men interested in the acquire.
ment of the properties declare that the
project is entirely friendly to the Inter
state commerce law.-New York Herald