Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-11-04
The ARGI S.
FRIDAY. NOVEMBER 4, 1892
GRAVE IMPUTATION
Report That Some Supreme
Court Officer Has Leaked.
THAT CHICAGO LAKE FRONT CASE.

Big Money In Early News to the De-
cision-Two Conflicting Reports That
Could BE Used by Bulls and Bears"
. But Both Discredited-A Weather Sharp
Who Doesn't Believe in "Rainmakers -"
Another Official Utterance Regarding
u. =. Marshsls at the PoIls-Brewer's
Opinion.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 4.-The conflicting
statements circulated as TO the conclusions
alleged TO have been arrived at by the
United States supreme court in the Chi
cago lake front cases have given rise to
rumors of stock jobbing manipulations
which are difficult to clear away. One re-
markable feature of the case is that two
stories-one sent to New York asserting
that the court had decided in favor of the
Illinois Central, and one sent to Chicago
TO the equally positive effect that the court
had decided in favor of the city of Chicago
and the state of Illinois and against the
Illinois Central railway-seem each to be
vouched for by unimpeachable "confden-
tial" cources of information, and so far as
each statement can be traced to a fountain
head, both originated in one and the same
source.
Probable Bull and Bear Fake.
This adds weight to the suggestion that
possibly neither announcement is true and
that both may have been, per forward and
taken advantage of to bull or bear the
market on Illinois Central shares in New
York and Chicago. The circumstantial
details entered into in both representations
as TO the way the court has divided on the
question assume that Justice Blatchford
takes no part in the decision. This
sumption is believed TO be incorrect Just
ice Blatchford was at first indisposed to
take part in the hearing because he held
stock of the Illinois Central railway, but
when his associates learned that the stock
stood in his name simply as trustee for an
estate and that he had not the remotest
personal interest or property in it, they in
sisted upon having the advantage of his
views on the case, and il is understood that
he has consented to join in the decision.
More Than One Way to Decide.
This disposes of the four to three divis-
ion theory as to how the court stands on
either statement as TO the decision. Under
ordinary circumstances it might be as
sumed that either one or the other of the
two opposing guesseS sent out as to the
courts decision in this important case
must prove correct, but in point of fact
there are three ways in which this
may be decided: First, the court may af-
circuit court. rendered by Justice Harlan.
That judge held that the act of the Illinois
legislature of 1869, which granted the lake
front lands to the railroad, had been re-
pealed by the act of 1873, except so far as
that repeating act infringed upon vested
rights To that extent he held that the
railroad company was entitled to retain
the portion of the lake surface reclaimed
by it under the provisions of the law Of
1859 Further entertainments or extern
sions, however, were prohibited. This de
cision, it is understood, is satisfactory to
the Chicago officials
Here Are Two Other Views.
Second, the supreme court may reverse
the judgment of the circuit court, in which
case the parties would find themselves where
they stood at the beginning of the litigation
with their rights undetermined; or, third
1T may hold the law of 1869 to be valid as
against the act of 1878, and thus confirm
the claim of the railroad company to the
right to use the lands covered by the grant.
This would give to the railroad company
the full extent of its claim.
This Is the Pith of the Matter.
That any authentic statement to the
probable decision of the court has been
given out by any one implies an imputa-
ton upon the discretion or integrity of the
court which is felt to be entirely unwar-
ranted, yet from the nature of things it is
impossible to obtain any statement in de-
NAL of the conflicting rumors so indus
triously circulated. There is great respon-
sibility resting on the members of the su-
preme court in case like this one. A
"tip" to a stock broker would be worth
lot of money, and it is this fact that makes
the reports of leak interesting.