St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-03-17
IT WILL NOT STICK
The Bates Injunction Not Pos
sessed Of Adhesive Prop
critics.
BAD DAY FOR De LAITTRE
And Other Gentlemen Who
Prefer the Crane Ele-
vator System.
STAY OFTEN DAYS GRANTED
But the Indications Are That
the Injunction Is
Doomed.
BAD DAY FOR De LAITTRE
STAY OFTEN DAYS GRANTED

Frederick w. Bates, who. in his
capacity of taxpayer, secured
temporary injunction against the ac-
ceptance by the court house commits
sion OF the Spra gue-Pratt system of
electric elevators, has accomplished
about all the mischief he can by his
tactics of obstruction. Yesterday
morning the plea for a permanent
injunction in the elevator contro-
versy was argued before Judge Bel
den by Judge Fish for the COM
mission and Weed Munro for the
plaintiff. In his argument to Show
cause why the injunction should not
be granted, Judge Fish reread the
complaint for the courts benefit and
asked that the action be dismissed
on the ground that it did not al
lege any fraud or misdemeanor in
the letting of the contract, facts
which were admitted by the attor-
ney for the plaintiff, but simply al
legged waste of money and error of
judgment on the part of the con-
Structlon committee of the commits
sion. Judge Fish then cited several
authorities in support of the argu-
ment that such an action could not
hold unless fraud was alleged or
proven. In closing he said he had a
number of affldavits that would re-
fute any imputations made against
the judgment of the commissioners
IN. selecting for the court house the
D1,ot
ed that the case could not be tried
upon number of conflicting affida-
Wits, and requested that the action
be dismissed.
Judge .Belden ordered the affidavits
on both sides read, which were mere
claims of superiority on the parts of
the elevator companies for the merits
OF their machines. The attorneys were
confined to what appeared the only
point in the controversy, the abuse of
the powers of discretion"
Mr. Munro, for Taxpayer Bates, adj
mitted that no fraud had been at
tempted by the commission, but
claimed that the commissioners had
been negligent and careless in making
their selection. He gave the substance
of the Mcguire and Reynolds affi-
davits, as far as they related to the
abuse of discretion, laying particular
stress on that portion of Maguire's
affidavit which stated that the Crane
company, as an evidence of good faith,
had put up a $4,000 bond for the sue
cessful and satisfactory working of it's
elevators, while the Sprague-Pratt
company had declined to do so, except
under certain conditions, which they
had not seen fit to state to the COM
mission.
Judge Fish, in answer. read an in
formal statement to the effect that the
Crane bid could not be considered the
lowest or the best; that it's claims
We're absurd, from q mechanical stand
point; that Architect KEGS had never
characterized the Sprague system as a
fake. but had recently experienced a
change of heart on the subject of ele-
.Vators. In the course of his reading
Judge Fish intimated pretty clearly
that the action had been brought at
the instigation of the Crane people,
and was bit of spitework, because
they were not awarded the contract
Attorney Munro denied this vehement
ly, and protested against the attorneys
language.
Defendants attorney then produced
affidavits from Commissioners Erick-
son, Comstock and Oswald, three
members of the junketing committee,
which contradicted the sworn state
ments Of Mr.. Munro's Opponents.
3. The plaintiff asked for a stay of ten
days to amend the complaint on the
point of the abuse of the power of
discretion, remarking that the Sprague
bid had been railroaded through, and
that its defenders had not seen fit to
make formal report to the board.
Judge Belden finally consented to
grant continuance until Wednesday.
but 1t as evident that the Bates injunc-
ton was thing of the past, the court
holding that six months of trial pro-
ceedings would amount to nothing but
wrangle over the merits of the diff
ferent elevators.