Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1896-03-07
Stanford Estate Not Liable for
Central Pacific's Debts.
THE OPINION Is BY HARLAN
Noga1eS Land Grant and hammock Indian
Cases Also Decided, Uphold
ing Lower Courts.

Washington, March 2.-The supreme
court today decided the Stanford case
in favor Of Mrs. Stanford.
Justice Harlan delivered the opinion
in the Stanford case He held that In
dividual stockholders were not liable
for the government debt Of the Central
Pacific Railway Company. He said the
congressional acts Of 1862 1864 and 1865
regarding the Pacific railroads must all
be regarded as one law, as the object
was to constitute one continuous line,
congress employing the different rail
road companies only as instruments.
Security was given in a government
mortgage Of the property Of the rail
road companies. 1t was, he said, not
too much to say il in building the
Northern Pacific, for instance, each
stakeholder had been made liable. the
purpose OF congress to secure national
highway would have been materially
retarded, and 1t was plain that no obli-
cation was meant to be put on one com
pany that was not put on the other
Any other construction would be IN,
consistent. The decision of the court
| below was therefore affirmed.
Justice Harlan was particular to state
that the question whether the stock
! holders OF the California company car
| be made liable for its debts to the Uni
| ted States arising in some other wa!
| than under the Pacific roads or by thu
acceptance OF the Unitetd States bond
in aid Of the construction Of it's road i
| not involved In this case.
Nor are we" he continued, ito de
eide whether the adoption of the Cali
| fOrnia corporation, as an instrument o
| the national government IN accomplish
| ing national object, exempted it:
stockholders from liability under tn,
| constitution and laws of California t
| ordinary creditors"
Reference 10 made in the opinion tt
| the obligation of the Pacific roads t
| pay United States bonds at maturity
which Obligation the opinion holds, at
fords "cogent reasons, apart from the
words OF the act OF congress, why a rule
should not be applied to the stOckhold-
ers Of the Central Pacific Railroad Com
pany which confessedly can not be ap.
piled to the stockholders OF the Union
Pacific Railroad Company. Both cor
pOrations participated in the execution
Of the purposes of congress-"
A brief argument Is then entered upon
to show that the Central Pacific aC-
cepted the conditions imposed by the
government and to show that national
aid was necessary to It's construction
thus placing it also in this respect on
tho same footing as the Union Pacific.
OTHER CASES.
Cbipf I11atipa Enllar handed down a
decision in the supreme court today in
the Nogales land grant case from south
ern Arizona. He did not go into the
general merits OF the case, but affirmed
the decision of the court of private land
claims on the ground that the court
had no jurisdiction, as the grant act
had been located at the time of the
Gadsden treaty.
Justice Brewer rendered a decision in
the case of Samuel Marks VS.. the Uni
ted States and the BannOck Indians, in
volving a claim for Indian depreda-
tons. The decision involved the con-
structiOn Of a part OF the statute OF 1891
concerning depredatiOns committed by
Indians "in amity with the United
States" The case was appealed from
the decision Of the court Of claims
which held that the words Gin amity'
mean state of actual peace and when
no hostilities were in progress. The su-
preme court affirmed the decision of the
court below,
JOY AT PALO ALTO.
Palo Alto, Cal, March 2.-The news Of
the decision of the Stanford case caused
the widest enthusiasm among the stu
dents at the university. They turned
out on the campus in large numbers,
chnarinq WILDLY and there WAS q nrnat