Arizona republican., 1921-02-26
Leaders Are Indicted

cs Thomas T. Brewster. Edward C. Searls, Jackson Dering, Phil Penna and William K. Kavanaugh and high officials of the United Mine Workers union, including it's president, John l.. Lewis. and secretary, William Green were among the defendants. The Na- tional Coal association was among the corporate defendants
 The indictment covers specifically the last three years in the coal indus try and follows an 1S-months' investi- gation by agents of the department of justice. The charge is made bv the indictment that at various joint con ferences. the miners and operators agreed to be partners in mining and distributing coal and that they would aid one another in plans to increase wages, increase prices, create a short age and otherwise limit production and distribution Creation of fictitious market prices and the provocation Of miners strikes by operators also was charged.
 Most of the persons indicted as in diyiduais in the new bill were among those named in the indictment re turned some time ago charging viola auon of the Lever food and fuel con trol act by an alleged conspiracy 10 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.
 Restricted Production Charge
 During the three year peroid covered in the indictment, detailed history is given of methods by which it is charged the operators and miners worked together to restrict the produc- ! tion and distribution of bituminons coal.
 The charge is made that the agree mentS entered into between the oper.- ators and miners provided that coal should not be sold at any time for q price that did not yield a profit to the operator: that increases of wages to l miners should be added to the price Of coal: that competition among opera tors should be eliminated that no coal should be sold below the cost of pro duction, and that the means of in creasing cost and productionxin the price of coal should be by closing and keeping idle the mines.
 i The operators established a uniform cost accounting system for the opera
 tion of the mines. it is charged, and by agreement employed a greater mum I Der of miners than was reasonably
 necessary to operate the mines prop erly.
 Agreements entered into at the con- fferences between the miners and oper- ators have been continuous from one conference to another up to the time of filing of the indictment, it is said Created High Prices
 Creation of high and fictitious mar
 about by the operators, according to
 the indictment, by an agreement fol ] lowing suspension of the national fuel
 regulations 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 national fuel administration. Another charge is made that the 1 operators, by concerted plan. made
 various reports to the mine bureaus of l the several states and to the govern
 ment that there was no market for ! coal and that this plan caused the | price to increase, until it was higher than the prices fixed and maintained by the national fuel administration | prior to is suspension.
 1 Regarding the activities Of the Ma tional Coal association, the indictment charges that this organization is en- l gagged in marking out zones into
 which coal may be shipped and that | reports on production and prices in
 each zone enabled operators to govern the supply and price of fuel.
 Had Own Sales Agencies
 The indictment charges that in tho | plan to increase the price of coal the l operators refused to sell fuel to any one not a member of the Retail Coal lJtdltES dSSONitAAoi anu etAiANO VI
 izations and that they refused to sell
 coal to anyone for purposes beyond their immediate needs, thus prevent ing the storage of coal for future use. | Another plan for increasing fuel prices. it is charged. was to sell it through sales agencies which were separate in name only from the opera ting and producing companies ! Profits were thereby increased, the
 indictment says.
 The operators also created the "spOt market" the indictment charges, by agreeing to sell coal only for imme-
 diate delivery at prices agreed upon [ at the time of delivery. In carrying
 out their plan to cause q scarcity of coal. the grand jury said, the operators |. published broadcast during 1920 arti- cles pointing out that there was ;,
 shortage of coal and urged people tu
 purchase.