Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-06-20
RAILWAYS AND COAL
Investigation by Interstate
Commerce Commission.
NOT MUCH SENSATIONAL
Developed in the Testimony Given at
Today's Session.
ONLY FIVE SHARES OF STOCK
In Coal Company Owned by Rail-
road Man and He Paid
for Them.

After all the sensations the interstate
commerce commission has turned up lately
the testimony before that body today was
remarkably slow and commonplace. There
were a lot of railroad men present from
the various departments Of the Western
Maryland, the c. and o. and the Buffalo
and Susquehanna, hut they failed to show
anything startling In the relations OF the
roads to the coal trade. Mr.. Whitney, one
of the special counsel of the commission
did the questioning. and the best he could
turn up was the ownership of five shares
or stock In a coal company by one of the
railroad men. And even at that the man
had to sorrowfuly admit he had bought
and paid for 1t at the full market rate.
Ihere was a. large aggregation present
mostly railroad men from the adjoining
territory. But there were no Philadelphia
IKE revelations. The witnesses were not
prosperous enough looking for grafters nor
shabby enough for millionaires. In fact
tney seemed to belong to the dead level of
disgusting honesty
chairman Knapp. for some reason. did not
SIT with the commission. Mr.. Clements had
10 scowl hard at the audience to keep from
going to sleep. and Commissioner CockrelI
at intervals dozed peacefully
General Superintendent Robertson.
Mr.. A. Robertson, general Superintendent
of the Western Maryland, was the first wit
ness of the day. He was a blank for the
sensation hunters, for he had to admit that
he owned no stock in any coal or oil COM
pany, and had no interest in any coal prop
erty. This with a single execution was
the reply to the stereotyped question by all
of the witnesses.
Mr.. Robertson admitted that the Western
Maryland owned the Davis Coal and Coke
inc of fha
that this company operated only sixteen
mines against forty owned by the various
Independent companies. He said that the
output OF the Davis company was used ex-
clusively by the railroad for fuel but that
there was large surplus and this was sold
on the market. Mr.. Whitney took the wit
ness into long and tiresome explanation
of the method of apportioning cars to the
various coal mines, the gist of the whole
matter, according to the superintendent
explanation. being that the cars were ap-
portioned In proportion to the mines out
put of coal, and II there was surplus of
cars at any one mine that were not being
nlled they were taken away, If necessary,
and given to some other mine that wanted
them. He said 1t was the policy of the
company to encourage the development of
coal properties by any people who wanted
10 come into the work.
G. A. Steiner.
Mr.. Robertson said that c. A. Steiner was
really the man who personally had charge
of the distribution Of the cars, and accord
ingly Mr.. Steiner. the superintendent of the
West Virginia division of the road was
called. He said that he was not actually
the man who had the distribution of the
coal cars, but that they were handled by
man under him named Dorsey. Mr.. Dorsey
did not happen to be in reach, SO the COM
mission listened to Mr.. Steiner's catechism
for half an hour. They listened to the
q nd hod IN In afxr he
answers. for Mr.. Steiner, though apparently
a well-intentioned young man, with a cor
pulent frame, had a weak voice, and the
most of his replies were lost on every one
except the stenographer who sat at his
elbow.
Mr.. Steiner was the man who had to own
up to the possession of coal stock. He said
that he had five shares in the Abram'
Creek Company but he said that he was
one of the original founders of the COM
pany. and that he merely got his stock at
the same price as the other incorporators,
namely, $50 per share.
J. w. Smith, superintendent OF car service
on the Western Maryland, was called, but
beyond saying that he owned no coal stock,
he did not contribute even any negative in
formation.
road, said the same thing, and added that
he never heard of anybody on the road who
did own any coal stock.
Controller w. q. Baumes.
There was little more to the story told
by Controller w. II. Baumes of the Buffalo
and Susquehannah road. He came from
line that was extended from lumber road
and carried into coal mining egion, or
rather 1t was a coal region and the mining
commenced after the road got there Mr..
Whitney read over a list of half dozen
coal companies in the region, and Mr.
Baumes admitted they were all owned by
his road. except one, and that was owned by
the Erie. 1t was closed country to the
independents, but in spite of earnest solicit
tations on the part of Mr.. Whitney and
Commissioner Clements, he would not ven
ture any explanation as to why the indie
pendents did not flock in and work the I'M
occupied lands, of which. he admitted there
was a considerable quantity.