Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-12-16
Supreme Court Ruling to
Cheaper Anthracite,
1t Is Stated
CONTRACTSARE VOIDED
Deal by Which Railroads Con-
troll Output of Mines Held
to Be Illegal.

Washington, Dec 16.-The govern
ment won partial victory in the prose
cution of the hard coal trust when the
supreme court today held the so-called
Go per cent contracts between the hard
coal roads and coal opera .ors illegal,
sustained the governments former vic
tory over the Temple Coal & Iron COM
paIy, but declined to sustain the charg-
/ es of a general conspiracy among hard
1 coal roads. The court holds:
/ First-The general combination al
! legged by the government 70 exist be-
! tween the defendant roads for the ap-
I portionment Ct the total tonnage TO the
! seaboard by agreemen. in the nature
of pooling arrangement, has not been
established and therefore relief
sought by the government is denied.
SHUT OUT INDEPENDENT ROAD.
/ Second-The court finds. however,
that the principal defendants did COM
bihe for the purchase and shutting out
from the anthracite coal fed of pro-
jected independent line of railroad, the
New York. Wyoming & Western. and
to accomplish the purpose it found that
the stock of the Tempe Iron company
and the Simpson and Watkins collieries
was acquired for the purpose Of and
with the intent, not of normally and
lawfully developing trade, but Of re-
straining interstate commerce and
icompetition in transportation which
would have presumably come through
the construction and operation of the
proposed competing line of railroad be-
tween the mines and tidewater.
CONTRACTS VOID.
Third-The court holds that certain
contracts made with the producers COW
ering between 20 and % per cent Of
the total annual supply of coal, known
as 65 per cent contracts, by which such
Independent producers bound them
selves TO deliver the output of their
mines to the railroad companies for 65
per cent of the average market price
at tidewater, were also void because Of
the violation of the antitrust act, as
abnormal and illegal restraints of inter
state commerce.
l Attorney General Wickersham de-
, Clared the annulment of 65 per cent
contracts a very important victory
that opened the way for possible com
4 petition in the coal trade.
= SUIT BEGUN IN 1907.
Todays decision had its genesis in
; the action begun by the government
: in 1907 in the United States circuit
court for eastern Pennsylvania.
The action was brought against the
, big factors in the hard coal trade
= The list of defendants was headed by
Z the Reading company, a holding cor
!. poration. The railroads made defend
! ants were the Philadelphia & Read
e ing Railway company, the Lehigh Val
ley Railroad company, the Delaware
2 Lackawanna & Western Railroad com
+ pany, the Central Railroad company OF
q New Jersey, the Erie Railroad com
pany and the New York, Susquehanna
and Western Railroad company. The
Pennsylvania and the New York, On
tario and Western, two other import
: ant roads in the hard coal field were
not included in the suit. Other defend
!. ants were coal companies affiliated
!. with the railroad defendants, and 3:
>. Independent" operators who had en-
s tered into contracts to sell their out
a put forever to the railroads or theiI
s affiliated" coal companies.
s. GENERAL COMBINE ALLEGED.
J. In its suit. the government charged
r first the existence of a general combi
y nation in violation of the Sherman
e antitrust Jaw, and then charged tha
several smaller combinations within
the big one were not only in violation
h OF the law themselves, but constitut
ed evidence of a general combination
k The general combination was alleg
ed to have for its object the ending o
% competition among the defendant rail
10 roads in the transportation and sal
N OF anthracite coal, and OF preventing
d the sale OF the output Of Independent
le operators in competition with the dc
10 PENDANTS coal. The combination, i
k was alleged, transported "a percent o
N the anthracite coal moving from tn
r mines. controlled over 81 per cent of al
OF the anthracite in the ground, and pre-
n duced so percent and marketed 20 pei
Is cent of the annual output The low
le er court was unanimous in holdin
that there existed no general combins
ton in violation Of law.
HELD NOT A VIOLATION.
7 One Of the special things complain
Is ed of in the suit was the system c
Ie- Go percent contracts" whereby tn
of railroad" coal companies agreed I
ed pay tho Independents" forever 65 pc
cent Of the price of coal at New Yor