Evening star., 1926-01-27
PELAND URGES
MINE PRICE PROBE
Acts After Local Coal Deal
,erS Tell of Increases in
Their Payments.

The hearing of the joint congression.
al committee investigating retail coal
prices in Washington moved to new
fields yesterday afternoon. when doc
umentary evidence was produced by
local dealers showing that they had
paid S1O.7S ton on the tracks for low
volatile bituminous coal from West
Virginia, and that coke from Pennsyl-
vania. which cost but $3.50 a ton in
August. is now bringing $3.50 a ton
at the ovens
On the basis of this evidence. Sena-
tor Royal S. Copeland of New York.
a member of the Senate Dis ~ict com
mittee. which started the present in
vestigation, served notice that he
would demand that the probe consider
some of the protiteering that seems
to be going on elsewhere than among
these little dealers here in Washing
to1.' The declaration came almost at
the very end of an afternoon fairly
charged with possibilities in the hear
ing.
Agree to Show Books.
Jesse c. Suter, managing director
of the Retail Coal Merchants Board
of Trade. had corrected with personal
ly obtained information the statements
of l.. c. McFann. attorney for the
Smokeless Coal Operators Association
of West Virginia: representatives Of
the coal dealers here agreed to permit
the committee members to scrutiniZe
some of their personal books lin ex-
ecutive session.. and Senator Neely
of West Virginia, vigorously seeking
to defend the ethics of the operators
in his State, sought to make the local
dealers admit they had paid around
$3.50 To S5 a ton for their coal.
Then Mr.. Suter submitted sworn
statements from the dealers, giving
the prices they had paid for coal dur
ing November and December. The
statement submitted by the j. Maury
Dove Co. showed that the wholesale
price at the mines had increased rap
idly since early in November, starting
then at S7.62 ton on the tracks and
climbing upward without a break un.
til they reached 5000 a ton in De-
cember. These prices were consider
ably higher than those Mr.. McVann
had said the operators were charging.
Shows Receipted Bills.
Senator Neely objected that the fig
ures meant nothing, despite the fact
that they were sworn to, because
neither the books from which they
We're taken nor the man swearing to
them were in the room to be heard
personally. Mr.. Suter agreed TO en-
deavor to have l.. e. Marsh, secretary
and treasurer of the Dove Co., appear
before the committee tomorrow. Then
came the sworn statement of John p
Agnew & Co. showing that his com
pany paid an average Of S1o.7S a ton
for it's low-volatile West Virginia coal
on the tracks, in November, and 1857
in December.
Again Senator Neely sought 10 have
the figures discounted for lack of sub
sanitation. At that minute, however,
Arnold P Raymond, formally repre-
senting John p. Agnew Co, jumped
up, tossed a large stack of receipted
bills on the table and declared: There,
there is the documentary evidence.
Those are the receiptod bills, showing
that we paid the amounts specified,
and also the freight receipts, showing
how much freight we paid. lnvtstl-
cation showed the original figures to
be correct.
Difference in Testimony.
Mr. McVann. representing the West
VIRGINIA operators, had told the COM
mittee last week that the average
price the Washington dealers had PAID
for their coal was about $4.75 ton
at the mines, plus a freight rate of
50 "a. which would have made the
price to the Washington dealers on
the tracks about $7.59. Such figures,
if was declared, would have netted the
Washington dealers an unreasonable
protit. but the dealers denied the state
ments and promised to submit the
evidence that was rendered yesterday.
These figures. Mr.. Raymond. are
la rgely for November and December
declared Senator Neely. 'As matter
of fact. bituminous coal is much
cheaper now, isn't it?'
Most certainly not the volunteer
witness asserted. Il got a telegram
only today quoting the prices for West
Virginia low volatile coal. and it shows
st. so a ton at the Mines That price,
it was developed. was for short ton
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