The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-26
BIC MINE OWNERS AND UNION HEADS
 AMONG DEFENDANTS
indictments Cover Last Three Years in Coal Industry and Follow 18 Months
 Investigation

iIlVcStiydtiUii
 Indianapolis, February 25.-Co- operation between coal operators and miners in six states to force high prices for soft coal by restricting pro- duction were charged today by a federal grand jury indictment re- turned in court here. Two hundred and twenty-six defendants, including 127 operators and miners and go op- erators' associations or companies, were accused of conspiracy to violate the Sherman antitrust law. The de- fendants live in Missouri, Illinois, In- diana, Kentucky, Ohio and Pennsyl- vania.
 Judge S B. Anderson, who received the indictment, set May 3 for arraign- ment, and in, issuing capiases for ar- rest of the defendants, he fixed the bond of each at s1O,Oo0. Names of ail defendants, except 12, were made pub lie by District Attorney vanNuys.
 Prominent operators, including
 Thomas 1T. Brewster, Edward c.
 senrIs, Jackson Decring, Phil
 Penna and William J. knvanaugh
 and high officials of the United
 Mine Workers union, including it's
 president John l.. Lewis. and Sec
 retary William Green. were among
 the defendants. The National Coal
 association wns among the corp0-
 rate defendants.
 COVER THREE YEARS
 The indictment covers specifically the last three years in the coal indua- try and follows an investigation that has been conducted almost continu- ously the last IS months by agents of the federal department of justice. Tho charge is made by the indictment that at various joint conferences the miners and operators agreed to De partners In mining and distributing coal. and that they would aid one another in plans to increase wages, increase prices. create a shortage and otherwise limit production and distribution. Creation of fictitious market prices and the provocation of miners strikes by op- orators also was charged by the in- dictment
 Most of the persons indicted as in dividuais in the new bill were among those named as defendants in the in- dictment returned some time ago charging violation of the Lever food and fuel control act by an alleged con spiracy to curtail production and force high prices. Trial of that case has been postponed indefinitely, and it was said unofficially that it might be dropped in view of the new charges.
 During the three-year period covered in the indictment, a detailed history is given of methods by which 1t is charged the operators and miners worked together to restrict the pro- Auction and distribution of bituminous coal.
 AGREEMENT CHARGED
 The charge Is mnae thnt the
 agreements entered into between the miners provide that coal should
 not he sold nit any time for n price
 that did not yield . profit to the
 operator; that the wages to the
 miners should be ndded to the price
 of coal, that competition nmOng
 operators should be eliminated,
 tbnt no coal should be sold below
 the cost of production and thnt the
 mems of incrcasing costs and prO-
 ductfon In the price of c0nl should
 be by closing nnd keeping Idle the
 mines.
 The operators established a uniform cost accounting system for the opera tion of the mines, it is charged, and by agreement employed a greater number of miners than was reasonably neces- sary to operate the mines properly.
 Agreements entered at the confer ences between the miners and oper- ators have been continuous from one conference to another upAto the time of the filing of the indictments, it is said
 FICTITIOUS PRICES
 Creation of high and fictitious mar h nr n nal ya er1t al hor by the operators, according to the in- dictment. by an agreement following suspension of the national fuel regula- ton in February, 1919 not to contract for the future delivery of coal and not to sell coal unless they were able to obtain price equal to or above the price that had been fixed by the na- tional fuel administration.
 Another charge is that the operators by a concerted plan made various re- ports to the mine bureaus of the sev. eral states and to the government that there was no market for coal. and that his plan caused the price to increase until it was higher than the pricss fixed and maintained by the national fuel administration prior to its sus- pension.
 Regarding the activities of the Ma tional Coal association, the indictment charges that this organization is en- gagged in markNg out zones into which 2 coal may be shipped and that reports on production and prices in each zorls enable operators to govern the supply and price of fuel.
 NON-MEMBERS BARRED
 The indictment charges that in the plan to increase the price of coal the operators refused to sell fuel to any one not member of the Retail Coal Dealers association and allied organ. izotions, and that they refused to sell coal to any one for purposes beyotn their immediate needs thus preventing the storage of coal for future use.
 Another plan for increasing fuel prices, 1t is charged was to sell it separate in name only from the operat- ing and prodNcinS company. Profits were thereby increased. the indictment says.
 SPOT" MARKET CHARGED
 The operators also created the "spots market, the indictment charges. by agreeing to sell coal only for immedt- ate delivery at prices agreed upon at the time of delivery. Tn carrying otit their plans to cause scarcity of coal the grand jury said the operators pub lished broadcast during 1920 artfcl6a pointing out that there was q shortaRn of coal and urged people to purchase
 Alleged methods of operators to avoid deliveries on contracts also weres cited in the lndictment. It chargera contract for weekly deliveries wolld be made contingent upon three days .
 iftnnfinued x,,. lnrrp .lsom rfeen E x E "A