John Hessin Clarke

“ Again, when in 1901 a rivalry, imaginary or real, arose for the control of the Central Railroad Company, the Holding Company, regardless of the law, did not hesitate to purchase control of that great competing anthracite coal carrying system, with its extensive coal owning and mining subsidiary. ”

“ To increase or decrease the output of coal from very extensive mines, the supply of it in the market, and the cost of it to the consumer; to increase or lower the charge for transporting such coal to market; and to regulate car supply and other shipping conveniences, and thereby to help or hinder the operations of independent miners and shippers of coal. This constituted a combination to unduly restrain interstate commerce within the meaning of the act. ”

“ The result of this action has been to sencure-and attach to the company's railroad-a body of coal land capable of supplying all the coal tonnage that can possibly be transported over the road for centuries.'
'The transportation of coal has always been a source of great profit to the railroad company and the only doubt in the past as to the permanency of the earning power of the company as a transporter was due to the fear that rival companies would tap the Schuylkill region and divert the coal tonnage to their own lines. ”

“ This acquisition placed the Holding Company in a position of dominating control not only over two great competing interstate railroad carriers but also over two great competing coal companies, engaged extensively in mining and selling anthracite coal, which must be transported to interstate markets over the controlled interstate lines of railway. ”

“ That they were made for the purpose of eliminating the competition of independent operators from the markets and thus removing 'a menace to the monopoly of transportation to tidewater which the defendants collectively possessed'; that before these contracts, there existed not only the power to compete but actual competition between the coal of the independents and that produced by the buying defendants, but that after the contracts were made 'such competition was impracticable' ”

“ A majority of the individual defendants have died since the suit was instituted and their successors in office have not been made parties, and, since the conclusion to be announced can be given full effect by an appropriate decree against the corporation defendants, the case as against the remaining individual defendants need not be considered, and as to them the bill will be dismissed without prejudice. ”

“ Is is not entirely clear that the covenant will bear the restrictive interpretations as to shipments which the government puts upon it, but, assuming that it may be so interpreted, nevertheless, the conditions and circumstances of the case considered, the result contended for cannot be allowed. ”

“ This company thus came into possession of 102,573 acres of anthracite lands, owned and leased-almost two-thirds of the entire acreage of the Schuylkill coal field-stocks and bonds in other coal companies, coal in storage and other property, all of the estimated value of $95,000,000. ”