Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-09-10

And One Which will Doubtless Show Up
the Southern Pacific's Methods,
Special 10 the Gazette.

! Special 10 the Gazette
| AUSTIN, TEX, Sept. 5.-Commissioner
| Foster has gone to Dallas and Commissioner
! Mclean holds the fort alone
! The attorney general filed his answer in
| the Travis county district court to-day
in the suit of the Gulf, West Texas and
! Paclhc railway company against the rail
road commission the answer denies that
| the court has any jurisdiction of the case
| 1hlS plea Is made on the ground that see
| ton OF the commission law authorizes
railways when dissatisfied with the action
| rates or rulings of the commission 10 sue
| the same lin IA court Of competent iurisGic-
| ton III Travis county. \ court
| ''of competent jurisdiction" Is too
| indefinite says the Encouragement.
! There follows next a general demurrer
| general denial aud SPECIAL pleading
| bringing forth some bristling arEu-
ments. II is charged that the
| plaintiff railroad company has been under
| the control and management OF the Southern
Pacific company since 1885, when the Iatt
| purchased the Gulf, West Texas and
! Pacific railroad; that the two roads
are parallel and competing lines A:
| that the purchase of plaintiffs road was
| done for the purpose of running down and
wreckiug it as a competing line: that the
wrecking of the road would divert all
freight that might come from New
Orleans TO port Layaca, by water
TO be distributed there from over
the Gulf, West Texas and Pacific
to the Southern Pacific railway to be hauled
by rail from New Orleans; that freight
which should have been shipped BY water
to Port Laraca now comes over
the Southern Pacific; that he with
drawal OF large amounts OF freight
from plaintiffs road in this manner
has disabled and rendered it less valuable
as common carrier: that it has, since its
incorporation with the Southern Pacific
operated defective train service and kept
its track in bad repair: that if plaintiff han
not couspired and colluded with
the Southern Pacific i'll the manner
described IL could have done
d profitable business accommodated the
public and run one train per day each way
as it did before it became the property of
the Southern Pacific. 1t is further al
legged that the purchase OF Plain
Tiff road by the Southern Pacific
was made in pursuance OF a plan 10
absorb and destroy every railroad running
from the southern and western portions of
Louisiana. Texas and California 10 any
point on the gulf III order that the SAID
Southern Pacific company may control the
traffic from New Orleans 10 the territory
mentioned in said states. 1t is al
legged that i'll pursuance of said plan
of absorption the Southern Pacific
now owns or controls the Galveston, Har-
risburg and san Antonio, running from
Houston to FL Paso; the Texas aud New
Orleans, from Houston to Orange: the Sa-
bine and East Texas, from Beaumont 10
Rockland: the New York, Texas and Mex
lean, from Rosenberg 10 Beeville, and the
Gulf. West Texas ana Pacific; that no sep
arate and distinct account of receipts
and expenditures of the roads men
toned is kept by the Southern Pa
cifc; that its accounts and those
of the roads mentioned are all combined and
mixed indisc,iminately together so that il
is impossible to tell the true state of plant
ifs profits and expenditures. 1t is alleged