St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-01-29
An Ordinance Governing the Street Rail-
way is Contract. so the Court.
Decides.
Bidders for Bonds are Numerous and Their
Bonuses are Big--To be Sold
To-day.
Eneland,s Present Position on the
Irish Ouestion--The Origin of
Paper Money.
War Against Buttertne--HisW Wife has
Not Seen Him--Street
Sayings.
MIR. LOWRY WINS.
The Judges Decide the Famous
Street Railway Case.

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Street Railway Case.
The long-looked- for decision in the Pleas
ant avenue street railway case was yester-
day filed in the clerks office by the judges
of the district court. the three judges join
ing in the decision. The history of the case
in brief is as follows: The city, at consd-
cradle expense to the property owners ad-
iacent to Pleasant avenue, had made that
avenue one of the best macadamlZed streets
of the city. The railway company, soon
after this work was done, claiming the
right so to do under its charter as copora-
ton and under the ordinances passed in its
favor by the city of st. Paul, one quiet
summer Sunday night in 1884. entered on
this avenue and commenced TO tear up the
macadam and put down its tracks. The
property owners the next morning com
menced suit i'm court to test the right OF
the company in the matter. Yesterday
The decision was filed and it reads as fol-
lows:
George A. Nash ct al. against The st. Paul
CITY Railway company. After hearing coun-
sci. ordered that defendants motion Tor Judg-
ment on the pleadlngs is granted. w. Wilkin,
Horace r.. Brill, Orlando Simons, judges.
Memorandum-If the City Railway COM
many is a corporation it is conceded it has a
right TO lay its track as claimed in its answer.
without entering into discussion or the
questions involved, we are OF the opinion that
if it is not corporation the City Railway
company is an association or partnership,
with capacity to acquire the franchise and
rights which IL claims to possess, and that the
city, whether wisely or not, has, with the eX-
press sanction of the legislature, granted 10
the company the right to lay its tracks and
operate its cars upon the streets of the city,
as il is attempting here to do, and that this
grant is a contract.
AN OPINION ON THE MATTER.
A st. Paul attorney after reading the de-
cision Yesterday said: II have seldom seen
decision SO short as this which contained
so much meat. Here is a partnership in
fact, which. while pretending TO be cor
pOration, has for years been engaged in the
organized business of operating street
railroad. Ii has issued large amount of
bonds. which are held by many small hold
ers through the East, and now this decision
says it is only an ordinary partnership,
which in effect makes each stakeholder
liable as an individual for every dollar of
the obligations of the company. If
] held any of these bonds /
should refuse to sell. Their value
as an investment is greatly increased by
this decision. There are divers and sundry
stockholders in that company whose names
alone on bond for almost any amount
would make the bond merchantable paper
in any Western financial market. The bond
holders will of course think they are hurt
by this decision when in fact they are
greatly benefited. The court also says the
partnership is invested with all the powers
and privileges of the pretended corporation
and in effect that it now operates and has
the right to operate its line of roads In the
future upon the streets of the city under
the ordinances of the city, which ordinances
have been ratified and sanctioned by the
legislature, and in the last line of the de-
cision the court says that ordinances
AMOUNT TO A CONTRACT
between the city and this partnership or
association. In this one line the court
rings in the doctrine of the Dartmouth
college case and in effect says the city has
no power either to-day or tomorrow, world
without end. to change the ordinances Of
the city, giving this railroad the exclusive
power. and right to construct and
operate short railway on any.
and all streets of st. Paul.
From one standpoint this do
cision hurts the railroad inasmuch as it
puts the stockholders in new position,
but the last line of the decision is worth
$40, 900 a word to this curious partnership.
i think people who patronize the street
cars need have no fear but what they can
continue to buy tickets at cents each"