The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-02-14
CHARGES OF DRANE
ALLEGES COMBINATION TO STEELE
 COMPETITION.
Representative Gillespie Makes Two Unsuccessful Attempts to Get the Matter Into Record
 of the House.

Washington, Feb. 13-Representa- tive Gillespie made two unsuccessful attempts in the House today to obtain consent to have included in the House record letter from the bituminous coal trades league of Pennsylvania de- nouncing the alleged combination of coal carrying railroads to control and regulate the output of coal in the United States.
 Roth times Representative Payne (N WO, the Republican floor leader ob- jected. and Mir. Gillespie finally aban- doned the effort.
 The letter, which is referred to as a petition of relief. was prepared by Frank c. Drane. Secretary to the Bitu- minous Coal Trades League of Penn sylvania.
 MT Drane calls attention to MT Gill lespie's resolution and the threatened strike of the hard and soft coal min CTS and claims that there has existed for long time combination of the Pennsylvania Railroad with the anthra- cite and bituminous coal mining and shipping companies to stifie all compe- tition in violation of the antitrust laws.
 MT Drane says it is unfortunately true that none of his associates in the bituminous league would be able to give sworn testimony before an inves-
 
 have never been able to get evidence sufficiently strong to enter a suit at law, nor have we been able to get the independent operators united so as to test the Elkins law, many fearing the consequences the Pennsylvania Rail- road officials know so well how to in- hict on any operator who dare openly complain"
 The letters assert that the PennsyI- vania Railroad has established rules that only certain markets can be SUD- piled by one region and that the pri- vate cars of the soft coal trust have unlimited choice of market to ship coal in accordance with the demands there of.
 The independent operators, the let ter continues. has to see his mines idle for weeks for want of cars and his labor moves t6 other districts in search fsteadier work Thus, he adds f1ourishing towns have been abandoned by business people to follow the mine worker to the new region. MT. Drane related the method by which he as- serts the railroads operate to have the independent operators coal delivered at udewater after such delays as would cause the consignees to refuse to take 1t. In the meantime he adds, purchases would be made of the favored ship pers
 fAS .CIldFS6S LnAr lue SOIL coal trust always fixes a price which gives the trusts and the roads hauling coal to market an excess profit over and above the price the independent operator can get; that the hard coal railroads are all common carriers and the miners and shippers of their own anthracite pro- duce; that the railroads could regulate the price of hard coal by selling it direct to the dealer to be sold to the consumer at the prices fixed by the roads.
 The cost to the consumer usually is at least one third more than before the strike of 1902" he says. Continuing, the communication declares that nearly all of the soft coal properties have been acquired by the roads to the At lantic seaboard and is expresses the belief that the Pennsylvania and the New York Central now indirectly own the Pocahontas field in Virginia nearly all the stock of the Norfolk and West ern, the New River coal fields and nearly all the stock of the Chesapeake and Ohio, The roads mentioned being the only transportation means from the two fields to market; that the 1 Pennsylvania and New York Central control the Baltimore and Ohio and | the Philadelphia and Reading and that |