The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1914-06-15

road and mining owners, and that the
net result Of this combination is 20
not only fix the price, but to elimi-
nate competition through the manip.
ulatiOn Of transportation facilities.
Any number who have attempted
to operate independent mines have
been squeezed out Of business because
of their inability to handle their pro
duct. This is occasioned in many
ways. An independent mine owner
has, for Illustration, daily output Of
five cars. The railroad company fur.
MS hes him ten cars Monday and fails
to get him any more cars until the
next Monday He is compelled to
close his mine for four days because
he cannot get cars. He cannot guar
antoe delivery of coal because he
has no way of forcing the railroad
company to give him the service He
cannot compel them to spot his cars,
nor can he get service to take away
! ''" CHCo' ne cannot recover
shortages and lives in dread at all
| times OF the proht-eating demurrage
A slackening of sales forces him to
close down. On the other hand the
railroad company takes care of the
oyerplus Of the operator whose coal
is handled by the combination. If he
mas an output of five cars a day he
can run indeterminately and his pro
duct is disposed of without difficulty.
Hundreds of individuals and corpo-
rauons have undertaken to operate
independently, with the result that af-
ter spending thousands upon thous-
ands of dollars in the opening and
eGuipping of mines they have found |
themselves at the mercy of this com
b,nation and have either. been com |
PEELED to accept its terms and be |
come part of it, sell their mines,
or 90 into bankruptcy, with the ,e-
suit that those who have members
of the combination gobbled up their
holdings.
One might think that this does net
affect the interests of the people of
the entire state, but it does. Fhe
citizens Of the town of Alya, for OK
ample, are as seriously affected as
the mining industry at McAlester. |
Although but a little over two hun
dred miles from the mines, the Price
of coal is not regulated in the slight
est degree by the cost of production
at McAlester, but is fixed solely upon
the basis of Colorado and New Mex
leo competition.
The coal costs the operator less
than $50 per ton f. o. b. the cars at |
McAlester, and the freight rate to
Alya is only $1.S6, yet the consumer
at Alva is compelled to pay in the
neighborhood of $500 per ton. The
difference between the freight rate |
to Alva and Oklahoma City is only |
SEC per ton and the distance is |
nearly one-half and the same coal is
retailed in Oklahoma City at $3.50 to
$500 | might 90 further and give
You endless figures to convince you |
that there is all sorts Of discrimna-
ton in the selling price of coal. 1t
is also a fact that this great disparity
in the price of coal would not exist !
if this centralized. so-called selling
agency was not in fact a gigantic
monopoly which holds the coal con,
sumer rs well as the Independent
mine owner solely at its mercy
Another outgrowth of this comLina-
ton has been the oreanized war Of
the coal operator upon the coal min
ors and other labor organization, bo,h
through the medium of concerted ia
bar manipulation and powerful legis-
latiye lobbies
1t appeals to me as being one OF
the most despicable forms of high
way robbery to hold up the man who
lives in district where gas and other
fuel are not accessible for double the
price charged the man who lives in
the gas belt There is ample law on
the statute books of Oklahoma to rem
edy this condition and if find that
H. is lame in any particular ! shall
insist upon ana do not believe the