The San Francisco call., 1906-09-20
UNION PAC|F F|C HAS
CORNER on COAL.
Inquiry Shows That Rival
Companies Are Refused
Outlet for Their Product
FILINGS BY DUMMIES

OMAHA, Neb., Sept ia hearing
was begun in the Federal Courtroom
here today before c. A Prouty, mem
|ber Of the Interstate Commerce Com
mission. on complaint against the
Union Pacific Railroad Company, filed
by the Sioux City and Rock Springs
Coal Company. The latter company
owns coal mines in Southern Wyoming
on the line of the Union Pacific and
alleges that the railroad company has
discriminated against 1t in favor of
the Union Pacific Coal Company in the
matter of building spur tracks and
furnishing cars for the transportation
of coal
Commissioner Prouty explained that
the hearing, which is under the TILL
man Gillespie Senate resolution, was
to ascertain whether or not the Union
Pacific Railroad Company was respon-
sibIe for the existence of coal monop-
oily in the northwestern States.
j. T. Marchand appeared as the at
torney for the commission, while John
Wilson represented the railroad com
pany and E. E. Thomas of Omaha act
ed for the Sioux City and Rock Springs
Coal Company.
Warwick Saunders of Davenport,
Iowa president of the Sioux City and
Rock Springs Coal j. Company told of
the efforts of his company to secure
transportation facilities from their
mines, which are near the line of the
Union Pacific road about twenty miles
from Rock Springs, Wyo. He said the
! officials of the railroad professed to
be friendly, but that a spur track from
| his mines would have to cross land
owned by the Union Pacific Coal Com
pany. and General Manager Clarke of
that company refused to grant permits
/ sion.
Randall Brown, owner ofycoal lands
half a mile west of Hanna, Wyo.,
where the Union Pacific Coal Company
operates three mines. told of a sim
| liar situation regarding the matter of
spur track to his land
| D. O. Clarke vice president and gen
eral manager of the Union Pacific Coal
| Company and superintendent of coal
service of the Union Pacific Railroad
| Company, was the next witness. He
said the capital stock of the company
was s5,000,000 and the company was
bonded for like amount, stock and
bonds all being owned by the Union
PACIFIC Railroad Company. Clarke de-
clared that his reason for refusing per-
mission to the Sioux City and Rock
Springs Company to cross his com :
panys land with a spur track was
that it's coal was of an inferior quail
| ity and he did not wish to have 1t
| put on the market as Rock Springs
coal He admitted that his company
had bought two sections of land ad-
joining the Sioux City's land to pre-
vent it's obtaining an outlet.
Clarke said the Superior Company
Union Pacific enterprise, has secured
about six sections of land. principally
in Sweetwater County, Wyo., through
the purchase of filings on Government
land A list of sixteen of these en-
tries was submitted, each of WHICH was
made by an employe of either the I'm
ion Pacific Coal Company or the Union
Pacific Railroad Company.
An effort was made by Attorneys
Marchand and Thomas to show that
title had been secured to these lands
/ by fraud, and objection was made by
Attorney Baldwin. Commissioners
Prouty adjourned the hearing until to-
morrow.