The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1907-06-12
SUIT ON MERGER
Of COAL ROADS
AND COMP ANIES
Government to Attack
Independent Operators
for Throttling Com
petition.

The action begun today in the United
States circuit court at Philadelphia by
the Department of Justice, which seeks
10 dissolve what il characterizes as the
Anthracite trust, may have much
greater scope before the suit is finished
than is apparent in the statement made
public by the Attorney General
An examination Of the petition itself
discloses the fact that not only Is The
Government after six leading railway
companies, a holding company, and
seven subsidiary coal companies. buS
& will try TO have made parties de-
PENDANT later in the action, a large num-
Der of independent operators, whose
identity is now unknown
Operators Agreements.
1t is charged that these operators.
who mine % per cent of the annual sup
ply of anthracite. have been forced by
the conspiracy Of the coal carrying lines,
to enter into uniform agreements Oh
ligating themselves Ito deliver TO ths
defendant carriers all the anthracNN
thereafter mined from any OF their
mines now opened and operated, or
which they might thereafter open, de-
Lveries to be made from time to time
as called for by the said carriers, or
their subsidiary coal companies"
OF this transaction, and or the Gov
eTnments desire to press further prose-
Cution, the petition says.
While said contracts are cast in the
form OF contracts OF sale, in reality they
are but mere devices 10 stifie competi-
ton and create a monopoly in the sale
OF anthracite throughout the several
States. The Independent operators who
have entered into these contracts are
unknown to your petitioner. but II prays
that they may be made parties hereto,
when they shall become known"
Choking Competition.
The petition recites how the New
York, Wyoming and Western Railroad
Company was organized In Pennsyl-
vania, in 1899, by a number OF independ-
ent operators, headed by Simpson &
Watkins, whose mines had an annual
output OF over 100000 tons, and declares
that its completion would have enabled
free competition. but the charge Is made
that the trust railways bought the Tenn
pie Iron Company for $4,000 and later
acquired the eight cOlleries Of SimpSOu
& Watkins for upward Of 5000. 900. BY
thus securing half the prospective ton
mage Of the new railroad, and it's chief
spirits the enterprise failed, as the petit
tiOn says had been the case with many
independent movements before and after
that Date.
A greater enterprise was slaughtered
later when the independents got the
Pennsylvania Coal Company. producing
annually 100000 tons. interested in the
movement TO build to tidewater the
short line. the Erie and Wyoming VAL
ley railroad, operating from Scranton
10 Hawley.
Charge of Throttling.
A charter for the Delaware Valley and
Kingston Railroad Company was secured
in New York after a bitter legal fight
with the trust. but the whole movement
died when J. Pierpont Morgan & Co
bought, at the exOrbitant figure Of 1862
a share. more than the controlling stock
OF the three corporations. The petition
claims that the Erie issued additional
shares and preferred stock 20 the value
OF $4,000 900 20 throttle this enterprise
and again prevent competition.