Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-06-12
The Governments Statement.

| The following statement has been made
public at the Department of Justice:
| THE petition filed by the government
in the United States circuit court at
Philadelphia is aimed at the anthracite
| coal monopoly. The Reading company. a
holding corporation: the Philadelphia and
Reading Railway Company, the Lehigh
Valley Railroad Company, the Delaware.
Lackawanna and Western Railroad Com
pany. the Central Railroad Of New Jersey.
the Erie Railroad Company and the New
York. Susquehanna and Western Railroad
Company, comprising all the railroads that
tap the anthracite regions save the Penn
sylvania, the New York, Ontario and
Western and the Delaware and Hudson
(Which last does not extend to tidewater),
are made defendants, together with their
subsidiary cOa1-mintng companies, AS yet
no evidence of sufficient probative force to
connect the three last named railroads with
the alleged unlawful combination and
! monopoly has been found Should such
evidence be forthcoming in the progress OF
the trial they may. and of course will, be
joined with the other defendants.
In brief the petition recites that the de-
PENDANT railroads control all the means Of
transportation between the anthracite
mines and tidewater except the lines of
the Pennsylvania railroad and the New
York. Ontario and Western railway, which
reach only limited number of collieries;
that they transport annually about IS per
cent of the total anthracite tonnage; that
in their own name or through coal COM
panieS whose capital stock they own they
control about 80 per cent of all the an
thracite deposits and produce about Is per
cent of the annual supply; that independ-
ent operators. although owning probably
little more than per cent of the anthra-
cite deposits. yet produce about 20 per cent
Of the annual supply. which would be sold
in competition with the output of the de-
PENDANTS were it not for the restraints i'm
posed by the latter.
The petition then charges that the de-
PENDANTS have conspired to silence COM
petition among themselves In the transport
sale Of the Independent output in COMPETE
ton with their own. thereby establishing a
monopoly. and in support Of this general
allegation 1t specifies
"ta) That the defendant railroads agreed
among themselves upon uniform contract
to be entered into by them or their coal
companies with the Independent operators
along their respective lines under which
the railroads would be able to control the
sale of the independent output, and that by
virtue of their control Of all the means Of
transportation from the anthracite mines to
tidewater save the lines of the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad Company and the New
York. Ontario and Western Railway Com
pany. the defendant railroads were able
to force and practically did force the indie
pendent operators along their lines into
making these contracts.
"lb) That, the Erie Railroad Company
has exchanged shares of its own capital
stock for a majority OF the shares or the
New York Susquehanna and Western Rail-
road Company competing line, thereby
uniting under common source OF con-
troll the two competing railroad companies
and their subsidiary coal companies.
''(c) That the Reading company, which
already held all the shares of the Philadel-
phia and Reading Railway Company. has
exchanged its own shares and bonds for a
ma jority of the shares OF the Central Rail-
road Company of New Jersey, competing
line. thereby uniting under common
source of control the two competing rail-
roads, and their subsidiary coal companies.
which together transport about 30 per cent
of the annual anthracite tonnage and con-
troll about 60 per cent of the anthracite de-
posts.
'"CdD That twice in recent years the de-
PENDANTS have defeated the construction of
projected independent railroads from the
mines to tidewater which would not only
have introduced competition into the trans
portation of anthracite coal, but would
have permitted the output of the incepen-
dent operators to be sold in the markets In
competition with that of the defendants.
The petition prays generally that the de-
PENDANTS be enjoined from further carrying
out their combination, and specifically that
the above described contracts be Cancelled
and that the mergers between the Erie
Railroad Company and the New York, Sus-
quehanna and Western Railroad Company
and their coal companies and between the
Philadelphia and Reading Railway Com
pany and the Central Railroad Company of
New Jersey and their coal companies be
dissolved