The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1912-12-16
Supreme Court, However,
Sustains a Number of
Points Made by u. S. in
Coal Trust Suit.
DECISION DENIES
GENERAL COMBINE
But Upholds Contention that
Coal Roads Did Combine
to Shut Out One lndepend-
ent Road.
(National News Association

|
WASHINGTON, Dec. 16.-The SUI
preme court today dismissed the gen.
eral charge of conspiracy against the
Reading and other railroads involved
in the anthracite coal trust suit, but
sustained the charges of the govern
ment in minor respects by declaring
the 65 per cent contracts illegal and
upholding the decision of the lower
courts in dissolving the Temple Iron
company
! The court holds that the general
combination alleged by the govern
ment to exist between the defendant
roads for an apportionment Of total
tonnage to be carried by an agreement
in the nature of a pooling arrange
ment, has not been established, and,
therefore, the relief sought by the gov
ernment upon the assumption of such
combination is denied Continuing the
ruling reads:
| One Violation Proven.
| The court finds, however, that the
defendants did combine for the pur-
pose of shutting out from the anthra-
| cite coal fields the projected independ-
ent line of railroad, the New York,
! Wyoming & Western railroad. and to
accomplish it, it is found, that the
! Temple Iron Co., and Watson collieries
! We're acquired for the purpose and
with the intent not of normally and
! lawfully developing, but of restraining
interstate commerce and competition
! in transportation which would have
presumably come about through the
construction and operation of the pro-
posed connecting line of railroad be-
tween the mines and tidewater
The court holds that certain con-
tracts made with producers covering
between 20 and 25 per cent of the an
nual supply of coal, known as the SIS
per cent contracts, by which such in
dependent producers bound themsel-
YES to deliver the output of their mines
! or any other mines which they might
acquire, to the raidroad companies
for 65 per cent of the average market
price at tidewater, We're also void
I
act, as abnormal and illegal restraints
| upon Interstate commerce.
Government Charges.
The suit brought by the govern
ment under the antitrust law, was di-
rected against the Reading Company,
a holding corporation, the Philadelphia
and Reading Railway company, the
Central Railroad Company of New
Jersey, Lehigh Valley Railroad Com
pany, Delaware, Lackawanna and
Western Railroad Company, the Erie
SusQuehanna and Western Railroad
Company, which transport II per cent
of the anthracite coal moving from
the mines; also against their subsi-
diary coal companies or departments,
! which control over 81 per cent of all
the anthracite coal in the ground and
produce approximately so per cent and
market approximately 20 per cent of
the annual supply; and against many
of the so-called Independent mining
companies which have been made
parties because the petition challen-
ges the legality of contracts under
|
trolled by the defendant railway and
coal companies.
! The government filed it's petition
June -. 1907. In this it charged that
the defendants entered into a general
combination or conspiracy with the
general object of ending competition
and obtaining virtual monopoly of
the hard coal business
! In addition to this general charge of
conspiracy the following minor COM
binations were also attacked as being
| in violation of the antitrust law
! Control Independents.
The agreement among the railroads
to negotiate uniform contracts. called
the 65 per cent contracts. which would
enable them to control the independ-
ent output.
The acquisition by the Erie in 1898
of a large majority of the shares of
the New York, Susquehanna and Wes-
ten and the combination of the two
roads and their coal companies.
/ The combination OF the Reading and
! the Central of New Jersey in 1901.
with their respective coal companies.
through the acquisition of a controll-
! ing number of shares in the Central
! of New Jersey by the Reading Com
pany, holding company. which al
ready controlled the Reading railroad
and the Reading Coal and Iron COM
pny.
| The combination of all the defend
ant railroads in 1898, through the re
| yival of the Temple Iron Company,
which bought up certain large indie
| pendent eolieries which We're contem-
! plating the building of independent
railroad to tidewater.