u,.:- • - Clpdigital.org

I THE COAL TRADE BULLETIN. 2ft
PLAN ANNOUNCED FOR REORGANIZATION
OF PENNSYLVANIA COAL AND COKE
COMPANY.
Following a petition by the Scranton Trust Co.,
to the courts of Lackawanna county, Pa., for the
appointment of a master to sell property of the
Pennsylvania Coal & Coke Co. to satisfy a mortgage
and to raise money for the payment of accrued
interest on bonds, announcement was made
in New York May 23 of a plan for the reorganization
of the company. The Scranton Trust Co. is
trustee of the mortgage given by the coal company
to secure a big bond issue. Thomas H. Watkins
is receiver for the coal and coke company.
The reorganization plan has been made by a
committee composed of Alexander .1. Hemphill,
of New York, chairman. Clarence D. Simpson, William
A. Lathrop, Stacey C. Richmond and John
Carstensen, and it includes that action taken by
the Scranton Trust Co. in petitioning for a master,
as well as proceedings for the foreclosure of
the consolidated mortgage and the sale of other
properties sold b.v the receiver not subject to the
mortgage. The plan in brief is:
"Bondholders who deposited their securities
with the Guaranty Trust Co. of New York under
the deposit agreement of August 17, 190S. have
been notified that dissent to the plan must be
made before June 10, when the plan will become
effective, unless one-third of the certificates of
deposit dissent.
"The committee has entered into an agreement
with the Clearfield Bituminous Coal Corporation
that, when the properties are acquired by the
committee at foreclosure, all the coal lands and
mines of the Pennsylvania company, with cars,
equipment, tracks, surface lands owned in fee,
buildings, etc., shall be sold and transferred to
the Clearfield company, subject to the lien of
underlying mortgages aggregating $6,823,000 and
car purchase indebtedness amounting to $122,841.
The committee is to receive in payment $2,500,009
face value of the bonds of the Clearfield company,
less an amount equal to the indebtedness of the
receiver to the New York Central & Hudson River
railroad, estimated at $660,137. These bonds are
to be a part of a total of $5,000,000 4'j per cent.
mortgage bonds, maturing January 1, 1932.
"The Clearfield company is lo lease to the new
company to be organized 47,ooo acres of coal
lands owned in fee al a rental of 10 cents a ton
of coal, and 12,000 acres of leasehold coal lands
at a rental of 2 cents a ton on coal mined in excess
of 1,500.000 tons annually, in addition to the
assumption by the new company of rentals, royalties',
and other payments. The new company is
to have a capital stock of $7,500,000."
COURT REFUSES TO SUSTAIN
DEMURRER ENTERED BY FEEHAN.
Robert Gibbons, president of the United Mine
Workers of the Pittsburgh district, won an important
point in his equity suit against Francis
Feehan on May 27. Judge L. L. Davis, in common
pleas court No. 4. overruled the demurrer
filed by the former president of the union. The
case will now be tried on its merits.
Gibbons and the other officers of District No. 5
now feel confident of victory in tlie pending litigation.
They feel confident that, the court will
sustain the allegations on which they base their
suit, in the same manner in which il refused to
entertain ibe demurrer of the defendants.
President Gibbons, together with Abe Kephart,
Thomas Sheehan, Otto Slater, James Sabin, James
Brown, Fred Sample and William P. Friday
brought the suit as a result of alleged irregularities
on the part of the defendants following a
spirited (lection.
When the new officers went into power Feehan
refused to turn ovei to them the books of the
organization, and during the convention and election
Feehan counted the votes of District No. 3,
the Irwin field, for himself, and then claimed
himself elected. The Irwin never was part of
the Pittsburgh district.
On February 2S the miners, outraged by the
alleged irregularities, called a regular convention.
Feehan and his satellites were not present. He
was expelled from his own local, and the convention
expelled him from the organization for a
period of five years for refusing to answer certain
charges against him. Feehan then refused
to recognize President Gibbons.
SIX DAYS WORK FOR EMPLOYES
OF H. C. FRICK COKE COMPANY.
In line with the recent order issued by the
United States Steel Corporation, that no man
shall work more than six days per week, the H.
C. Frick Coke Co. has issued a similar order to
the superintendent at each plant, to take effect
immediately.
The order does nol affect monthly men. applying
only to day men who heretofore have been employed
seven days during the week, including firemen,
pumpers, compressor, fan and dynamo men
and others performing work requiring constant attention.
It will affect, on an average, probably seven
men at each plant, which means that, at the 70
planls of the Frick Co. in the neighborhood of
500 men will come under the rule requiring just