Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-09-21
testimony Given by Present and Past
Secretaries at frouty's Hearing.
sLABAueH WILL MAKE USE OF EVIDENCE
Interstate Commerce Commission Takes
Union Pacific Case to Utah.
BRINGS OUT FACT OF TIGHT MONOPOLY
Through OnciaIs of Company Il 10
shown that Hartman Corporation
Holds Tight Rein on small
Competitors.

Interstate Commerce Commissioner c. A.
Prouty yesterday afternoon at 2;50 con-
cluded the Omaha session of the investiga-
tion into the methods by which the Union
Pacific acquires its coal lands and treats
its competitors in the coal business, after
having unearthed remarkable evidence
tending TO establish the fact. In emphatic
contradiction to recent assertions of local
dealers. that the coal men of Omaha main
tain hard and fast combine, or trust on
prices through the medium of their organl-
cation. the Omaha Coal exchange. This
finding was based on the testimony OF no
less authorities than Walter Mills and H.
f. Ostrom, former and present secretaries
OF that exchange, and IL was Of such n
character as to have ELECTED from County
Attorney Slabaugh the statement that II
will be most valuable to him In his search
for coal trust through the channel of
grand jury.
Mr.. Prouty came from Chicago to Omaha
and began the investigation. with ]. t.
Marchand, attorney for the commission,
Wednesday morning. The investigation was
adjourned to Salt Lake City next Monday.
In the two days session here an enormous
mass of information as to the methods by
which a powerful corporation acquires
more power and of how II exerts that
power toward weak competitors, struggling
for an existence was produced. Wise
lawyers regard IL as a most effective object
| lesson. And what is more remarkable is
the fact that this information was drawn
from pillars of the powerful corporation.
| In a nutshell, the investigation brought
out the assertion by Attorney Marchand
for the commission that the Union Pacific
procured its coal lands through fraud: an
| impassioned denial of this by Attorney
Baldwin for the Union Pacific; testimony
| by d. o. Clark. superintendent of the
Union Pacific Coal company, that employees
and officers of the company were used to
! take up sections of land; statements by
Randall X. Brown and other small mine
owners that they had failed to induce the
| Union Pacific to afford them trackage fa-
cities: statements by Warwick Saunders.
small competitor that he had to allow
the Union Pacific- to dictate the price of
cosl In order 60 live in business and thut
I he could not get cars from the company
when they were needed.
The investigation was originally sug-
gested as a result of the Union Pacihc's
refusal in 1905 TO grant certain trackase
facilities to the Sioux City and Rock
| Springs Coal company. an independent con-
Germ, OF which Warwick Saunders Is the
head. and whose mines near the Rock
Springs mines OF the Union Pacific in
wyoming. But Mr.. Prouty says the IN
vestigation will extend to much wider scope
than this single case.
Evidence of Local Coal Trust.
Evidence was adduced Thursday morning
tending to contradict the statement made
by Victor White and published In an in.
terview in The Bee few days ago that
there is no local Coal trust. walter Wills
4 - - (Noul
charge, testified that the exchange likes
prices in general: that Megeath. president
of the Sheridan Coal company. likes whole
sale prices on Sheridan coal, and Victor
White, retail prices.
He said no price hxed by the exchange
could be varied without consent OF the ex-
char ge. Victor white while not an ac-
tive member of the exchange, was, Wills
said, an honorary member.
So far as coal along the Union Pacific is
concerned it developed that company did
all the liking of prices.
Another feature Of the morning hearing
was that the ordinary bonus paid by the
Unicn Pacific for coal land filings by It's
employees was $50 over and above the
filing fees, which were also paid by the
Union Pacific. and practically all these
filings made by the Union Pacific Coal
company and railway employees were made
at the direction of ID. o. Clark.
The statement that the bonus of $1,000
for the Abbott quarter section of land WAS
paid to Warwick Saunders as a commits.
sion was modified TO mean that. while the
money was made payable to Mr.. Saunders
by the Union Pacific, 1t was paid to him
| TO be paid 10 Mr.. Abbott and Mr.. Abbott
was the sole beneficiary of the bonus Of
$4,000. above the 81, 900 given as a consid-
GRAFTON for his land. Saunders figured in
the transaction only as an intermediary
Wills Tells of Exchanges Methods.
Walter Wills was an important witness
during the morning session Thursday In
describing the methods OF the Omaha Coal
Exchange, he said:
1.-The Union Pacific Coal company Is not
member Of the Omaha Coal exchange
The purpose OF the organisation OF the ex-
'change was. to advance the interests OF all
its members The exchange made a unit
form retail price for all Goals handled by
its members at the meetings OF the ex-
change except Rock Springs coal
road making the price for what
Rock Springs coal shall sell I'm
Omaha both retail and wholesale, as we'll
as Hanna and other Goals produced along
the Union Pacific No other road under
took TO dictate the prices OF coal in Omaha
while l was secretary that l know OF
Victor White was an ex-oficlo member OF
} the exchange and he invariably fixed the
retail price of Sheridan coal In this city
without regard to the exchange, while the,
wholesale price was fixed by Mr.. Megeath
for Sheridan coal. All the coal dealers In
town were members of the Omaha Coal
exchange. l have not a list OF all the
: dealers at this time nor have | a record OF
their membership. To my best recoIlos-
tion the members OF the exchange were:
Coutant & sduires, Coal Iiill company; G.
Il. Havens company Tom Collins
Havens, Nebraska Fuel company, Union
Fuel company, Sunderland Brothers.
Harmon. Westh company. c. W. Hull com.
pany. Nebraska Coal and Lumber company,
Ryan Coal company, Wells Lumber and
. Coal company Pittsburg Coal and Lime
, company. South Omaha Coal and Ice
company. Hald & Rice, John Schneider
= i.