El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-02-21
CHARGES RAILROADS
WITH DISCRIMINATING
Coal Company Says Big
Roads Own Mines and
ManiDulate Tariffs.

Washington. D. c., Feb. 21-Charg-
I ing that. through agreements and COM
I Dinauons, independent coal dealers are
| being disseminated against in rates on
/ transportation Of coal by the Delaware,
LackaWanna & Western, the Central
railroad Of New Jersey, the Delaware
q Hudson, the New y ork. New Haven
& Hartford, the New York, SuSQue-
hanna & Western, the Lehigh, the
/ Pennsylvania and the Northern Central
railroads, H c. Reynolds, representing
( the Marion Coal company OF Whining
ton delaware today began arguIn ent
before the interstate commerce COM
mission on the complaint brought by
the coal company.
1T is the fixed policy Of the defend
ants, stated Mr.. Reynolds, who also
are producers Of coal, and own the
capital stock Of coal corporations which
mine and sell coal, to manipulate tar
ifs 50 as to prevent g shipper located
on the line OF the railroads from ship
ping along the lines Of other sO-called
anthracite railroads which mine and
sell coal through q coal company, the
capital stock of which they own,
The Temple iron works, Mr. Rey-
Onlds charged, mine coal, and an in
I vestigation OF the case developed the
fact that the presidents Of the defend
ant carriers are officers Of the Temple
iron works 1T is shown Nj Key
nolds declared, that the officers Of
the Temple iron works meet to effect
an understanding as to the prices to
!
troll the transportation charge In
this way, he pointed out to the COM
mission, numerous defendants are en-
abled to discuss existing conditions
between Independent operators and
carrying operators and have been en-
abled to completely extinguish all in
dividual operators in some OF the coal
fields Of Pennsylvania
The Marion Coal company has a
Washery located at Taylor, LackaWan-
ma county, Pennsylvania on a switch
ing connection Of the Delaware, Lack
aWanna & Western railroad, according
to the testimony OF ". P. BOland,
president OF the Marion coal company
who was one OF the witnesses today.
In giving his testimony to the com
mission, Mr.. BOland told OF the old
fight Of the Independent operators
against the coal carrying roads and or
the rebates and determinations they
had to contend against in bringing
their coal from Pennsylvania districts
10 tideWater
Today declared Mr. Boland, con
ditiOns are almost as bad- The Della
ware. Lackawanna & Western impose
q charge Of 80 cents a ton Tor switch
ing connections which they refuse to
absorb In the joint rate while grant
ing to independent competitors this
switching absorption
Nj Commissioner" addressing com
missioner Clark. we have tried in
every possible way to find out the
tariffs Of these Goa, carrying railroads
and II has been an impOssibility. Your
regulations provide that tariffs should
be made public, but We have yet TO
find out the charge OF transportation
exacted Of our competitors
Attorney Reynolds. in addressing the
commission, reiterated the charges OF
the complaint, and called the rates
from Taylor to points along the Cen
tral railroad OF New York as excessive.
This field he claimed was closed TO
the lndfy dual as IT was an impossi-
biIitv 20 co. pete with the railroads.
This case has Nsee2 -bsfors - com
mission for more than a year ard at
the time Of the filing OF the cOmplNnf
against the operations Of the coal car
rying roads, an inFesti cation was in
stituted by the commission. In cases,
Il has been held by the commission
that a railroad could not own and mine
its coal properties in competition with
Individual operators. This decision
was rendWered on the ground that the
owning railroad could very well give
the mine the benefit of rebates and
discriminate against individual owners