The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1907-11-05
Big Equity Suit is An Echo OF the
"a Promoting of che Short ~.
a,ss atiS 'o6a Line. iie i1a-s
lfeLY oHARaE AeAINsT huRIT
Charged With Double Dealing in
Getting Hold of Rich
%} Coal Field. s

a suit in equity filed in 4ne uni
ted States Circuit Court makes
some Sensational allegations and
throws some Interesting side. lights
upon modern railway. manipuIstiory
The style of the action is the Ten
Mile Coal and Coke Company against
George A. Burt, Ella T. Burt and
the Pittsburg and Fairmont Fuel
Company. The complainant is a
West Virginia corporation. the Burts
are residents of New York, so the
case gets into 4he federal court
through diversity of citizenship.
Briefly, the complainant, through its
president. T. Moore Jackson, Of
ClarksburG claims that, the Burts
got possession by means of fraud
Of 1000 acres Of valuable coal
lands from the plaintiff, which were
afterwards leased to the Pittsburg
and Fairmont Fuel company. But
the transaction is inextricably mix
ed up with the building of the
Short Line railroad and the sensa-
tional allegations. of the. bill give
what is claimed to he the inside
history of that episode in West Vir-
ginia railroading which. is highly in
teresting.
The bill alleges, to put it In a
nut shell, that H. II. Rogers, the
tandard Oil magnate, instigated by
Burt. secured control of the Short
Line and constructed for the sole
purpose of compelling the B. and 0.
to purchase it and the unproductive
Ohio River railroad. which the for
mer was ostepsibly designed to, feed.
The acuisitton of theq 1000 acres of
coal lands was. it is alleged, little
deal on the side, engineered by
Burt for his own private benefit.
The story of the building of the
Short Line, and the property involv-
ed in this suit came to be part of
it, Is told as follows in the bill:
Some time in 1896 the complain
ant acquired title to about 52.5O0
acres in the Pittsburg seam of coal
on Ten Mile creek, and adjacent
streams in Harrison county and cou-
ceived the idea of building a ra1l-
road from New Martinsville to
Clarksburg. which should tap the
field and allow its development The
contract for construction was let %
Edward c. Machen of New York.
While Mr.. jackson waas in that city
he received telegram from George
A. Burt, then, located in Parkersburg
as general manager Of the Ohio Rfv-.
er railroad. This telegram led up to
"a subsequent conference Between
jackson, Burt and Rogers.Mr. Burf
ssrfzed as Rogers agent.
lso said he wanted. to build, the
Short Lime. Mr.. jackson replied
that he was perfectly willing If he
could get free from the former con-
tract, but 1t must be with the clear.
understanding that the road would
be operated as competing and in
dependent line. as he was coal
shipper and had known what 1T was
to suffer from the expressions of
the h. and o.
2 Mr. Rogers, 1t is alleged. assent
ed, saying that che had knife two
feet long up his back for B. and o.
On this understanding, the bill
says. Mr.. Jackson. acting on the
faith OF this arrangement, paid
aFcehar $500 to cancel his contract
and enter into an. agreement with
Rogers. the terms OF which were
that tho Short Line should be built
by Rogers under these conditions;
That it should he operated as a
competing line:
That it should not be sold to any
other railroad within twenty years,
from its. constructions:
That T. " Tackeon should re-.
main president os the road:
That every facility should be glv-
en- for the develnpmeDt and ship.
ment of coal along the line. inciud-
ing the erection Of adequate tip
pies at New Msrtipgwlle.
Everything was then turned over
bS Rogers to Burt with whom jack