Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1912-12-17
Government WON
HARD COAL Case


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! ton, II was declared, had been prop
erly considered by the lower eJurt
and while the supreme court had gpns
through the record Il would not q n.
cuss them.
The Justice then took up the Ton
! pie Iron company feature, He DE-
tailed how independent operators ~
| Pennsylvania about 1898 pledged
! their tonnage to 4 new road 10 Il lo
water and how the New York, Wyo
ming * Western Railroad company
was projected In good faith" on tho
! strength OF these pledges. The eisn'
collicries Of the simpson and WatHnl
| firm We're described as powerful fnc.
| tors in this project He described
how through the aid Of J. T. Morgan
a Co. the Temple Iron company WAS
! bought, converted into a holding com
pany, lts obligation guaranteed by tai
| six roads la proportion to their IN
nunl coal tonnage carried and flnallY
| how the Temple purchased the prop.
erty of the Simpson and Watkins firm
The Withdrawal Of the support of thl,
firm from the proposed railroad "ai
| held to have thwarted the roads con
| struction.
True. not all the railroads reached
Z the new collerles," said the justice,
but the preservation Of the monopoly
Of transportation from the mines ia
tidewater held by the six lines which
were serving the region was plainly u
common interest. The extent of tho
interest of each in the desired result
seems to have been estimated by
thmselves as fairly measured by tho
per centage Of total tonnage thereto
fore carried annually by It,"
The court dealt with the argument
that no injunction should be issued
against the Temple company bec1u'3
the alleged strangulation Of the pre-.
1ected road was a thing of the past.
THE evil is in the combination.
declared Justice Lurton. 80 long -
the defendants are able to eXcrci,I
the power thus Illegally acquired It
may be most efficiently eXerted for
the continued and further suppression
Of competition. Through 1t the de,
PENDANTS in combination may absorb
the remaining output of independent
producers.
without the several groups of coal
carrying and coal producing compa
nies have the power and motive 20
compete. That each may for itself al
vance the price of coal or cut down
the production is true. But in tbs
power which each group would nave
to compete would be found corruc
tice. The statute forblds the concert
ed action which has already brou: ht
the strangling Of a projected com pa,
ing railroad and the complete cont, 1
Of the sale of an immense tonnage
of independent coal which had pI iur
thereto not only been menace toI
their collective control Of the means
of transportation to New York hara
Dor points, but large competing fac
tor in sales at these points. The Tenn
pie company therefore offered pow
crful agency by means of which n,.
unlawful purpose which induced the
acquisition may be continued bayon 4
the mere operation of the Simpson 81
Watkins collercs"
lie especially dalled attention To-
the fact that the railroad presidents
were members Of the Temple com
pany board Of directors and said thfsI
relation afforded the time. the plac1l
and occasion for concert of action"
After disposng of the Temple coa'-
pany feature, the justice took up tho
contracts with the Independents re-
ferred to as the "siXty-fiye per cent
contracts. because the railroad com
panies were to pay that perccntiTdI
of the price Of coal at tidewater ts
the independents for their coal.
The Justice declared it was plain
ly established" these contracts werdl
made by concert and the plain de
ductlon was that the contracts weraI
designed to control the sale of the In
dependent output. Then he proceeded
TO show why the court arrived q,
these conclusions
The old custom of independence
selling to railroad companies was de-
scribed.
ANlAN' iAhl Abll NbiA uuN Atlt AlliA
of the New York, SsuQuehanna al
Western into the coal carrying busl. |
ness resulted in the percentage paid
by the railroads to the independents
being raised firm 40 to so per cent.
The proposal to build the New York. |
Wyoming q Western threatened to !
raise the price. Similar trouble was
described as threatening through the
proposed construction OF the Delaware
4 Kingston In short, Justice Lur-
ton declared the proposal to build "A |
new road into the anthracite regions |
when large blocks OF contracts with
were about to expire was
regarded as menace" by all the
existing roads
A renewal Of the contracts FOR
short term of years was described a.
a mere postponemcnt Of the day a
compensation"
Hence 1t was the court found ;ht
after the big coal strike In 1900 the
railroads in concert led the indepcn
dents TO sell their output TO them -
long as they operated their lines.
Whffhar IN DO art. -