The daily banner., 1919-03-04

Anthracite Protection Controlled
BY Eight Companies.
IlM0ST COMPLETE MONOPOLY
The Senate Probers Urge Government
Action if Pennsylvania Constitution
is dead Letter.

The Senate Probers Urge Government
Action if Pennsylvania Constitution
is dead Letter.
Washington, March i. - Senator
Vardaman, Democrat, Mississippi,
chairman of the senate manufactures
committee, inserted in the Congress
sional Record Il statement on the
committees investigation of the an
thracite coal situation.
: 1t charges thai production of an
thracite coal in i.a United States is
controlled by eight large transporta-
ton companies which, through an al
most complete monopoly, were able to
iix prices and determine the rate of
production.
Senator Nar'iaman explained the
committee was unable to present its
report at this time. as not all OF the
testimony taken in hearings in Wash
mgtOn and in the Pennsylvania coal
fields had been printed He added he
had gathered together certain facts
which he trusted would be Of help to
the next congress In dealing with the
question.
Testimony before the committee, he
asserted in his statement, had disclos-
ed in his opinion that "there is no
commodity in common uSe that Is so
absolutely monopoliZed as the anthra-
cite coal production.
Shortage of anthracite during the
war and the existing high prices for
the commodity, he said, were due al
most entirely to this mOnopolistic con-
troll.
Transportation corporations control
ling production In the Pennsylvania
fiekl-the only source of marketable
anthracite in North America-were
named in Senator Vardamln's state
ment as follows:
"The Reading (the holding company
of the Philadelphia and Reading Coal
and Iron company and the Jersey
Central. which. in turn. owns all OF
the stock Of the Lehigh and Wilkes
Barre Coal company. the Lehigh VAL
ley, the Delaware, Lackawanna and
Western, the Delaware and Hudson.
the Lehigh Coal and Navigation COM
pany (Which owns and controls the
Lehigh and New .EnglandD. the Erie
and the New York. Ontario and West
ern."
Although controlling only - per
cent of the actual production Of an
thracite, the statement asserted the
eight companies had made it "impos-
sible for independent operators to
compete with them on any fair basis"
Notwithstanding the fact" said the
statement, that the constitution of
Pennsylvania prohibits transporta-
ton company from engagin in mining
these transportation companies are in
this business Of not only transporting
coal. but Of mining it."
Expressing the hope congress might
see the necessity of legislation to pro-
tect the people of the United States
from what ne described as "the greed.
rupfdfty and avarfce Of these soulIass
corporations. = the Mississippi senator
recommended:
IF the constitutions of Pennsylvania,
which forbids the transportation COM
panies to mine coal, is dead letter
in that state" the federal government
under the interstate commerce clause
of the nations constitution can COM
pei the enforcement of transportation
companies from mining corporations"
The statement made the additional
recommended ton that the price Of coal
he fixed by the government at a rate
which would guarantee a fair return
ing to the mining companies and which
would "vouchsafe to the people of
America an ample supply Of anthra-
cite coal at reasonable price,"
While payment of excessive royal
ties-said to amount In the case Of the
Locust Mountain Coal company to the
great Girard estate to $1O4 a ton in
191S-cOnstituted the first cause of
the high price of coal, the statement
said that was mot the full story"