Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-03-31

are made throughout the State in
way that should be remedied.
ut cannot be claimed that the
transportation Of anthracite coal
should be regulated on less basis
than the transportation Of b tumtn-
Gus coal, and the cost of transporta-
tion of bituminous coal is fully one
half of that charged per mile for the
transportation of the prepared sizes
of coal used by the small consumer
and municipalities.
THE prices of coal as produced is
again fixed by q combination of
these railroads. These pr ces are US
ually fixed without regard to compe-
tition, but professedly by q com blna-
tion fixing the price on prepared sizes.
so that the Philadelphia and Read
Ing Coal Company, whose cost of
production is greater than that of the
others, can make an excessive profit,
and that progt swells the profit Of
the other companies. The price is
un form for every year. The dis
counts are uniform and the arrange
ment of transportation Is so that the
small quantity produced by independ-
ent operators, either by delays in
| transportation or otherwise, are SO
arranged that competition Is abso-
lutely suppressed with regard to
, them.
1T is noted that these prices are
held uniform so far as the producer
is concerned, or in other words. W tn
reference to prepared sizes, but they
are not held uniform with regard to
the other coal against which there
Is the competition Of the bituminous
product.
Profits Make Watered Stock.
1.-THE profit made by this combina-
ton is enormous. It pays the interest
on bonds, either real or flct tious,
and makes an enormous amount of
watered stock at an exorbitant divi-
dend.
1T is not attempted to be disguised
that this combination of these COM
panies, acting through their sales
companies, is being perpetuated in
the State of New eJrsey by the COM
panies subject to the laws of tn S
State, and there are adequate laws
to remedy this evil. The attention
of the encouragement Is called to
this notation.
This wrong of fixing and con-
trolling the prices of coal is a wrong
done in the State, by public corpora
tons operating in the State, under
license of the State. One of the evils
which arise from the retail of ccal
arises from the fact that these rail-
road companies control the yards,
trestles and pockets along the lines of
their roads.
There is no reason why these
transportation companies should
have the control of the trestles and
pockets along the lines of the road.
This very fact is the source of much
evil that Is perpetrated against the
small consumer. The control of these
pockets is practically the control Of
the retail trade. and the lessees are
forced to become part of this COM
bination Coal pockets and coal wards
except they may be for temporary
use, should not belong to transporta-
ton companies, nor should they be
allowed to hold the retail dealer by
the throat by reason of such owner
ship.
Leases for short terms of these
pockets simply put into the power of
these railroads land taht means the
combination). the small retail dealer,
and the retail dealer should not be
forced by the railroads into such I'M
just position Neither should the coal
companies that are chartered in this
State or do business in this State be
permitted to discriminate with regard
to the persons to whom the COM
modify should be sold.
1T is in such way and In such
manner That he retail dealers are
forced by the producing and trans
portation combination into the evil
which We indicate. and is a violation
of the so-called Seven Sisters act
THE retail dealers themselves in
their small way, have attempted to
combine on the product which Is sold
to the private consumer This is
plainly shown in the combination re-
ferred to in our report and which
have been dissolved principally since
this investigation began.
while the method Of municipal ties
of buying articles for municipal use
has been by proposals and bids yet
these competitive bids shown in our
report for the supply of Goa to mu-
inequalities are made by collision
among competitors and for tho pur-
pose of defrauding the municipality.
1t is plainly a combination entered
into for the purpose OF defeating the
law. which conduct IS plainly prohib-
tied by our legislation.
at is a strong thing that Hudson
county, which buys its coal by com
petitive bids, but by contract arrange
ments with the Delaware, Lacka-
wanna and Western Railroad Com
pany, buys 1t much cheaper than any
other municipality that buys it by
system of proposals and competitive
bids. If the combination arising from
the railroads which presses on all of
these dealers is suppressed in this
State, competition will follow it's nat
ural course and the evil that now ex-
lists will be removed"