St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-02-02
FIGHT ON The RANGE.
Inwardness of the Injunction
Suit Against the Messabi
& Northern.
Second Scheme Of the Year
to Wreck a Northern
Railroad.
The Standard Oil King Get
ting His Grip on the
Mesaba Range.
A TWenty-Year Contract the
Duluth & Winnipeg Will "
Claim.

)
being dragged into the courts by the
stockholders of the Duluth, Messabi Il
Northern railroad is intere sting, and
amusing as we'll. An attempt has been
made by the Merritt combination to Sc
cure sympathy in Duluth by claiming
that the injunction cases brought by
Donald Grant and A. S. Chase, OF
Faribault, are move in the interests of
the Duluth and Iron Range. This is
not the case, and the Merritts are per-
feetly we'll aware that it is not. There
was a suit brought in the interest of the
Duluth & Iron Range, but it was
brought by w. l.. Brown, of Chicago,
and not by Grant and Chase.
Some time ago deal was fixed up be-
tween the Great Northern and the Du-
luth u Iron Range which had for its Oh
iect the downfall of two railroads. One
of these was the Duluth 81 Winnipeg,
which was to pass into the hands of the
Great Northern, and the other was the
Duluth, Messabi q Northern, which was
to go to tue Duluth & Iron Range. The
public is already familiar with the
scheme that was devised to wreck the
Duluth 81 Winnipeg, and also how neat
ly the tables were turned just in the
nick of time. The Duluth q Winnipeg
did not pass into the hands OF the
Great Northern, and the man who
saved it that fate is Donald
Grant, the big and whole-souled
mayor of Faribault. In this move the
Great Northern had the hearty cooper
alton of the Duluth &. Iron Range, it is
needless to remark. but it failed, and
before Mr.. Grant had time to square
himself the move on the part OF the
Iron Range against the MesSabi u
Northern came in the shape of the
Brown suit. This is still pending, but
will probably fail because of the posi-
ton taken by Mr.. Grant.
Standard Gil Figures In 1t.
And now comes the interesting part
of the Duluth, Messabi IL Northern diff
ficulty. in which Rockefeller, the Stand
ard Oil king, figures. Up to few weeks
ago, Mir. Rockefeller was heavy stock
holder in the Minnesota Iron company.
An investigation into the Mesaba range
convinced him that it will be the great
iron range Of the future, and he set his
agents at work looking for an Oppor-
tunity to get Into it in a way that would
prove profitable to the same degree as
Is
company have been on the Vermilion
range. just how the Merritts were
brought into communication with the
Standard Oil magnate is not known. but
about a month ago, after lengthy
visit to New York city, Lon Merritt
announced that the Duluth, MesSabi u
Northern had secured all the money
needed, and would at once build large
ore docks at Oneota, and construct the
road from above the junction with the
Duluth 81 Winnipeg into Oneota and to
the proposed docks. This was followed
by conferences between the stockhold-
ers. in which Messrs. Grant. Chase and
others bitterly opposed the project on
the ground that the road could not
afford it. Things went along for time,
the Merritts never giving up the prof.
ect. X. ID. Chase, the president of the
road, declined to sign the contract for
the ore docks at Oneota, and Alfred
Merritt. who is neither vice president
or anything more than director, is said
to have performed this very pleasant
duty, doubly pleasant perhaps because
the docks are to be built OH a Quart5r
section of land owned and held by the
Merrtts for a quarter of a century. The
deal with the RockefellerS will give
them the control of the Messabi road.
and probably the three leading
mines on the new range. The
stock is to be transferred to the repre-
sentatives of the Standard Oil magnate
is understood to be so cents on the dol
lar. At the stockholders meeting held
few days ago the MerrittS outvoted
the opposition by
Only Forty Shares,
Sol TO bN
gin. and so as soon as G. w. Wetmore,
of the American Steel Barge company.
arrived III the Zenith City from New
York, it was decided that the thing
should be nailed down while there was
yet time, and at new meeting OF the
stockholders 100000 of the treasury
stock was transferred to stakeholder of
| the barge company at par. The Mer-
| ritts claimed that, while they were ell
| Joined from selling any stock at so cents,
| this did not prevent the company SELL
ing at par, which is probably correct.
While the Rockefellers are at the
| present time disposed to stand behind
| the Merrtts, those OH the inside say it
it only for the purpose of securing con-
| troll of the property. To give them the
majority the holdings of the Merritts
will be greatly decreased, if not wiped
out, and thus the absolute control will
be in the hands of the Standard Oil
crowd, which will also hold the bonds Of
the road. At the time the Messabi u
Northern road was planned, the Duluth
| a. Winnipeg officials and hackers as
sisted in every way i'll their power,
and the two roads were supposed
to be connected very closely. The war
against them waged by the Iron Range
and Great Northern was expected to
bring them closer together, but such
does not seem to be the case, ard while
the Duluth & Winnipeg is at present
taking no part in the contest, it will be
| heard from later.
Before the building Of the Aliouez
| Bay ore docks at Superior the Duluth 81
| Winnipeg entered into contract to
carry the ore of the Messabi & Northern
from Stony Brook Junction to the lake
for twenty years. This contract
will be made the basis of claims by the
| Duluth and Winnipeg in case the ore
trains of the new road are not handed
over at Stony Brook. This. however,
is declared by MessrS. Grant and Chase
not to be the reason for their opposition
to the deal with the RockefelIers. They
claim that the road is not in condition
to make the large expenditures planned
when the trffiac of the road can be hand
led Just as advantageously and as
! with the Miami already pOn-