The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1886-01-20
THE SOUTH PENN CASE.
FOIL TEXT OF JUDGE sInoMTows DECISION
ENI0IKIH6 THE TRANSFER. :

courts, to-day rendered decision in the &C
ton brought by the Attorney General on be
half of the State some months ago to restrail
the Pennsylvania Railroad Company from
securing control of the projected Soutl
Pennsylvania and the Beech Creek lines. OF
the ground. among other .rhings that sucl
acts were in violation of the Constitution o
| the State. which forbids the consolidation 0
parallel or competing lines.
i In the first instance, it is maintained tha
the South Pennsylvania is competing rail
road, because of its contracts with othel
roads at its western terminus, whereby all
traffic would be transported from Port Perry
10 Pittsburgh. making it a competing line
with the Pennsylvania Railroad Company
| before completion it is parallel, but after
completion it is competing road. Follow.
| ing is full text of the decision =
OBJECT OF THE SUIT.
This is suit brought by the Attorney
General in the name of and ON behalf of the
! Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for the
purpose of obtaining an injunction to re.
strain the Pennsylvania Railroad Company
from obtaining and exercising control of
the South Pennsylvania Ruilroad Company
The theory of the case is that the acts sought
to be eDjoined are prohibited by section OF
Article XVII of the Constitution of 1874.
On the filing of the bill preliminary in
junction was awarded. Afterwards on the
applicatiot, of tha Attornev Caparal a, a..
aminer was appointed to take testimony to
be used on the hearing of a motion to con-
tinue the injunction. A large mass of testi-
mony was taken and filed, the motion was
elaborately and ably argued and we are now
to determine whether the injunction is to
be dissolved. or to be continued until the
final hearing.
The substance of the case made bv the
bill is that the Pennsylvania Railroad Com
pany own and control parallel or competing
lines of railroad that the former corpora
tion is about to obtain and exercise control
of the latter, and that it is prohibited from
so doing by the section of the Constitution
above referred TO, which ordains as follows
lsNo railroad, canal or other corporation, or
the lessee, purchasers or managers of any
railroad or canal corporation. shall consoli-
date the stock, property or franchises of such
corporation with, or lease, or purchase the
works or franchise of or in any way control,
any other railroad or canal corporation own
ing or having under its control n parallel
or competing line; nor shall any officer of
such railroad or canal corporation act as any
officer of any other railroad or canal corpo-
ration owning or having the control of a
parallel OF competing line. ."
RIGHTS OF THE CORPORATIONS
The facts are substantially these The
Pennsylvania Railroad Company is corpo-
ration of this State, and controls and oper-
ates, partly as owner and partly as lessee, q
line of railroad extending between New
York and Chicago, by way of Philadelphia,
Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and points further
West, constituting one of the so-called great
trunk lines of railroad between the seaboard
and the West. The riIroads west of Pitts
burgh forming part of this line are operated
by the Pennsylvania Company, corpora
ton of this State, all the stock of which is
owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad CON-
pany, except what is necessary to qualify
directors
The South Pennsylvania Company is also
a corporation of this State. and has author
ity to construct a line of railroad, between
Harrisburg and place known as Port Per
ry, in the county of Allegheny. on the
Youghiogheny river, through the counties
OF Cumberland, Franklin, Fulton, Bedford,
Somerset and Westmoreland. At Port Per
~ its line connects with the line of the
Pittsburgh, McKeesport and Youghiogheny
Railroad Company, with which company it
has a traffic contract giving it access to
Pittsburgh. 1t has also traffic contracts
with companies owning connecting railroads
east of Harrisburg and west of Pittsburgh
which make it virtually part ofa trunk line
between New York and Chicago, by way of
Philadelphia, Harrisburg and Pittsburgh
It's route is substantially parallel to the
Pennsylvania railroad, and when complet-
ed and in operation it would be line paral-
lei to and competing with, the lines of the
Pennsylvania Railroad Company for freight
and passenger traffic, originating or termi-
mating at Philadelphia. Harrisburg or Pitts
burgh. No part of its line has been COM
pleted; over five millions of dollars have
been expended in the work of construction,
which is about one-fourth the sum neces-
sary to complete the work.
The American Construction Company is a
which has contracted to con-
struct the road.
THE NEGOTIATIONS.
As the result of negotiations carried on |
during the early simmer of 1885. on the one |
side by Mr.. George B. Roberts, President. |
and Mr.. Frank Thompson and Mr. John p |
Green, Vice President of the Pennsylvania |
Railroad Compsny--aud on the other side |
by Mr., Morgan. banker, of New York,
on behalf of such of the stockholders of the /
South Pennsylvania Railroad Company as
might affirm his action, formal PROPOSE
ton in writing, signed by Mr. Roberts as
President of the Pennsylvania Company
was made TO Mr.. Morgan, the substance of
which is that Mr.. Morgan would procure
BY purchase and legal assignment and trans
fer to such persons as should be designated
by Mr.. Roberts the securities and contracts
and control of the South Pennsylvania en-
erprise as follows. namely :-''First-Valid I
md outstanding certificates of subscription
% the South Pennsylvania syndicate. so
allied to an amount not less than 60 per
,ent of the total Issue thereof = . -"
'Second--Tbe entire capital stock of the
American Construction Company e"
'Third-An assignment of all the capital
tock. bonds and securities of the South
Railroad Company not repre-
ented by the certificates held by the said
yndieate, or held by said construction COM
ANY, which capital stock shall be adequate
o insure the control of the corporation of
he South Pennsylvania Railroad Company
e." Thereupon the Pennsylvania
Company would 'csase to be delivered to
dr. Morgan, in exchange thereof, upon the
esignat,on of ali the directors and officers
# the said South Pennsylvania railroad and
american Construction companies, and of a
majority of the committee of said syndicate
nd the substitution in their stead of persons
o be indicated" by Mr.. Roberts or his POM
nee, bonds of the Bedford and Bridgeport
ompany, or of some other company, equal
n the amount to the sum invested in the
by those asserting to the propo-