The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-08-12

Chicago, Aug. 1.-THE attorney-gen-
eral of Illinois, today filed petition
that the Pullman Palace Car COM
panys charter be declared void. The
petition sets forth that the charter al
lows the company to purchase, control
and convey such property as is neces-
sary to the prosecution of its business.
The corporation has far exceeded its
privileges, the document declares. The
petition declares that the company has
practically usurped the powers of the
municipality, owning number Of bust
ness blocks, residences and factory
sites and controlling stock in other cor
porations that furnish power to manu-
facturerS.
The encouragement in his petition
and information, sets forth that the
Pullman Palace Car company was or
ganized under a special act of the leg
iislature of the state of Illinois, APP
proved February %, 1867, with capital
stock of 100000, with power to increase
it at will. The act grants the corpora
ton power Ito manufacture, construct
and purchase railway cars with all
convenient appliances and supplies for
persons travelling therein, and the
used in such manner and on such terms
as the company may think fit and
proper" and Ito purchase, require, and
hold such real estate as may be deemed
necessary for the successful prosecution
of their business, and may have power
| to sell and convey the same
! The information quotes these provi-
slons and continues,
THAT under and by virtue of the
power conferred by section of said
act, the capital stock of said company
has from time to time been increased
until it has capital stock of millions
! of dollars, the exact amount of which
is to the petitioners unknown"
Exceeded the Limit.
| The petition further gives the court
! to understand and be informed that
Notwithstanding the fact that said act
! of the legislature limits the power of
| the said company, it has not regarded
said limitation, but has, without au-
thority or warrant of law, usurped and
exercised and still usurps and exer-
cises the right to buy and own large
tracts of real estate within and ada
cent to the city Of Chicago, in said
county, and to erect thereon churches,
schools, hotel apartments and dwell
ing houses and a large and valuable
business block in the city of Chicago;
I
lings which 1T so owns as aforesaid, for
a large amount of money, the exact
amount Of which is to our petitioners
unknown; that the erection of said
churches, school houses, theatre or
theatres. hotel or hotels, apartment and
dwelling houses and said large and
valuable business block in Chicago, are
not incident or necessary to the manu-
facture. construction and purchasing of
railroad cars with all convenient an
pendages and supplies for persons trav-
| cling therein, or to the sale or use
thereof, and that the purchase of said
real estate and the erection of said
buildings and houses thereon by said
company is wholly without and foreign
to the purpose for which said company
was organized by the act of
the legislature and is an assumption
of right of said company to exercise
privileges not conferred on it by said
act Of the said legislature, and that
said company, in exercising such pow
ers and privileges, has wilfully and
!, persistently violated the condition of
Its Incorporation, and has been, and is,
guilty of usurpating such powers with
out any warrant or authority of law"
Character and Value of Property.
The petition then proceeds to set out
in detail the character and value of the
company's property, including an Office
| building in Chicago worth $2000,00
for as a corporation, and rents to other
| persons without right or authority of
| law: that it owns at Pullman fifty
acres of land covered with dwellings
and apartment houses, which it rents
without authority of law, receiving
large sum therefor as dwellings of
II, 600; that in the town of Pullman it
81, -.
mental grounds, fifty acres in extent,
also without warrant of law, together
with fifteen acres on which stand the
Arcade building, the hotel Florence,
| two churches and several SchoolhouseS,
| all of which are not necessary for the
conduct of it's business and use, there
fore illegally held Various other tracts
of land are cited as unwarrantably
held not being needed for the transac-
ton of the company's business. All
this is in addition to the 10 acres Of
ground at Pullman, which the company
uses for shops, storage yards, ETC.
Besides this, the petition alleges that
the Pullman is usurpating power not
granted it and controls the Union
foundry and the Pullman Wheel COM
pany, and furnishes power to factories
of the Allen Paper Car Wheel COM
lpany; that it owns water and gas COM
panies, from which it derives a rev.
jenue.
Has Become Rich UnlawfuIIy.
The petition continues:
your petitioner charges by reason
of the purchases and improvement of
the real estate by said company as
before charged, it has become immense
lily rich, and that by reason of the prem
Uses, it owns millions of dollars worth
of property which it has acquired I'M
lawfully, and that said real estate held
by it, and which it owns and rents,
was acquired in open defiance of the
act which created it and with a per-
sistent disregard for the law Of the
state of Illinois.
Wherefore. the said attorney-gen-
eral, for and in behalf and in the name
and by the authority of the people of
the state of Illinois, prays the court
here for leave to file petition In quo
warranto against the Pullman Palace
Car company, and that said Pullman
Palace Car company may be required
to appear at day to be named by the
lcourt and required to show by what
warrant it has so misused and per-
verted its powers and franchises, and
by what warrant it has assumed and
cffII o assumes to exercise the aforesaid