The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-02-12
LEGISLATORS ACCUSED
 OF IGNORANCE BY BAER
SARCASTIC CRITICISM OF THE ACTION OF PENNSYLTANIA
 HOUSE

The Resolution Instructing the Attor-
 ney-GeneraI to Bring Action Against
 the Anthracite Coal Carrying Roads,
 If, Upon Inquiry, He Finds They are
 Violating the Constitution of the
 State--Reading's President Declares
 Investors in Pennsylvania Securities
 Need Not Be Alarmed at yagaries of
 Legislature.
 Philadelphia, Feb. 11.-George F. Baer, president of the Reading com pany, has issued a statement in rela- tion to the action of the house of rep resentatives of Pennsylvania last Fri day in adopting a resolution instruct ing the attorney general to bring court proceedings against anthracite coal carrying railroads if, upon inquiry, he finds they are violating the constitution of the state. The resolution, whicb will come beforesthe state senate tomorrow night for action quotes from article XVII. of the Pennsylvania constitution, which says;
 No incorporated company doing bus mess of a common carrier shall, direct ly or indirectly, prosecute or engage in mining or manufacturing articles for transportation over it's works
 The resolution names the Pennsylva- nia railroad, the Philadelphia and Reading railroad, and the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western railroad.
 President Baer's statement is as fol- lows:
 My attention has been called to the | possibility that there are a great many good people in the country who may take the actions of the Pennsylvania legislature seriously, so that, therefore, some statement of the facts should be l made.
 | "First-As to the rigllt of the Reading company to own the stock of coal com panies: The legislature seems to be the only law officers and law makers of the state who are ignorant of the pro | visions of the constitution of 1873. All the corporations referred to obtained | their rights and franchises under char | ters granted prior to the adoption of the new constitution. The framers of | the constitution well know that these were vested rights fully protected by I the law of the land, and to prevent any I misapprehension the new constitution l explicitely declares and all rights, ac- | tions, prosecutions and contracts shall | continue as if this constitution had not been adopted, and to still further set l forth their meaning it declares that all existing charters or grants of special or exclusive privileges under which a taken place and business been com menced in good faith at the time of the adoption of this constitution, shall thereafter have no validity
 'The supreme court of the state has several times passed upon the effect oi the new constitution repeating vested rights and franchises, and have uni formily held that these constitutional limitations did not apply to corpora tions existing prior to the passage oi the constitution.
 But all this can safely be left to the report of the attorney general The reign of law nas not ceased in Pennsyl- vania, and investors in Pennsylvania securities need not be alarmed at the vagaries of the legislature.
 "Second-The resolution ayers, t is alleged that the price of anthracite coa' has been raised since the last anthra- cite coal strike $1 to s125 per ton, vel
 Continued on Eighth Page.)