The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-11-28
FREEZING In COAL TRUST GRIP
GOrLD AND HARTMAN CREATE
FIEL FAMINE IN FAR WEST.
Through Their Railroads They Have seized
All the Goal in Many states and WIN
Not scn-Town Holds Up Train and
Tak Is CarIOads-I. =. BegIrs IOquiry.

SALT LAKE CITY. Utah, Nov. :7.-Ths coal
famine in the far West grows daily more
serious.
i, is the direct result Of the absolute coal
monopoly established by the Union Pacific
and the Rio Grande Western railroads and
maintained by every device Of intimidati
and technicality known to railroad lawyers
ard managers.
These two roads. which mean. Of course.
Hartman and Gould. completely control
all of the available coal supplies OF Wyom-
ing. Utah, Idaho and Nevada and part Of
Colorado.
What with the car sb~ortagssnd the greatly
increased demand. they are utterly unable
r. supply enough fuel to meet the bare
necessities Of these States. Add to this
the fact that by litigation OF various kinds
they have succeeded in excluding all indie
pendent capital from the 6eld- and the
completeness of their monopoly. appears in
all its simplicity.
A little town up in Idaho has demon
strated Via may be done in such an
emergency. For weeks the citizens Of
Nyssa havo been without coal. They saw
trainload after trainload go by. while they
had not a pound, nor could they with all
their appeals induce the Oregon Short Line,
a Union Pacific feeder. to give them any.
So they took the law into their own hands.
on Saturday night they formed a posse,
held up a coal train, uncoupled two cars
and forced the conductor to run them in
on a siding. Before morning every stove
in town was roaring.
No step 10 punish them has been taken
end it is the universal opinion that no jury
could be obtained that would convict them.
The city of Ogden, an hours ride from
here, has been living from hand to mouth,
50 far as coal goes, for weeks. One day
last week the street car system OF tho city
had TO shut down, for lack OF fuel. Even
here in Salt Lake the big smelters. with all
their great pull, had the greatest difficulty
IN getting coal.
From Wyoming comes word that right
st the very doors OF the coal mines Of that
state people can scarcely get enough coal
10 keep from freezing to deah. A number
Of merchants from the northern part OF tho
state are in Cheyenne trying to get fuel
hut have not been able to buy a pound.
Local dealers there say they couldn't ship
it to Wyoming towns on the Chicago and
Northwestern II they had it. as the Union
Pacific has refused to haul a single carload
from its mines at Rock Springs, Cumber-
land or Hanna that ia consigned to towns
of the Union Pacific. Yet trainload after
trainload goes through Cheyenne to points
outside OF Wyoming.
Already threats are made that II the
railroad refuses to sell TO the people Of
Wyoming coal that Is mined in their State
steps will be taken to bring the Union
Pacific to terms by force. In other words,
the people will help themselves. There
is coal. coal everywhere. but not a pound
IN burn.
This state OF things givos special point
10 the inquiry begun here to-day by Inter
state Commerce Commissioners Clarke into
the coal operations and the requirement
of public coal lands by the Union Pacii"
and the Rio Grande Western.
The Rio Grande Western owns more than
1900 acres Of coal land in the State Of
Utah; most Of it il held in the name of the
Utah Coal Company.
II was largely acquired by transfer from
the State of Utah, the land coming to the
State from the United States Government.
not as coal lands at all. but as agricultural
or grazing n
The railroad attorneys stated to-day that
il was not known when the railroad ac-
uuired this land that there was any coal
under it. But il the railroad authorities
did not know it they were about the only
persons in the State Of Utah who did not.
The railroads do not own an acre Of sgri-
cultural or grazing land in Utah and do not
wish TO own an acre OF it.
The evidence introduced at to-day's
session showed beyond a doubt that the
coal industry here and in the other States
mentioned above is a ironclad railroad
monopoly. Its effect upon the residents
Of these States is seen in the fuel famine
from which hundreds Of thousands are
now suf ering. The railroads own all the
available coal lands. By litigation and intim-
idation they have excluded other capital
and pending an inquiry the Presidents
order has stopped the opening OF any more
public coal lands.
Thus the condition OF the consumer
is rendered pitiable.
1t lie expected that evidence will be pro-
duced before COMMISSIONS Clarke that one
Of the means used by the railroads to dis
courage outside coal industries has been
huldlIutbb III tuC LudJDCt u A@OOos
words. the railroads would carry their own
coal 20 much cheaper than that OF other
companies that they could undersell any
outside company.
An affidavit by j. A. Smith OF Denver
was read to-day. in which serious charges
were made against the Union Pacific Coal
Company.
Mr.. Smith specifically alleged fraud on
the part Of the coal company and he
declared that the lands were taken up by
employees of the company who had never
seen the quarter sections n that all the
fling fees we're advanced by the Union
Pacific company, which subsequently, paid
its straw men" a bonus Of 500 in cash
for their trouble.
The affidavit further e on TO charge
perjury on the part Of d. o. Clark, Super
intendent Black and other Union Pacific
Coal Company officials, and in detail al
legged that these officials further advanced
from IS TO SO to men OF disreputable charac-
ter who gave fictitious addresses in Denver
with the object Of securing control OF valu-
able coal land In Wvomin0