Wheeling majority. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1907-192?, 1913-01-09

UOM C0nfroD II ny
twenty-five. In order to hush the min4
listers who were crying out against
bribery, some of he men who sold
theirs votes in the Senatorshn contest
voted also to submit to the people a
constitutional amendment prohibiting
liquor trafac> ins the state. ghey4d did
not dream the amendment would car
ry; but it did by $1,000 majority.
Stephen B. Ellins and Nathan B.
Scott. Republicans, represented the.
State In the United States Senate 1un-
til 1911. President Taft's adminfsras
ton was an excuse for thousands of
West Virginia Republicans to stay at
home in the election OF 1910, and the
Democrats of the State came to the
least Of Office with appetites whetted
by long abstinence. John T. McGraW,
an accomplished and eloquent lawyer,
mad been the leader Of the Democratic
party in the State for years. His
father had been foreman of con-
struetion crew on the Baltimore &
Ohio Railroad in the early days, and
the son had risen until he become the
attorney OF the railroad company for
which his father had laid ties. He
lost the railroad attorneyship in 1895
because of loyalty to his political par
ty. When the Legislature Of 1911 met,
he was generally believed to have had
a majority of the caucus. A brother
of Senator William 3. Chiffon, during
1Oo r1oAi cnil tn -
presence of several that Watson had
come to Charleston with one delegate
in the Lower House, check book, and
fountain PEN"
Watson as q Financier.
Watson Is a multimillionaire. His
home is in Baltimore. He has coun-
try residence and horse stud in West
Virginia. His father was one of the
fisrt big coal operators in West Vir-
ginia. Watson, in the past, was a.
Democrat when the party was tract
able, and Republican when it was
stubborn. He supported Mckinley in
1896. He employs $4,000 men, of
whom 10000 are foreign born, and he
has periodically; helped the local Re
publican majority in his coal regions
as an insurance against labor troubles
and in order to control the machinery
of law. He is a consistent believer in
political insurance. He subscribed
$5 900 to the Democratic National
ticket though his Consolidation Coal.
Company was one OF the trusts"
against which the Democratic Cam
paign Book of 1912 specifically inveigh-
ed. Fifty-two percent Of. the stock OF
this company is, or was recently; OWL
ed by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad.
The Consolidation Coal Company, a
giant combine, whose electric adver-
Using signs may be seen flashing at
night ACROSS New York Harbor, owns
the majority Of the stock of the
Metropolitan Coal Company of Bos-
ton, which latter company is engaged
in the retail trade throughout New
EnglandA It also owns a majority ~oi
the stock of he 4Spmefse Coal Com
pany and Of the FaiFmont Coal Com
pany which latter company again con-
trolls the Clarksburg Fuel Company.
The Fairmont Coal Company owns
the Northwestern Fuel Company,
which sells coal and coke at Chicago
and in the, lacustrine region to the
north of Chicago.
The pittsburgh & Fairmont Fuel
COMPANY Vas, an independent COM
pany 1t sold its coal through the
Fairmont Coal Company, and had the
use Of certain cars. owned by Watson
company. Watson nptif1ed the Pitts.
4 burgh company that It would have tp
IAseek some oher outle for it's product
The Pittsburgh company had no other
outlet. and without large, expense
i 4 ..o& r--s% HSIaHe TTTofcor lxn0m
Il Aecording to a. report OF the Inter
Estate Commerce Commission, It, was
/ Icompelled to turn d majority OF it,
stock over to Watson's company at~s
nominal sum, although It was shipping
at the time three hundred Thousand
tons of coal q year. It received. aidol
lar. share for its stock.
When Watson had secured contro
of the Pittsburgh company, he turned
! his attention to the Southern Coal am
Transportation company, which owned
fofy-eight hundred acres of coal lands
in West Virginia. This last compan.
could not sell its coal =, because tht
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad was Away
short of cars for It's particular use
B. F. Berry, the president of the com
pany, finally signed a contract to sci
it's entire capital stock and bondsatt
G. W. Watson and J. II. WheelWright
the, president and vice president res
pectiVeiy Of the Consolidation Goa
Company. Immediately after the puT
/ chase, Watson and Wheelwright solt
half of the stock Of the Southern Goa
and Transportation Company and al
of it's bonds to the Consolidation Goa
Company for $4,000 more than the.
had paid for the entire stock ant
bonds. The Southern Coal and Trans
portation Company had about $4,000
invested In its property, and sold ou
to Watson and WheelWFight at a loss
Whatever the reader may think o.
these TRANSACTIONS, there are plain
spoken citizens in West Virginia who
do not hesitate to speak Of them al
criminal.
Any court of equity might rightfully
hold that these officials were the trus
tees Of their stockholders and were
no entitled q these great commissions