The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-11-14
By ANNA ROCHESTER.
Continued

A fresh link from the Pittsburgh
Coal Company to the southern West
Virginia coal fields was set up last
May (192S) when the Coinage
Smokeless Fuel Company was organ
lied to take over and operate proper
ties in Mcdowell County and to
operate properties in Raleigh and
Wyoming Counties. The president
of this new company, H. N. Eaven-
son, is director of Pittsburgh Coal.
The MELONS and persons closely as
ISOLATED with them have in recent
years set up several other connec-
lions in Kentucky and Alabama coal.
Just the other day it was an
nounced, that the 100000, 900
merger of West Virginia coal in
terests had fallen through and the
committee had disbanded. Negotia-
lions may we'll be continuing in pri-
vate, or in the near future new
committee may be formed to take up
the matter again. Meanwhile look
at the interests represented on that
committee. They are typical of the
forces that confront the miners in
West Virginia.
The chairman, Isaac 7. Mann, is
president of Pocahontas Fuel and a
director of the Norfolk and Western
Railway. Other directors of Poca-
hontas Fuel represent New England
steamship interests. In 1917 that
company's dividends, which had been
running at about 6 per cent year,
shot up to 80 per cent. In 1919 they
were 10 per cent. Since 1919 the
dividend rate has discreetly been
kept as dark as possible, but the fact
of stock dividend of 800 per cent
in 1922 is public knowledge.
R. H. Knode, the president of the
General Coal Co. in West Virginia,
is also director and vice-president
of the Halle Brook Coal Co., a
Donald Markle Anthracite Company
| which has just been merged with
Markle's Jeddo-Highland Anthracite
Company. The Markle companies
are tied up with Morgan. They
have among their directors men who
are interested also in the notorious
Westmoreland Coal Company and in
the large but temporarily unsuccess-
full West Virginia Coal and Coke Co.
T. B. Davis of New York is vice
president of Island Creek Coal Co.,
the largest of the four closely re-
lated West Virginia companies dom
mated by Boston officials of the u.
S. Smelling, Refining and Mining
Exploration Co. The smaller COM
panies in the group ARE Pond Greek
Pocahontas, Mallory Coal Co., and
Hardy Coal Co. One of the direc
tors, I. ]. Freiberger, is-or has
been-president of the Cleveland
Chamber of Commerce. The vigor-
GUS anti-union sentiments of the
president of Island Creek Coal, Will
liam H. Coolidge, we have already
noted. Island Creek is also the COM
pany which in the course of IL years
has piled up profits of $28,630,758
on stock with par value of $118,80l.
Its largest profits have been re-
ported since the war. Only last year
400 per cent stock dividend was
handed out.
r. H. Gross, president of the New
River Company, is another Boston
man with holdings in half dozen
independent copper ventures. Other
directors represent New England
manufacturing and steamship in
terests.
A third New England group sat in
at the committee through William
c. Atwater, president of the Ameri-
can Coal Co. of Allegheny County
wv. Va.) which operates on land
leased from the Norfolk and
Western Railway. The Atwater
family is deep in New Bedford tex
tile interests. William c. himself is
president of a coal selling company
which claims a direct interest not
only in the American Coal Co. but
also in, ten smaller West Virginia
companies. Another director of