Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1913-09-03
HARD GOAL TRUST.
AGAIN ATTACKED
GENERAL MREY-
NoLDs BRINGS SUIT TO DIS.
SOLVE CORPORATION.
IMMENSE COMBINATION
OF ROADS AND COAL LANDS
Reading Railroad and Subsidiary Con.
Germs Alleged to Control s. Per Cent
Of Anthracite Lands-Trust Formed
by J. p. Morgan & Co.-onIy Relief
Thru Courts.

Philadelphia, Sept attorney Cen
eral McReynolds's first and most i'm
portant attack on the hard coal trust
was begun here with the filing of q
civil suit for the dissolution of the
Reading company's control Of coal
mining and coal-carrying railroads.
the most potential combination in the
anthracite fields. The Reading Com
pany with it's subsidiary and allied cor
porations, including the Central Rail-
road Of New Jersey and certain of
their officers and directors, are charged
by the federal government with vic.
lating both the Sherman antitrust law
and the commodities clause of the in
terstate commerce act, in an attempt
to monopolize the production and
transportation of anthracite.
This combination, controlling at the
present time CO per cent of the entire
unmined deposits Of anthracite and
marketing about 80 per cent of the an
nual supply. will own or control in
time, if not dissolved. the attorney
general warns, every ton of COM
merciaIly available anthracite known
to exist"
Only Relief in Law.
The importance of the suit Is en-
phasized with the declaration that IN
this case "only the law can afford re-
lief" 1t is pointed out that in almost
every other industry it is at least pos
sibIe for q monopoly to be broken by
the influx of fresh capital attracted by
high profits. but against a monopoly Oh
hard coal, the supply Of which is linn
tied, there can be no such protection.
First Suit Fails.
This suit is the second step OF tho
department of justice to solve the
hard coal trust" situation since the
decision of the supreme court last De-
cember canceling the so-called 20 per
cent contracts and ordering the dis
solution Of the Temple Iron Company.
The court held the government ha'd
failed to prove general combination
among all the coal-carrying railroads
and left open to future litigation the
so-called minor combinations Of which
the Reading is the most important.
Former Attorney General Wicker
sham filed q civil suit along similar
lines and which is now pending against
the Delaware. Lackawanna & Western
Railroad Company.
Attorney General McReynolds now Ii
considering the question OF attacklns
ether alleged combinations OF coai
carving railroads and coal mining
companies, particularly the Lehlgn
Valley and the Erie and their allleo
coal companies. No decision as 10
proba Bile action has yet been reached.
Many Subsidiary Concerns.
Following corporations and 1ndlvld-
uals are named as defendants In tne
petition in equity:
Reading Company. capital $14o.ooo'-
600; debt. s130.000,O0o.
philadelphia & Reading Railwai
Company. capital. $42.4S1, 700; debt
$49,3S5.5S2.
The Philadelphia & Reading Coal
and Iron Company. capital. $S,oO0.o0o;
debt, $74.57e.52s.
The Central Railroad Company Of
New Jersey. capital, $27. 436.S00 debt,
s27,s4S.000. /,
The Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Coal
Company, capital, s9,2l2.500; debt
s16,996,o 900.
The Lehigh Coal and Navigation
Company. capital, s26,557,s5O; DEBT
S21. 409,333.
wilmington & Northern Railroad
Company. capital. s1.5oo,ooo; debt
SS94.O00.
Lehigh & Hudson silver Railway
Company, capital, s1.340.00O; debt. So
$4,000.
Lehigh & New England Railroad
Company, capital, 100000; deb. 81
10000.
George F. Baer, Philadelphia; George
f. Baker, New York; Edward i.
Stotesbury, Philadelphia: Henry c.
Frick, New York; Peter A. 3. Widener.
Philadelphia; Henry A. Dupont.
United States senator from Delaware;
Daniel Willard. Baltimore; Henry p.
Mexican, and Samuel Dickson, Phi1a-
delphia.
individuals Held Responsible.
The nine Individual defendants are
declared to be responsible for the con-
tinuance Of the combinations and
monopolizations embodied in the for
nation of the Reading Holding Com
pany. which Is declared to be "in and
Of ITSELF combination in restraint of
trade and a monopoly.
The government asks the court to
dissolve the Reading company's con-
troll Of the Central Railroad Company
Of New Jersey, of the Philadelphia 4
Reading Railway Company, Of the
Philadelphia & Reading Coal and Iron
Company. Of the Schuylkill Navigation
Company, and of the Wilmington &
Northern Railroad Company.
Dissolution also is sought of the
joint control by the Central Railroad
Company Of New Jersey and the Lee
high Coal & Navigation Company OF
the Lehigh & Hudson River Railway
Company and the Lehigh & New Eng
land Railroad Company.
In asking these dissolutions, Attor-
ney General McReynolds. who Is
averse to the pro-rata distribution OF
the stock Of dissolved trust" as be-
ing inadequate, specifically urges that
the stocks be disposed Of under the
supervision and direction Of the court
to persons not the stockholders OF
agents or otherwise under the control
or influence Of the present owners
Pending the distribution the govern
ment asks that the defendants be en-
Joined from voting the stock or from
receiving dividends thereon.
| Violations Cited.
The commodities clause Of the inter.
state commerce act. the government
contends IL being violated by the