New-York tribune., 1907-09-04
ANOTHER COAL ANSWER
Temple Iron Company Files Re-
spOrsc to Government Nut.

TobiIade1phia. Sent 3.-Another answer thaA
of the Temple Iron Company, was hled III u.'e
United States Circuit Court here to-day III 'ii0
s,,it of the federal government against INC
railroads and coal companies, Charging "
nopolv of the anthracite coal Industry ~ ~
straint of trade. The government IN It's piii VI
complaint charged that certain OF the dH'ii'
coal carrying roads prevented the cohS'i u' l
i,,, indanandenf coal operators Of a railroad 10
carry their product to tidewater and 'hat '"eS
forced the independents to turn their coai over
IN the railroads. which had formed a pooi TO
handle this traffic. To make the pool e1ec'l'e'
il is charged the railroads purchased the en-
fire canital stock S240,0o0, of the Temple fo"
C-on7nanv. which operated a small iron lui
mace near Reading, but which had the chdl'e'
right TO own and operate coal mines "''9
F Raer of the Reading and Jersey CentEal Gun
NAMES is president of the Temple Iron com
pany. and high officers of the other coal io"uN
are also officers in the corporation
The answer Of the Temple Iron Company oe-
nfes that the coal roads purchased the capital
,+,otr of +bo+ cor,nanv and also denies that the
,ro,,,,1o Iron Connany has 'throttled compeu-
+ion in the transportation and sale of anthra-
cite coal
The answer admits that the corporation ac-
ouired several small companies engaged IN 'he
mining of coal. but claims the purchases were
under the authority of the laws OF PennsyiVa-
MIA The defendant contends that the Cnlteo
States courts have jurisdiction TO enter q
decree enjoining the other coal companies named
in the bill of complaint from voting the STOCK
they hold in the Temple Iron Company as the
government had pctitioned the court to do
The Temple Iron Company's answer. as do
those of the three Reading companies filed last
week refers to the governmnts charges as
vague Indefinite impertinent and scandalous.
In the answer of the Temple company, as IN
the answers Of the Reading companies. 1t Is
specifically denied that anthracite coal Is a
prime necessity anywhere, that it is univer-
sally used for domestic purposes save in few
large cities.
The company also denies that 1t had anything
10 do with any scheme or conspiracy to pre-
vent the organization Of the New York, Wyo-
ming & Western Railroad. It also denies that
it purchased eight collier;es from Simpson &
Watkins but it admits that through an agree
ment with that firm it acquired the capital stock
of ten coal and land companies.
It is declared that the agreement with Sirnp
son & Watkins was purely business trans
action and was negotiated TO further the inter
ests Of the tron company.
II is also declared that the bonds of the Tenn
pie Iron Company were deposited with the
Guaranty Trust Company of New York to
provide means for the purchase of the stock Of
the coal and land companies from Simpson &
Watkins and also to secure the Guarantee Trust
Company for furnishing money.
It is set forth that il is perfectly legal for
railroad 10 aid coal and other companies by the
purchase of their stocks. and the act Of April
15 1869 is cited IN substantiation Of the ailega-
ton that the agreement made by the railroads
with the iron company and the trust company
was a perfectly legitimate transaction
1t is declared that the guarantee of the pay
1nent of dividends on the stock of the iron com
pany by the railroads was not made in pro-
portion to the anthracite tonnage of the rail-
roads. and the agreement is appended to the
answer in proof of this statement The com
pany also declares in its reply that when 1t
bought coal and land companies from Simpson
& Watkins each company had a contract with
one Of the railroads for the sale of its output OF
coal.