Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-10-24
All Parties to Trust ald Some Outsiders
r Said to Be on List.
NANEs NOI PUsusaEO FOR PHLstNI
Indictment Follows Searching IEluiry
Directed by County Attorney.
PRICES OF coal ARE lust ADVANCED
Clutches of Law Not SO TiRht thst
al TentaeIes Cannot wiEsIe
Enough to Boost
Market.

Between nfty and sixty members Of the
alleged coal combine were indicted by the
grand Jury on a charge Of violating the
state anti-trust laws In a bill returned
before Judge sutton at O'Clock Tuesday
afternoon The names Of those included
in the indictment arc thheld, but II Is
said oil the menbe z. e Omaha Coal
exchange and SOM. " dent dealers
are IN the list The u u. did not
run against the South On. y p rs, that
case being considered sep, II the
grand jury r.
The indictments followed "a sea y:
auiry into the methods OF the Oms ~
exchange by the grand jury This in
reached back fu1y ten years and while 4
evidence in the grand jury room is taken
p In secret. It is known from the dispositions
taken in the civil suit by County Attorney
slabaugh tho exchange has for years main
tained a price list and has fined members
for cutting prices Members have also
been fined frequently for soliciting busi-
ness. which Is strictly forbidden by the
exchange. Both the fact it maintained a
price schedule and the fact it disciplined
members Tor using ordinary methods OF
getting bu. mess under competition are said
to be foundations for the criminal indict-
ment
Some dealers who are not members Of
the exchange are said 70 have co-operated
with the exchange in maintaining prices
and these are said TO have been included
in the Indictment The Sheridan Coal com
pany and the Union Pacific Coal company
are reputed to have aided In maintaining
price schedules on their Goals.
Trust stiII Able TO Raise Prices,
In spite OF the fight being made on the
trust. # still shows signs Of activity. and
has just recently raised the price Of semi
anthracite coal 50 cents ton,
; The fight on the combination was begun
last September, when tho grand jury was
summoned 10 make an investigation in its
methods OF doing business. shortly after
ward County Attorney slabaugh began a
civil suit In which he enjoined the Coal
exchange and other coal dealers in Omaha
and south Qpella from meeting 10 FIX
prices OF 90 anything else IN restraint Of
trade This case Is still pending in Judge
Tronp's court.
DcpoEitions by former secretaries OF the
exchange stated the price lists were made
up by the secretary from lists furnished by
all the dealers. the secretary using the
lowest price named by any dealer for each
grade Of coal. These prices were discussed
at the exchange meetings. however. and
lheAt - eNuit fAlhtnNt ltlaL uTnla VINO
had made a very low price were induced
TO raise them by the other members.
The grand jury Is said TO have the case
OF the South Omaha exchange stIl under
consideration,
A session OF court was held last night
70 enable the defendants to give bond
Fred Eisasser was one OF the first to appear
TO give bond.
Trust No New T,htnR.
business mau Of Omaha yesterday on
reading IN The Bee that the Coal trust had
been Indicted remarked:
well you know it has struck me all
along that Il Is strange tNis Coal trust was
not uncovered and brought to law years
ago. why. my father was in the coal bust.
ness in South Omaha for several year,
and ] know for certainty. through my
father that az far back as 1895 and per
haps further back. members OF the Goa
combine were fined by the organization
for violating the rules Of the trust Foi
instance, I remember once when a certain
member solicited trade, which was agalns
the rules and paid the penalty with a fine
These are facts that can be- substantiated
This Coal trust Is no new thing The onb
thing new about It is that the trust il
being brought 70 time. 7 cannot say. To-
sure. that the trust which existed yesr
ago is the one that exists to-day. but
think Il H. At any rate. we had a Coz
trust thea and We have one now, So In
circumstances are against"