Omaha daily bee., 1896-12-02
SHORT LINE FORECLOSURE
Judge sanbom Hands Down a Decree at
Salt Lake City.
W, D. CORNISH NAMED AS SPECIAL MASTER
Rond Given Five Days TO Pay Two ana
Half Millions, Failing which
IL VIII lie Sold TO
Highest bidder.

Highest bidder.
SALT LAKE CITY, Dec In the federal
court today Judge Sanborn handed down
decree in the two cases in which James NJ.
Ham and Oliver Ames, trustees. are com
plainants and the oregon Short Line & Utah
Northern Railway company and S. II. II.
Clark, Oliver w. Mink. r. Ellery Anderson,
Frederic II. Coudert and John w. Doane are
defendants. The decree recites that on July
1. 1879, the Utah Southern extension bonds
were issued with James NJ. Ham and VIII
liam II. Hoorer as trustees. Later Mr..
Hooper died and Oliver Ames was substi-
tuted as such trustee. The amount of the
extension mortgage under these bonds was
$1950,000 and up to December l. 1896, the
amount OF coupons and interest due was
s462, ,516, which remained unpaid, a total
of S2,4l7,516 On July 1, 1879, general
mortgage was also placed upon the property
to secure an issue of bonds in the sum of
Sl.526, 600. On July l. 1881. the Utah South
ern and Utah Central railways were con-
solidated with and operated under the
namo OF the Oregon Short Line &
Utah Northern railway: therefore, the
decree is against that organization.
The decree adjudges that within five
days after today the Oregon Short Line
& Utah Northern Railway company must
pay to the clerk of the federal court the
sum of $2,417, ,516. otherwise the lines en-
braccd i'm the system will be sold at public
auction to the highest bidder for cash.
CORNISH FOR SPECIAL MASTER.
Judge Sanborn in his decree appoints
william ID. Cornish of st. Paul as special
master to take charge of the affairs of the
company Immediately upon its failure to
pay over the amount deCreed by the court
| The decree adjudges that all expenditures
| OF the system made under the management
OF the receivers Messrs. Clark. Mink, An
derson Coudert and Doane, shall be con-
| sidered prior lien to the mortgages under
| which the foreclosure and sale occur. So,
| also, are the court costs, attorneys fees and
| other litigation expenses, the proceeds OF
| the sale to be devoted to their liquidation
| first
| The court instructs the special master
| upon failure of the Oregon Short Line q
| Utah Northern Railway company to pay over
| the sum of $2,4l7 SIG. to advertise in two
newspapers published in the state of Utah
| the time and place of the sale of the prop
erty and a description in brief of the prop
| erty to be sold. The notice shall be pub
| ished once a week for four weeks prior TO
| the sale. After the sale occurs the reorgan-
ization committee will assume control of the
company, which will hereafter be known as
| tho Oregon Short Line & Utah Northern
railroad. the last word being changed from
the word railway"
There is no doubt but that the Short Line
Is going to be operated as a separate road,
| local officials say. Utah is the last state In
which a decree OF the court needs to be
| obtained. The tine Of the separation has
been placed in February or March by Pres
ident Clark, General Solicitor Kelly Re
cever Mink and others who are in position
to know.
SELECTING SHORT LINE OFFICIALS.
The usual amount of speculation as to the
appointment OF officials for the reorganized
| road, incident to such an occasion, is now
| in vogue. This guesswork Is a harmless
amusement not unlike that which precedes
a national political convention. w. H. Ban
croft, now general superintendent of the
Union Pacifc's mountain division is gen
orally regarded the most likely man for
receiver and general manager of the new
| road. In case of his selection, j. c.. O'Mel-
veny is considered to stand the best show
for general superintendent. He is at pres
ent division engineer for that branch of
| the Unicn Pacific, and is fayorahly re
garded by the executive officers of the road.
He has had charge of the construction Of
| the new steel bridges that the Union Pacific
has been putting in on the Short Line, and
his work has frequently been favorably com
mented on by higher authorities in the
engineering world. He knows every inch of
| the Short Line track. The name Of Samuel
A. Hutchison, general travelling passenger
| agent of the Union Pacific, Is frequently
heard mentioned in railway circles for the
position of general passenger agent of the
reorganized road. His headquarters are at
present in Omaha though his home Is in
| Philadelphia and he travels from one coast
to the other He is great hustler fer
business, large parties OF transcontinental
| travellers being his long suit. and is besides
most genial fellow. His appointment
would mean a promotion in the passenger
department of the local headquarters.
For the first nine months of 1896 the gross
earnings of the Oregon Short Line a Utah
Northern were s4,00S, ,795.15, an increase Of
S2O0,0O0 over the same period in 1895. The
net earnings were nearly $2,000,000, which
Is more than sufficient to pay all interest
charges under the new reorganization plan
the amount required by such plan for in
terest charges being 81 500 000
This is regarded as a splendid showing
for the Short Line, as the receivers made
many improvements in 1896, all of which
have been paid for. Some of these inn
provements were new steel bridges over the
Payette and the Weser rivers and smaller
ones over the Bear river forty miles OF
new seyenty-fve pound steel rails laid be-
tween Granger and POCatello, and many
other improvements made in roadbed and
on station buildings. The equipment has
been we'll kept up, and when the property
is finally turned over to the new company
1t will be found in a perfect physical cOndi-
tnon in respect to both operation and traffic