The Washington times., 1923-09-28
|. c. &c. REVEALS
ANTHRACITE
COMBINE
Report Shows Nine Companies
Control "a Per Cent Of
Nations Production.
BY TOM EVERRTTT.


NEW YORK, Sept. 28.-The vir
tual monopoly existing in the an
thractte coal industry and which
makes possible the gouging OF the
coal-buying public by high prices
the report Of the United States
Coal Commission.
The revelations Disclose:
That mine coal corporations con
troll a per cent Of all the hard
coal mined In the United sites
That nine railroads control the
hauling OF that coal. These ran
roads formerly controlled most Oh
the coal companies outright.
A. q Recommendation for relief
the Commission urges that the m
terstatOF Commerce. CoYnnnieeitsl-
which allowed an increase m ffefrl1t
rates on c0al--be deIexakAd "a eiI
| pervise these nine coaf cOfuofa
tons and these nine railroads.
After estab lisl1inR that the adj
mitted coal monopoly has doubled
prices In ten years, and that the
private corporations have increased
freight rates conside rably. the com
mission does not recommend rov
ernEnent ownership either bv bur
chase e present value or by ex
Coal StasiStics.
The report then gives soma n .
ni3lcant facts and sfatisfica ahrsIs
the coal Industry.
Although the supreme co,,rt ii
the United States ordered TIE ,iins
roads and mining companies NJ
set 9 divorce from each ofher ,,.e
raiiroads sim haul the coal a..
cOn1ing % the coal commission.
eight OF the larger coal com
paniee most Of them still cIosely
attillated with the railroads. Z.
grouped together In price quote
tons ana their product is known &.
company coal. the committe,
These companies. together WITH
number Of so.called '.independenf'
companies collect $685., 854. 900. 1
year profits from the public fol
The railroads. collect s24s.soO. %,
II freight charges on this coai
1nese figures are based upon IN,
cost prevailing before the recen
increase Of about 81 q ton wa.
imposed on the public. The mon
the United States Coal Cornnissfor
to say: It 1.-THE commits io,sl slne-
however, hold the view tl1af
limited natural niounnoIv III,
anthracite, held BY s reIativel,
small number Of indiyiduaie IS
tates and companies, and slff1nlvin.
necessity OF life FOR millions B
our people, cannot continue to b
treated as IL 1t Were not affacfe.
by public intere 2
Effect Of Monopoly.
The effect of this monopoly 8,
the public ID that from the con
saimers point OF view, the retaile,
IN his purchase Of Company Goa
might as well be dealing with !
single corporation charging singl,
Competition between ]. the ..rail
road" coal corporations is Otter
harped upon, but 90 far as thu
consumer IL concerned, the Goa
commission put the case in thu
way: There IL no effective com
petition between railroad com.
panies. even though there is q
range Of IS cents between Ahe high
est and lowest Of the circular prices
49, SASO ee@AAeGss SAAG0 VA CQk11s AIA64ukG&
in circular prices have been up
ward rather than downward.
The result to the consumers oi
anthracite coal Of the dissolution
decision by the United Gtafes
Supreme Court Of the railroads
and their mines, 10 thus described
by the coal commission:
Thus, in ten years, both the re
tail and the Wholesale oY.icea III
stove (egg1 coal have practicnlls
doubled. Whether the peculiar cor
porate organization Of the antnra
cite industry has been helpful OF
harmful to the public turns In thu
last analysis on whether its profits
have been reasonable"
After reciting differences in thu
cost accounting methods OF thu
United States Coal Commission and
the Federal Trade Commission, tht
coal commission said: Further
evidence that the profits Of tn.
anthracite companies are increasing
is found in the increase OF theil
surplus accounts. The report theH
cites the amounts of some OF thess
SURPRISES, and proceeds: 'Ttes'
figures Of increasing surplus ds
not Of themselves show what th'
profits have BEEN"
The anthracite coal monopoly Il
an established fact, according II
the coal commission, which declares
the fact Of an economic concerj
amounting 10 combination n essfab