New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1906-02-12
BAER CITES RIGHTS.
HOLDS L4W GAZE THEN
Says Quaker Legislature Inrestiga-
ton Night BE Taken Seriously.

Philadelphia. Feb. 11.-Gecrge F. Baer. presi-
dent of the Reading Company has issued
statement the action of the House Of Rep
resentatives of Pennsylvania last Friday in
adopting resolution instructing the Attorney
General to bring court proceedings against
anthracite coal carrying railroads if on inquiry
he finds they are violating the constitution of
the State.
The resolution. introduced by Representative
L. Greasy, of Columbia County a Democrat,
VIII come before the State Senate tomorrow
night for action II quotes Article L. Section
D. of the Pennsylvania constitution. which,
among other things says:
No Incorporated company doing the business
of common carrier shall. directly indirectly
prosecute or engage in mining manufacturing
articles for transportation over it's work
The resolution names the Pennsylvania Rail-
road the Philadelphia and Reading Railway
Company and the Delaware. Lackawanna and
Western Railroad Company.
President Baers statement is as follows:
My attention has been called to the possibility
that there are great many good people in the
country who may take the actions of the Penn
sylvania legislature SERIOUSLY so that therefore
some statement of facts should be made.
First-As to the right of the Reading Company
to own the stock OF coal companies: The egis-
lawmakers of the State who are ignorant of the
provisions OF the constitution of 1873. All the
and franchises under charters granted prior TO
the adoption of the constitution The
trainers of the constitution well knew that these
were vested rights. fully protected by the law
or the land and to prevent any misapprehen-
sion the new constitution explicitly declares In
Article Is, Section >: And all rights, actions.
prosecutions and contracts shall continue as II
this constitution had not beer adopted"
SUPREME COURT CITED.
The Supreme Court of the State has several
times passed upon the effect of the new con-
stitution repeating vested rights and franchises.
and has uniformly held tEat these consutu-
tional limitations did not apply to corporations
existing prior TO the passage of the new con-
But all this can safely be left TO the report of
the Attorney General The reign of law has not
ceased in Pennsylvania. and investors in Penn
sylvania securities need not be alarmed at the
vagaries of the legislature.
SecOnd.-The resolution AYERS. 1t is alleged
that the price of anthracite cCal has been raised
since the last anthracite coal strike 81 to 81
per ton, yet the so-Caled operators are refusing
another strike is threatened" This is in form
cowardly statement, the falsity of which the
public should know
Prior to 1909 the wages as paid by the Pha-
delphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company
were fixed by a sliding scale. In 1900 under
the leadership Of the United Mine Workers As
soca ton the labor troubles began. II is just,
therefore. to compare prices ana costs in 1899
with present costs and prices the average price
for its coal at the mines in 1899 was $1.713; the
average price per ton received in 1905 was
SAD. This shows an increase OF 20 6-lO cents
per ton In seven years
The increase In the cost of mining coal was
63.3 cents ton. which was made up as follows:
Labor cost a ton. 1899 81 .O6I: labor cost ton
1905. 81 .5S4. The cost-of~ materials Increased
rfFoal 81 4~eents ftk lS99-to 43 seEts IN 1905 In
other words. the increased cost of production
was labor. 51I cents: erisls. 11.6 cents. or
total of 633 cents. leaving 10 the coal COM
pany an increase of only 1o3 cents a ton in the
last seven years.
In point of fact Notwithstanding this increase
OF l0.2 cents ton, If the coal and iron company
had charged the usual average royalty of 30
cents a ton for coal mined from it's mines,
suited in loss.
ANNUAL. REPORT COMPARED
BY reference to the annual report of the coal
and iron company for the year 1899 il will be
found thas the surplus for that year was only
S422.03S so In the previous year there was
deficit of S.I. .524 54
But some one will ask. Why is it that the
Reading system is now making money and its
stock advancing? Does it not make up in the
transportation OF anthracite what it loses in
mining coal? Here again, the facts will be a
full answer TO the suggestions:
The transportation of anthracite coal is not
the important factor in the increased revenue of
the Reading system. As far back as 1877 the
anthracite traffic was 6160 per cent of the total
freight and passenger traffic receipts of the
Philadelphia and Reading Company. Now the
receipts from miscellaneous traffic. which does
not include bituminous coal nor passenger traf-
fic exceed the receipts from anthracite coal
traffic. and the proportion of anthracite traffic
has diminished TO 1880 per cent.
To-day the passenger receipts alone are equal
to One-haIf the traffic receipts on anthracite
coal. The increased prosperity OF the Reading
system is due to the increase of miscellaneous
traffic. passenger traffic and bituminQus coal
traffic.
In point of fact there has been a very small
increase in traffic receipts from anthracite coal
and no increase In rates thereon. The average
receipts from traffic anthracite coal for the
last five years have been s10.344.S50. The traffic
receipts from the same source I'm 1888 were $10-
046 760. and IN 1893 s10123.575.
These the facts. and tf any committee of
the legislature wants to verify their accuracy
the books of the company open for tnspec
tion.