The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-01-15
Proceedings to Have All Matters
Come Before Only One
Court.
IT IS NEW IN JURISPRUDENCE.
An Action That May Settle Contro.
VERSES Between Factions of
the Road.

WASHINGTON, D. c., Jan. 14.-Justices
Field, Harlan, Brewer and Brown of the
Supreme Court, sitting in hambers this
morning, heard arguments of counsel rep
resenting the Northern Pac 1fic Railroad
Company, the receivers thereof, the sec
ond mortgage hono holders q. ad the Farm
ers' Loan and Trust. Com pany, asking
the Justices to recommend to. judges of the
circuit courts in States tn rough which
the Northern Pacific runs, alnd who are at
variance on the question of jurisdiction,
that some one court pc designated as hav-
ing primary jurisdiction. These four JUS
tees would. if sitting in tn cir various cir
cults, exercise contro ling power on those
courts were the cases presented to them.
Ex-senator Spooner and W. B. Turner
appeared for the Farm ers' Loan and Trust
Company and the origi nal receiver, Joseph
II. Choate, for the Adams committee OF
bondholders, NJ. Card OLA for the second
mortgage independent lNondholders ana S.
W. Petit, general counsel of the North
ern Pacific, for the company. Colonel
James McNaught, formerly general coun-
sci for the old organization, was also pres
ent.
Turner was first heard. He stated that
every interest of the Northse m Pacific road
was here represented, includ ing the bond
holders and stockholders, ( nd they were
all agreed that these proceedings should be
had The conflict OF the col Irts would re-
suit in great loss TO the roa and eventu-
allv bring about its dismemh erment. The
present state of affairs could OF long exist.
The first bill for the appoil tment of re-
ceivers was heard by Judge Jenkins of the
Eastern District OF Visions n, who had
appointed the first receivers, and he con-
tended that that Judge now had original
jurisdiction.
Ex-senator Spooner said the present sit
uation was absolutely intolerable. The
result would be that the road which was
created as an entirety by an act OF Con-
gress, mortgaged as an entirety and up to
the time the receivers were appointed op-
Grated by the company as an entirety,
would be split up into section :, run as sep
arate roads with separate Offices and oper-
ated as other roads are, under traffic agree
ments on mileage basis.
In support of his argument for the
imary jurisdiction of Judge Jenkins he
cited similar litigation in the cases of the
Santa Fe, Wabash and Southern railroads.
where the question of exclusive primary
jurisdiction of the court of original pro-
ceedings was unqu estioned.
Spooner had not finished his argument
when the Justices adjourned the hearing
until tomorrow morning, when Spooner
will have forty-hve minutes to conclude,
Mr.. Petit an hour and Mr.. Choate fifteen
minutes.
The proceeding is an entirely novel one
in the history of Jurisprudence i'll this
country, and at present no one can say
what will be done. Counsel desire the
Justices to agree upon an order to be en-
tered upon the records of all the Circuit
courts in the several circuits, directing
that one court be recognized as possessing
primary jurisdiction, proceedings in other
circuits to be auxiliary thereto.
Should the Justices conclude that they
have not the power 10 issue such an order,
then it Is desired that a recommendation
be made to the various Circuit Judges
that they accede to the designation of one
of the circuits as having the jurisdiction.