The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-02-25

4 WASHINGTON, February % "A UnItel
States Senator roso In the United
States Senate OH February and read
D. letter from the Governor OF one OF the
States of tho United States; und this i.
tho description that Governor gave in
ih,t letter of tho condition of hin Gtate:
4 West Virginia to-duy IL IN the grasp
OF IL railroad trust which practically says
what part OF the State shall be developed
and whnt shall not be developed. how
much coal shall 10 shipped out of the
state. to what points or parts 1t shall
be shipped, and when II shall be shipped
1 Is this true? IT IL typical. OTHER States
are In the grasp OF railroad or sonie
other business trust" They differ in the
degree OF their political and industrial
\ subsection to their business rulers. but
SO many OF our sovereign States ure IN
the same general condition Us West Vir-
glnin. that tho President Is urging Con-
\ gross to provide relief by some sort Of
regulation Of railroad rates. Yet this
description of West Virginia was aston
ishng: two Senator'S exclaimed that 1t
was disgraceful. And 1t Is For West
Virginia Is coal State; her principal
business is mining and marketing coal.
and that startling statement Is charge
OF nothing less than tyranny by power
full business of tho business of that
State. And 1t il signed ''Willam w. w.
Dawson, Governor 1t Is official. Is 1t
true? Governor Dawson cited case
which is matter of record
The List Coal Company owned some
1900 acres of coal land in what Is known
as the Fairmont District of West Vir-
! GINA. The West Virginia and Pittsbuug
Railroad is the common carrier of that
.l.t.N ,t,n tarn I'll la
| common carrier. But many OF our rail-
road men have come to. look upon their
public utilities as their own personal
/ business. They are insisting here now
upon their sacred right to fairly rca-
sonable rate" and our representatives
have written into the rate bill an ac-
acknowledgement that railroads arc entitled
4 to make reasonable profit on their
Investment But when the List Coal
Company applied to the West Virginia
and Pittsbus Railroad for side-track fa-
clities to ship their coal. their applica-
ton was denied. The railroad wouldn't
let those mine owners make any profit.
The coal company might have mar
keted their coal in wagons. But wagons
are slow and expensive. The coal COM
pany might have appealed to the courts
4 to compel their common carrier to carry
their coal but litigation Is as slow and
A expensive rs wagons. Besides. this West
Virginia company may have known some
thing about the West Virginia law. Any
how they quit. They weren't fighters,
and they let their railroad. chartered by
their State, deny them n fairly remun-
| erative profit on their coal business. The
| List Coal Company sold out. cheap, to
the Red Rock Fuel Company.
The president of the Red Rock Fuel
| Company is one Logan NJ. Bullitt. OF
Pennsylvania whose last name describes
approximately his character. He Is q
fighter There was no misrepresenta-
ton to him of the character OF his pur-
chase. He was buying a fight, and ne
knew it. He has more humor than mora
| Indignation, and it suits his humor tc
think that he may make his fight bis
fight. 1t was he. by the way. who In
\ splred the resolutions offered by Rep
rcsentative Gillespie in the House a few
/ weeks ago and by Senator TillInan IN
tho Senate, calling for an investigation
of the Pennsylvania Baltimore and
Ohio railroad merger. For the B. &
o. runs the West Virginia and Pitts
burg Railway, and the B. g. Q, and
1.-THE Penn" are merged. Mr.. Bullitt was
/ simply screaming at a bull's-eye.
When the Red Rock got hold OF the
List Coal lands, Mr.. Bullitt and his as
sociates began industriously to develop
a coal mine. He didn't fuss around with
the West Virginia and PttsHurg: he
went to the third vice-presldent of the
\ b. & o. for permission to do business in
this great, free country of ours. All No
needed was side-track. He offered TO
comply with any terms The raidroad
might see fit to impose, but 1t was no
/ use His application was denied.
The railroads answer was that II
would never permit siding until fore
ed to do so by law. and that IL Bullitt
! won his case. the next man who applied
| would receive the same treatment Why
i do railroads run to court so readilyR They
/ invite litigation as ordinary citizens a.
ypid 1t. But why did the B. & O. de-
| cline to increase It's earnings by en-
couraging this mine owner to deVelor
/ his mine? This third vlce-president OF
the b. & O.. told Mr.. Bulltt that the
road wasn't going to have lot OF
little shippers on the line who would
ship coal when prices were high and
the1, shut up shop and go home and let
| the large shippers have the lean years!
| The road proposed to protect It's largo
shippers"
Mark tho reason. Tt shows how trusts.
| arc made; 1t shows how large shippers
are protected by the common carriers
~ the country and how ''littlc shippers
are ],i!led ofr,--to-day. The Red Rock
1 Company was organized in the last
month of 1901, and Its fight is still in the
! aghting. But other reasons We're given
later by the B. & O. !.
For Logan NJ. BuIlitt wasn't killed on
\ Thei little shippers went on developing
4 their mine. They spent $4,000 on 1t and
\ they planned confidently the expenditure
OF forty or fifty thousand more They
bought railroad ties and 7o-pound rails
they bought right OF way and procured
authority to construct operate ant
maintain n railroad 1850 feet long; ant
4 thew graded their road up to 800 feet OF
the common carriers tracks Moreover
they mined some coal and Mr. Bullit'
sold it. 80 -,
the large rugged, red moustache hid the