The Washington herald., 1921-02-10
Power to Keep Prices Up
Here Described to Sem +.
ate Probers. 2
DECLARES REQUEST
HALTED REDUCTION
L. l.. CharletOn Tells How
Advertisement Got Him
Into Trouble.

E. N. Van Ness. George W. Rue,
Lester l. Charlton and Ernest II.
Daniel yesterday told the Senate
coal investigating committee thai
iCttms oC the local deal
ers' combine that John c. L. Ritter
. u''stiHro rucscay had driven him
out Of business
CharletOn said he had PLACED an
advt. m the newspapers announcing
50 per cent reduction in coal. and
WAS hunted up by Johnston x Zim-
norman, secretary Of the Coal Msr-
chants Board OF Trade. form srIy
known as the Coal Dealers Assocta
tiOn. who told him the dealers had
been calling him up and kicking
Zimmerman found him at the ball
park, Charlton said. and after ca
. planning the trouble the adveTtfs,.-
I ment was causing. asked him II hc
would discontinue it, He SAID h.
| promised that he would withdraw
l the advertisement and run up thr
price again as soon az possible
Van Ness said he was selling b.
/ low the prevailing price in the spring
K OF 1919 when L. 2 White. of the as
1 socistion, from whom he had been
I buying. told him he would deliver
/ no more coal at his trestle He went
to see W. W. Griffith. he said. and
/ Griffith charged him the retail price
( but agreed to allow his 81 on on ac-
count OF haul He said he saw
! MaUry Dove and others without
being able to overcome the opposl-
| tion and obtained spot coal from
/ Ritter at S5.75 to tide him over hisl
contracts until he finally sold out
to the STANDARD Coal Company.
White told him he was sorry 10
turn him down. Van Ness said. but
4 the association" would not let him
sell to him at the Wholesale prices,
and one dealer refused him on the
ground that he had no yard or scale.
T. Nsy PROBE seeming BsHfty.
Senator Reed, Of the nEnUfac-
( lures committee. before which the
Investigation is being conducted, in
timated that the Department Of Jus
tice would be called upon 10 eT-
plain these apparently hagsrsnt
I violations OF the Sherman antitrust
Law in Washington after its atten-
tion had been called to IL repeatedly.
\ The testimony OF Ritter given
Tuesday was largely Corroborated
yesterday by Ernest H Daniel, pres
ident Of the Carry Ice Cream Com
pany that sold coal cheaper than
the association companies. He said
other dealers told him il was not
a good thing to do. that they were
making enemies that would prob
ably get back at US" One told him
that there would be a movement on
foot to run him out Of the ice busI-
ness. he said
senator LaFouettc. chairman s'
= the committee, asked Daniel what
, he replied TO that and Daniel said
Il told him that it didn't worry mv.
and that if they didn't conduct the
ice business any better than they
did the coal We would soon own the
ice business" Several members O.
the coal association tried 10 buy ouI
the company in which he and RiNsr
were interested, sniel declared.
stopped His SNIe~.
Rue testified that the pressure Or
the dealers combine stopped him
from selling coal to laundries and
TO a church at lower prices and de-
sCribed his efforts to obtain the
commodity at tho prices which
other dealers obtained II in order te
accommodate his customers.
Ritter returned to the stand yes
tcrdsy morning and was Cross-aues-
toned by Ssnstor Reed as 10 details
OF his charges that a combine had
actually been formed TO cut or thosU
who cut prices The local phase of
the hearing was suspended for tho
hearing OF Samuel GOmpers, presi-
dent Of the American Federation 81
} Labor. who began explaining his o.
position to the Calder bill proposing
government regulation Of the coal
; industry when adjournment was
taken for the day.