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Show HEARING OF COAL RflTE CASE BEGINS r-SAbOli LAKE. 'July fO.-With. an Imposing Im-posing nrrayxjof -.counsel, witnesses and interestediHpectafors, the hearing of the action brought by the Consolidated Consoli-dated Fuel company and the Castle Valley Coal company against 2G railroads rail-roads operating In the west and reaching out to the Pacific coast, was begun today before Special Examiner Ex-aminer J S Burchmore of the Interstate Inter-state commerce commission. Tho case is of Interest as it is a move of the "independent'' fuel companies of the state of Utah to obtain an equal footing foot-ing with the coal companies alleged to bo subsidiary to the carrying lines, end also alleged to be favored In the discrimination of rates. The hearing now In progress before the representative of tho Interstate commerce commission came as a result re-sult of a complaint fllod with the commission of the Consolidated company, com-pany, operating the Hiawatha mines in Carbon county, and In Emory county, coun-ty, asserted In their complaint that owing to discrimination In railroad rates on coal thoy were practically debarred from a wide territory which Iilclurted Tdaho, Novnda nnd California, Califor-nia, with Oregon and Washington added. This- morning when the hearing was tegun the Independent Coal and Coke company, of which C. NT Strevoll is president, entered an intervening motion, asking that tho company be made n plaintiff in the original complaint. com-plaint. As this entry ralsod a new Is sue In the hearing Special Examiner Burchmore withheld a decision until the intoivonlng motion Is submitted to the commission In Washington. Counsel for Railroads. As the attorneys representing the two sides of the controversy Judge C C. Dye, assisted by Attorney J A. Street, appear for tho complainants, while E W Clark, chief counsel for the D & R G , and F C Dlllard, interstate in-terstate commerce attorney for tho Harrlman system, associated with P I. Williams, G. H. Smith and H. C Edwards represent the railroad's sido of the affair. When the hearing was begun this morning A. B Apperson, general superintendent su-perintendent of the Southern Utah railway operating from Price, Utah, to Hiawatha, where the Consolidated Fuel company has its mines, took the witness stand In detail, and pointing point-ing out on a map tho distances, Mr Apperson showed the discriminative rates applied to the coal product hauled by his roRd He cited that in the case of Boise the rate for coal from the "Utah coal mining district Is $1.25. whl-e the rate from the Wyoming Wy-oming mines is only $3 50, although the haul Js niactlcally the same. In his testimony Superintendent Apper son detailed various sections In whidhf a differential rate existed and wbicn worked to the advantage of the Wy oming mines at the ratio of from 25 (o 75 cents per ton in the freight charges op coaj No "Golden Rule." Mr. Apperson admitted that "there is (no golden rule In the railroad-gnme." railroad-gnme." and "every lallroad wants Jo get all It can" Thip was in reply k the query put ny Judge Dlllard In cross examination as to whether or not the witness thought that 40 cents was or was not a reasonable freignt charge for tonnage over the line or which he is superintendent. F A. SVcPt, president of the Consolidated Con-solidated Fuel company nnd of tic Southern Utah railway, was callqd after Mn Apperson, and had Just finished fin-ished a brief direct examination by Judge Dye, when the exnmlner adjourned ad-journed the hearing until 2 o'clock.' Mr. Sweet, answering queries put, to him by Judgo Dyo detailed the dl" crimination shown by the railroads against the Independent companies. He pointed out that although tile Kenllworth, the Sunnyslde and Winter Quarters mines enjoy through rates, the mines located at Hiawatha and Castle aVIIcy only secure the rale from Price, on the main line of tho D & R. G. Beyond Huntington, Or., the witness averred there is no rate given for Utah coal and in Idaho, Nevada and California the Wyoming mines are given the advantage in competition pf from 25 to 50 cents in the freight charges. Mr. Sweet resumed tho witness stand this afternoon for cross examination. exami-nation. The hearing will continue for a week or more at least and as the case progresses there Is likely to be several lengthy legal tilts. |