New-York tribune., 1910-12-09
Temple Iron Company Found TO
Be Combination Violating
Antitrust Law.
NO GENERAL CONSPIRACY
Federal Court in Philadelphia
Finds Individual Anthracite
Carrying Railroads Did not
Combine TO Restrain Trade.

that there was no general conspiracy
.-,on9 the anthracite coal carrying rail-
-o,ds or coal companies 20 restrain
trade or commerce. or 20 n1onopohze lii7
trade or to maintain certain prices i0
did decide. however, that the Tempe
Iron Company was a combination OF tne
six anthracite coal carrying ralroadS
named as individual defendants in viola
.icr of rhe Sherman antitrust law and
Granted the PRAYER of the government for
an Injunction restraining that corpora
tion from continuing a violation OF the
act
| The sun and substance is that the
| government wins only one OF seVe7h
/ POINTS that in the Temple Iron COM
nm case and that the defendants VIII
( not be compelled TO change the present
prices of coal as a result OF the court
decision
/ The case was heard By Judges t1eo1se
C;rav. Joseph Burlington and NiHianl VI
rarring last February. Three opinions
80 handed down late this afternoon
srd each differs from the other
| I,,4.-a CRAY disrr1isses all Of the gov
e-nn7ent's charges except that reiaulns
- rho TemDle Iron Company, which 10
sustains
1,,dee R,1Hngton dismisses al lhe
[ t,-as exrept the one against the
,-ar,DIA company and the one relating 20
- ner cent contract existing De-
.-.ar the big corporations ana me H.
| ,o,,5ar4 coal companies. sustaining the
lbargss of violation of law on these TWO
points
nudge Tanning dismissed all the con-
.ou,io,. r,ade bv the government
suit Filed IN June, 1901
IT,, -,,t+ was fled in June. 1907. during
pras5den+ Roosevelt's administration
.o<a,dan4s included the Reading
Ccropanv. philadelphia & Reading. Le-
b5gb Valley Railroad Delaware Lack
avanna & Western railroad Cen'rai
pai1rosd of New jersey. Erie RaliTOdu'
New YORK. Susquehanna & western
roi,-oad philadelphia & Reading Coal
and Iron Company, Lehigh valley Codi
,-.r,,.,v I,ehfgh and Wiikes-Bar
coal Company. Pennsylvania Coal Com
- rIi,rsids Coal and Iron Company.
NJ, York. Susquehanna and western
Coal company. Temple Iron company
md about forty individual or so-caIied
5rdanendent coal companies The three
Thor anthracite coaI-Carrytng railroads
wara NOT involved in the suit, as tneF
,,-oro not competitors in carrying an
+b,acire To tidewa*er. They are the
I,a.,.,-,-,,,ania Railroad. New York. on
tario < Western. and the Delaware q
Hudson.
T-ba theory of the governments case
was that all the defendants had lohs
been parties TO a general combination
and couspfracy which stifed conpeu-
tfon and obstructed trade and cOmmeree
in anthracite coal 10 which the sep
arate acts charged in the suit against
various groups Of the defendants were
stems toward the common goal. and that
these separate acts OF the various
erouDs were Independently in violation
of the Sherman antitrust act
Demands Of tho Government
The government asked that the court
2 adjudge and decree that:
r The defendants are parties 10 COM
| hinarfon and conspiracy IN restraint OF
trade, and that they be enJo1ned from con-
tfnuing the combination
!, THAT they be enjoined from conuntlns
the % per cent contract exis5lns 80 S.s
2 the big companies and the 1ndepsnGeIlts-
That S ,r tne aIfaI stock Of the New YORK,
GI'Scuehanna K Western Railroad, and or
the Pennsylvania Coal Company and tns
delaware Valley & Kingston Ralroad Nds
Illegal under the Antitrust act -
GThat the acquisition BY the Readlns
company OF the capital stock or the JeF-
sew Central was also Illegal
@That the acquisition by tne Lenish = 20.
. ley Railroad of the capital stoeA Oh CoA'
| Pros & Co was also illegal
-That the Temple iron company oe o. o.
cIared a combination of the deLendsns sI,s1 AZ,
railroads in violation OF "a" ANU 'D '-0
combination be dissolved
The iudependent coal companies were
,-ougbt into the case through the So
called sixty-five per cent contrast
+-ansarttons The independents sen
their product to the big companies fos
six+v-fve per cent of the price the ny
companies receive for II AT tioe"ater-
Tho government contended that the in
1anendeuts were forced into making
these contracts because there was no
other wav 10 get their coal 20 market II
. the coal cornpa mis- chose TO discriminate
against them IN the matter OF cars ana
rates
judge Gray's Opinion
nudge Cray's opinion in the matter Of
the Temple Iron Company says IN part
=. s,,sare,4 from the testimony in the
, case that when simpson q Nathihs, an
, ! trr]eneudent coal mining company, ied q
'I,eD1cnf 10 build independent coal
80 - New York in order 70 get thelr
aI 60 market cheaper, the SIX coal carry
&c raiI~oads named formed a combination
e, ne, ---rChased the Temple Iron company
! a-bich I rad blanket chsrter permitting n
.i, wfiicH na -, sell coal The presidents OF a
I uo.;n-it- of the anthracite coal companies
. I ~. - E3i-actors in the company which pur-
aITeH5 ar IN interests Of Simpson x Wat
yfms and thereby killed the new railroad
project -, 49,. oor.r,,si,,r, reached IN,
- a1infon Of Judge Burlington that this
| - 0caiiaf4 Temple Iron Company transaction
i,-oII-ed a combination or CONSPIRACY oy
> ~ ~ ,9sfepdants in violation OF the act of
I'g, 1890 as being in restraint OF conf
sa 1sIts among the states II seems 20 ne
Iar - .Iar an agreement was come 20 by
80 Attendants named. which resulted N
.srtsd action for the avOwed purpose 81
Srinvirg about an abandonment or the pro-
~ ~ a route from the Wyoming coal neS
= ne state OF PENNSYLVANIA for the car
( r,age - Of coal TO tidewater IN the state Of
This avoved and conceded purpose rem
.a-ed ar that done IN pursuance
: YTsreof violative OF the act Of Congress IN
Y ~I,astion however innocent and lSgtTtr,are
orharvyiSe have been.