Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1913-09-04
FIRST ATTACK ON
HARD COAL TRUST.
Acknowledgement McReynolds
Files Civil Suit to Dissolve
the Reading Combine.

potential combination In the anthracit,
fields. The Reading company with It.
| subsidiary and allied corporations, in
GLIDING the Central railroad Of New
Jersey and certain of their officers ant
directors. are charged by the federal gov
eminent with violating both the Sher
man antitrust law and the commodtie,
clause of the interstate commerce act
IN an attempt to monopolize the produc.
ton and transportation Of anthracite.
This combination. controlling at tn,
present time SO per cent of tho entir,
unmned deposits of anthracite and mar
Iketing about 30 per cent. of the annua
supply, will own or control in time, Il
not dissolved, the Encouragement warns
every ton of commercially available
anthracite known to exist"
The importance Of the suit is emphasized
with the declaration that in this cas-,
only the law can afford relief" 1t /.
pointed out that In almost every Other
Industry it Is at least possible for q
monopoly to be broken by the influx OF
fresh capital attracted by high profits
hui against monopoly Of hard coal the
tnpply Of which is limited. there can be
no such protection.
Io-daN's suit is the second step of the
department of justice to solve the hard
coal trust situation since the decision
.of the supreme Court last December can
ceiling the so-called Co per cent contracts
land ordering the dissolution Of the Tcmple
Iron company. The court held the gov-
eminent had failed to prove general
combination among all the coal-carrvlng
railroads and left open to future litigation
the so-called minor combinations of which
the Reading is the most important
Former Attorncv-Gcneral Wickrrshar,
hiod a civil suit along similar lines and
which is now pcnding against the Della
ware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad
company.
Acknowledgement McReynolds now is
considering the question of attacking
other alleged combinations Of coal-carrv-
ing railroads and coal mining companies.
particularly the Lehigh Valley and the
Erie and their allied coal companies. No
decision as to probable action has We.
been reached.
LIST OF THE DEFENDANTS.
The following corporations and individ-
uals are named as defendants in the petit
ton in equity filed to-day:
Reading company, capital $4,000. Goa:
debt. s13OOJO0O0
Philadelphia e. Rea ding Railway com
pany. capital si2, All, 7C0: debt s49.3s5 5S2.
The Philadelphia & Reading Coal G; Iron
company, capital, 100000; debt, s74,576.-
$50
The Central Railroad company of New
Jersey, capital s27.43d. 500; debt. $l7.SlS. 900.
The I.ehigh & Wilkesbarre Coal COM
pany, capital. s9,212,5Oo; debt. slG,996,Goo
The Lehigh Coal & Navigation COM
pany. capital, s26557,95o; debt 81, 1893.
Wilmington G. Northern Railroad
company, capital, $1,000, 900; debt sSo4.
900.
Lehigh & Hudson River Railway
company, capital, $1,34O, 900; debt, So
$4,000.
Lehigh & New England Railroa
company, capital, 1000 600: debt, ST.
10000.
George F. Baer. Philadelphia; George
F. Baker. New York; Edward r. Stotes-
bury, Philadelphia; Henry c. Frick.
New York; Peter A b. Widener Phila-
delphia; Henry y. du Point United
states senator from Delaware; Daniel
willard. Baltimore; Henry p. Mexican
ana Samuel Dickson. Philadelphia
The nine individual defendants are
declared to be responsible for the con-
tinuance of the combinations and mo-
nopolizations embodied in the forma
ton of the Reading Holding company.
which is declared to he lin and of it.
self combination in restraint of
trade and II monopoly
ASKED TO DISSOLVE COMPANIES.
The government asks the court to dis
solve the Reading company's control of
tho Central Railroad company of New
Jersey, OF the Philadelphia < Reading
Railway company, of the PHILADELPHIA &
Reading Coal & Iron company, Of the
Schuylkill Navigation company and of the
Wilmington Il Northern Railroad COM
pany.
Dissolution also Is sought Of the Joint
control by the Central Railroad company
OF New Jersey and the Lehigh Coal G.
Navigation company OF the Lehgh &
Hudson River Railway company and the
Lehigh &, New England Railroad COM
pany.
In seeking these dissolutions. Attorney
General McI1cynolds who Is aversc to the
pro-rate distribution Of tho stock of a
trust rs being inadequate
specifically urges that the stocks be dis
posed of under the supervision and direc-
ton or the court to persons not tho stock
holders or agents or otherwise under
the control or influence Of the present
owners Pending the distribution, the
government aaRs that the defendants he
enjoned from voting the stock or from
receiving dividends thereon
The government attacks contract be.
tween the Central Railroad company of
New jersey and the Lehigh Coal & Nav
igation company by which they are al
legged to be Joined in a community of in
terest and asks that the lease of the
LehiGh u Susquchanua railroad company
by the Navigation company to the Cen
trail Railroad company be cancelled UNI
less materially modified so as TO avoid
restraint of trade
INJrNCTIONS ARE SOUGHT.
The commodities clause Of the inter
state commerce act, the government CON
tends. is being violated by the Reading
company in transporting the
coal mined by the Reading Coal com
pany, owned by the former; by the Cen
trail Railroad company of New Jersey in
the coal of tho Lehigh &
Wilkesbarre Coal company, owned by the
Central railroad; and by the Lehigh &
Susquehanna Railroad company In carry
ing the coal mined by the Lehish Coal
& Navigation company and by the Lee
high & New England Railroad company
In transporting the coal OF tho Lehigh
Coal q Navigation company Injunctions
against a continuance of these relation