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40 THE COAL TRADE BULLETIN.
employed in coal production in this state should
not be called upon to pay this special tax. If such
tax must be levied for the purposes of this bill it
should be levied by the federal government upon
all coal mined in the United States, otherwise the
states levying such tax will be placed at a disadvantage
in the production of coal.
We, therefore, humbly pray the senators and
members of the legislature to oppose the passage
of such special tax legislation.
The resolution was presented to the joint scale
committee at its meeting and adopted. On the
following day the conference ratified the action
of the committee and adjourned its sessions until
March 27. after appointing a conimittee composed
of Mr. Kerr for the operators, and Mr. Wilson for
the miners, to present the protest of the district
before the legislative ways and means committee.
District President Gilday, of the miners, accompanied
Messrs. Kerr and Wilson to Harrisburg.
Similar action was taken by the joint conference
in the Mercer-Butler field, which met at Greenville,
Pa., on March 21. It was agreed that it was
impracticable to make a scale under the circumstances
and arrangements were made by which the
interests of the field would be represented at Harrisburg.
The hearing before the ways and means committee
at Harrisburg was held on the evening of
March 27. So large was- the delegation opposing
the measure that it was necessary to use the main
TTall of the house. Chairman March, the author
of the bill, proposed to limit the length and number
of the protests but was overruled by the members
of the committee. There was also some friction
between Mr. March and his fellow committeemen
regarding his general attitude toward the
delegation which was the reverse of cordial. Patrick
Dolan. president of the Pittsburgh district
of the United Mine Workers of America, and
several other district officers represented the miners
of the Western end of the state. W. B. Wilson,
secretary and treasurer of the national organization
of the miners, appeared for the miners
of the whole state and Patrick Gilday, president
of the miners' organization of the Central Pennsylvania
district, appeared for his own constituency.
The operators were represented by Francis
L. Robbins, president of the Pittsburgh Coal Co.,
and the company's solicitor, former Judge Elliott
Rodgers; J. T. M. Stonerod was present for the
Carnegie Coal Co.; George M. Hosack and J. H.
Sanford spoke for the Clyde Coal Co.; Col. George
F. Huff talked for the Keystone Coal & Coke Co. of
Westmoreland county; Gen. W. H. Koontz, of Somerset,
represented the coal interests of nis county.
Former Congressman James Kerr, of Clearfield,
represented the operators of the Central district.
Howard Patton, H. C. Burket and Daniel Jones
represented their Westmoreland county coal oper
ations, and Edward and Marcus Saxman represented
coal and coke interests at Latrobe. John
M. Jamison represented the Jamison Coal & Coke
Co., of Greensburg, and Edward D. Fulton, W. W.
Parshall and James R. Gray represented the coke
interests of Fayette county. Many other operators
from the Western end of the state were present
or represented, and the protests, it was explained,
represented nearly 250,000 workmen and
fully $150,000,000 in capital.
Headed by Congressman Huff, the delegation
called upon Gov. Pennypacker during the afternoon.
The governor listened to Mr. Huff's statement
outlining the purpose of the visit, but made
no comment of significance as to his personal attitude
on the question.
President Robbins, in opening the attack before
the ways and means committee, said he opposed
tne hill as it would add to an already over-burdened
bituminous tax; that no such tax is imposed by
states in which the Pennsylvania product is obliged
to compete for business, and that the fact that in
this state bituminous operators pay road, school,
county and state corporation taxes should be considered
sufficient. Manufacturers are not taxed,
he said, and asked why coal should be singled out
for special state revenue. He continued:
"We have competition everywhere, North, West,
South and East. Ohio. Indiana. Illinois and Kansas
on the West; Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland
and Kentucky South, and the product of the
Southern district faces us Eastward. We do not
make market prices, but we must meet them.
Taxation should be equitable, not of a nature to
destroy home industry and amounting, as this one
does, to confiscation. statistics show that coal
lands in the states I have mentioned are subjected
to only a small tax. comparatively, and the
last West Virginia legislature changed the method
of appraisement, it being now on actual value, and
about one-fourth the amount imposed in this state.
There, home companies pay less than foreign corporations,
and everything is done to encourage
instead of retard development.
"The tax in Ohio is $35 as compared to $200 in
the Pittsburgh district. Ohio receives one mill
corporation tax as against five mills paid in Pennsylvania.
In Illinois and other Western and
Southern states the same protection is afforded
home capital. Five years ago in the extraordinary
evolution of the Pittsburgh district, the Pittsliurgh
Coal Co. and the Monongahela Consolidated
Coal & Coke Co. were formed by merging about
125 corporations, firms and smaller interests.
Since then the wages of the miners has been increased
and their material conditions greatly improved.
The value of coal properties has increased.