Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-11-23
AT WAR WITH
ASPHALT TRUST
Important Suit Being Tried Be-
fore Judge Booth at
Provo.
gibson VS. AM. ASPHALT ASSN.
How Trusts Operate to Crush COM
pctition--IIistory Of Scnsa-
Gonal Case.
Special Correspondence.

Special Correspondence.
Provo, Nov. 23.--An important suit
is being fought at Provo before Judge
Booth, in which two big concerns are
involved. the trial of which has neces-.
stated the bringing to Utah witnesses
from various parts OF the United States.
The case Is that of the ellison Asphalt
UNI company vs.. tho American Asphalt
association for an accounting.
Stirling Barron Of st. Louis, a rep
resentative of the defendant company.
arrived i'll Salt Lake Friday and came
this morning to Provo. where the suit
will be fought out. The case promises
TO be an interesting and sensational one
and will be hard fought. The plaintiff
is represented by Atty. Z. n. Allson.
while the defendant is represented by
Atty, Marion c. Early of st. Louis ana
Frank r. Stephens of Salt Lake City.
The trial of the case vas begun on
Sept Is, and lasted until Oct. 10. when
it was continued until today. Mr..
Barron is here in the interests of his
company. He is accompanied by his
little daughter.
Mir. Barron makes the following
statement concerning the suit:
The ellison Asphaltum Co. the Uiniali.
Railway Co. and the Barber Asphalt
Paving CO. are one concern and con-
trollcd by the same parties and known
as the Asphalt trust The combined
capital stock is 900. The prn-s
cipal offices of the companies are in
Philadelphia and New York.
Upon the. discovery of gilsonite in
Utah, the trust undertook to secure all
of the property. and did secure the
greater part Tho American Asphalt
association has Il capital Of 100000. and
has its. offices in ST. Louis. 1t secured
considerable property, and the two
companies own the entire gisonitc
fields Of gilsonite OF this character i'll
the world. The Trust built the Uintah
railway from Mack, Col, to Dragon.
Utah. which was completed In the early
part Of 1905. The nearest mines of The
American Asphalt association We're To-.
rated about 30 miles from Dragon. The
Iintah Railway station at Dragon is
I yef'S'sgle .tr 10 mines owned by the trust,
aud which are NOW being operated by
the trust Upon the completion of the
road. the trust cut prices to an extent
which the American Asphalt associa-
ton could not meet without loss. The
trust and the American Asphalt nsSo-7
citation own one or two claims of gill
sonite located about IL miles from ORA.
.s'pii, SiS tGilstHlS III HcoIlllnOll. Inc Trust.
lownes two-thirds and the American
Asphalt association one-third undivided
interest. When the American Asphalt
association could no longer meet the
prices made by the trust, because of the
5S0-mle haul. it began operating on the
property owned by the trust and ITSELF
MS tenants in common. The uintah
Railway company tlereupon made Il
rate of $40 per ton from Ora gon, Utah,
n -, u -to 80, A ,1.af.
The American Asphalt association con
tended that the charge was exorbitant
and brought suit in the United States
circuittcourt at Denver, Col, TO compel
tho reduction of freight rates between
Dragon and Mack. The United States
court held that the Interstate COM
merce commission was the proper tlb-
}unal for such a suit to be Instituted
'rhereupon. the suit in the United States
court was prosecuted no further, and a
suit was filed by the American Asphalt
association against the Uintat railway
70 compel a reduction Of freight rates
Tho testimony was taken before the
Interstate commerce commission last
year, and q decision rendered, finding
the rate unreasonable, and compelling
IL reduction of freight rates between
Dragon and Mack. from $40 per ton to
IS per ton. The trust thereupon again
cut the price of gilsonite, which, after
ALL forced the American Asphalt as
ISOLATION to sell its gilsonite proper
tiona tely cheaper than 1t. had before
been selling the same. So. after all,
< the reduction forced by tho Interstate
commerce commission seems to have
been of little benefit, TO the American
Asphalt association.
The present suit being prosecuted by
The trust. is 10 force the American
Asphalt association to turn over two
thirds of any profits to date which il
may have made in operating on the
claim mentioned and in the present
case witnesses have been brought by
the plaintiff from New York. Chicago
and, in fact, all parts of the United
States.