The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1894-06-23
WILL Be PIE FOR LAWYERS
The Suit to Be Brought Against
Pacific Roads.
It Means a Quarter of a Century of LII.
CATION and Fat Fees for Legal
Lights-s171 900, 900 tn.
Grand Prize,

thst the estates which fattened and
grew on the government subsidies to
the Pacific railroads may have had OF
escaping with the spoil may ms we'll be
set aside for it has been determined
that the United States will bring suit
against tho Central Pacific railroad as
a corporation for the sum of S27, $685..
$50, with interest thereon at the rate
Of 9 per cont, for a period of thirty
years, the total amount of the suit be.
ing s7s, o95, 9o4. The government will
also bring suit against ths Union Pacific
md the Kansas Pacific railroads, a.
two associated corporations, for a total
of s38, 533. Sig, with interest ut 6 pc,
cent, also for thirty years. the amount
due from these roads being s92, 90,
633. 60.
The grand aggregate for these suit.
against the three roads will be SILL
COG, 537.6O, the largest AMOUNT fol-
which Simultaneous suits have evc,
been brought in the history OF a
There is every probability, although IL
is impossible to state 1t MS u positive
fact, that this great sum will be still
further increased by suits brought
against three other small railroad cor
porations, built under aid Of the gov.
eminent.
Although the law of the state Of
California In regard to indi.
vidual liability of the stockholders doea
not reach the Union Pacific and the
Kansas Pacific, yet the government
will undoubtedly plead that the orig.
inal stockholders of all the roads which
were built under government aid were
in a degree guardians of o certain
trust. which was the accumulation Of Q
sinking fund ultimately to be used fol-
the satisfaction of the debt incurred in
tho construction and operation of the
roads.
The government will seek to provo
that the original trustees of this fund
unlawfully diverted 1t from the pur.
pose for which 1t was intended, and
proceeding from that, will seek to re.
cover. 1t will not le necessary to
show that those who entered into the
agreement with the government ever
set aside certain portions of the earn.
ings of tho road as they were obligated
to do. 1t win be sufficient to prove
that the contract required such proper
ton to be set aside. When II is proved
from the books Of the roads that there
were earnings and that they we're dl
verified from purposes to which they
should have been applied, then 1t il
held by the assistant attorney general
that the United States can pursue the
mlsapplied funds to whatsoever plac,
they have gone.
If this contention is sustained the
estates of all the original Stockholders
Of the three roads and the estates OF
all their heirs and assigns can be
held for satisfaction of a Judgment In
favor of the United States. Execution
of such n decision would involve in
itself litigation, the extent of which
would be almost i~ncalculnble.
This is IN line with the suggestion Of
Representative Mcguire of California.
1t is probable that the government will
pursue this course Of pleading breach
Of trust in all three cases.
by all who are informed Of the gov.
ernment's intention it is believed that
the future Of all government nided
roads is some twonty years OF litiga.
tion ut the end of which counsel fees
and other expenses will have nearly
consumed the fortunes of all private
individuals and cost the government
untold wealth. Already there are per-
sons who are seeking to put their
friends in the position of counsel to the
government to aid the attorney general
in the prosecution Of these suits. One
of the candidates is said to be j. C. Car
ter Of New York. 1t is, Of course, likely
that on both sides will be retained tho
best legal talent to be had in the
United States.
OF COURSE, these suits. which have
certainly been decided upon, do not
shut out the prosecution of the govern
ment's claim against the estates of the
stockholders Of the Central Pacific rail.
way rs begun in the claim filed against
tho Stanford estate by the attorney
general. In fact, the department Of
justice believes that this claim, which
can be easily urged against the Stan.
ford estate and President Huntington,
is tho most stable Of oil. 1t is secure,
but it is very difficult to reach the
divided estates of Crocker and Hopkins
in the same way. Tho Mcguire idea
applies especially to these. and is also
applicable against the Union Pacific
company.
1t will be, of course, better il the
debt Of the government can be OBJ
tanned from all of the subsidized roads
In suits Of u common character, but If
these suits fail, the personal liability
suits still hold.
Olney Denies the Statement,
WASHINGTON, June 1e.-Attorney
General Olney said there was no truth
In the published statement that he had
decided to enter suit for s17l, 600, DOC
against the Pacific bonded railroads,
but hud employed Attorney Russell fol-
the purpose of handling the suits.
Nominating in Province Of Toronto.
TORONTO, Ont, June 19.-Nomipa.
lions are being made throughout the
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