The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1920-05-07
READING COAL
TRUST DISSOLVED
U. S. Supreme Court Finds An
thracite Combine Violation
of Sherman Act.
RAILROADS ALSO ARE HIT.
Charges of Commodities Clause Viola
tion Are Upheld by Single Vote
Majority Opinion Says Combine
Had Power to Fix Cost.

ington.-Announcing its deci-
sion in a part of the long pending
Anthracite Coal Trust cases, the
Supreme Court, in 4-to-3 opinion, sus-
tanned a majority of the governments
charges of illegal combination against
the Reading company, a Pennsylvania
holding corporation, and certain of its
railroad and coal subsidiaries and or
dered their dissolution. Chief Justice
White and Associate Justices Holmes
and Van De Venter dissented, while
Justices McReynolds and Brandeis
took no part in the decision.
Associated with the Reading COM
panies as defendants were the Lehigh
4 Wilkes-Barre Coal company and the
Lehigh Coal & Navigation company,
and the constant recurrence of the
words 'Lehigh company" throughout
the reading caused the opinion to exist
that the so-called Lehigh case, which
actually refers to the Lehigh Valley
Railroad company, and which was
argued last fall with the Reading case,
was being decided also.
The majority opinion held the hold
ing company guilty of violation of the
Sherman Antitrust act, and reversed
Federal Court DEGREES rendered in
Philadelphia in 1915, refusing to sus-
tain the governments charges Of mo-
nopoIy. but directing the separation of
the Central Railroad of New Jersey
from its subsidiary coal company, the
Ichigh & Wilkes-Barre Coal company.
Dissolution was ordered by the
Supreme Court of the Reading COM
pany, the Philadelphia & Reading Rail-
way company, the Philadelphia &
Reading Coal and Iron company, the
Central Railroad of New Jersey and
the Leigh & Wilkes-Barre Coal COM
pany, maintained through the holding
corporation, so that they would be en-
tlrely Independent Of each other. Dis
position of the stock and bonds of the
various companies held by the Reading
company also was directed.
The court, however, sustained lower
court DEGREES absolving the Lehigh
Coal & Navigation company, the Le-
high and New England Railroad COM
pany, the Lehigh & Hudson River Rail
way company on charges as to restric-
tive covenants in mining leases with
respect to the shipping Of coal, and re-
fusing to order the dissertation of the
Philadelphia & Reading Coal and Iron
company and the Lehigh & Wilkes
maintained
through the holding company.
Charges against the directors of the
holding company, including the late
George F. Baer and Henry c. Frick,
as we'll as George f. Barker, Henry A.
Dupont, Daniel Willard, Henry P. Nc
Kean and Samuel Dickson, who were
also named as defendants, were dis
missed
Similar action was taken in regard
to the Wilmington and Northern Rail-
road Company. Injunctions restrain
ing enforcement of provisions insert
ed by the Reading and Wilkesbarre
Coal Companies in coal leases requir-
| ing the lessee to ship all coal mined
by designated rail routes were made
permanent, the court cOndemning such
| provisions as unlawful.
Justice Clark, in the ma jority opin-
| ion, charged the Reading holding COM
pany by an "adroit division of proper
ty and of corporate agency" with pur-
| posely violating "in fragrant manner"
| the Sherman antitrust act and with
suppressing commerce and competi-
ton. 1t also was declared to have Sc
cured dominating CONTROL" not only
over two great competing coal inter-
ests as well as two great competing
interstate railroad carriers, but the
| court said this dominating power was
not obtained by normal expansion to
meet the demands of a business grow
ing as result of superior and enter
| prising management, but by deliber-
ate, calculated purchase for control"