The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1897-07-30
Famous Kansas Suit on Trial
in Maine.
Reminder of New England In
veStment in the West.
REPRESENTS MILLIONS
Turkeys Destroy a Variety OF
Senator PETERS Melons.
Mother Finds a Long Lost Son
in Prison.

in Portland Maine attending as one OF
the attorneys in a big legal tight winch
is of a great deal of interest to Kansas
people 1t recalls some eastern specu-
lation in boom times
A dispatch received from Portland to-
dav saws: The Kansas bank cases,
which have been before the supreme
court of Maine four years, and on
which the court for long time stood
equally divided, were reargued before
the law court today. Quite a large sum
is involved in the cases, and millions
more are indirectly connected with
them.
The actions are four in number, in
three of which the Citizens Savings
Bank of K ansas is plaintiff and John
w. Bede, l.. Linn Small and Charles
Briggs, all of Auburn, defendants; the
fourth is the United States National
Bank of AtchisOn, Kan, against Mrs
H. w. B. Conner, wife of ex-Gov. Sell
den F. Conner of Portland.
The claim of the plaintiffs is based on
the provision of the constitution of
Kansas that "dueS from corporations
shall be secured by individual liability
of stockholders to an additional amount
equal to the stock owned by each stock
holder, and a section of the general
statutes of that state which provides
that IF any execution shall have been
issued against the property or effects of
a corporation, except a railway or re-
ligiOus charitable corporation, and
there cannot be found any property
WhereOn to levy such execution, then
execution may be issued against any of
the stockholders to an extent equal in
amount to the amount of stock owned
by himaor her, together with any amount
unpaid thereon
The defendants in the first three cases
mentioned were stockholders in a cor
pOratiOn known as the Cawker City
State bank, organized under the laws
of Kansas and doing business in that
state, and which became insolvent in
June, 1891. At that time the Cawker
City State bank was owing the Citi-
zens' Saving bank, this plaintiff, the
sum of $1,274, for which amount judg-
ment has been recovered, and the Sher-
iff has made return that he can find no
property within the jurisdiction to sat
isfy the judgment.
In the fourth case Mrs. Conner is
sued on the ground that she was a
stakeholder to the amount of eight
shares of 800 each, of the capital stock
of the United Sattes Building company,
which was also a Kansas corporation
and now defunct, without assets, and in
debt to the United States National bank
of Atchison to the amount of $25, 900, for
which the creditor has recovered judg-
ment in the courts of that state. Not
being able to find property in Kansas
belonging to these insolvent corpora
lions, the plaintiffs bring suits against
the stockholders. many of whom reside
in the state of Maine, under the Kansas
statute, creating a double liability of
stockholders.
Numerous suits have been brought in
various states under the statute. and
in some actions have been upheld, while
in others, notably Massachusetts, New
York, Illinois and Pennsylvania, they
have been denied.
The defendants claim that this rem
edy provided by the statutes of Kansas
to enforce double liability of stockhold-
ers in Kansas corporations is a special
remedy to be enforced only in the state
of Kansas; that the enforcement of Ii
ability under such statutes in another
state is matter OF comfy, and that. in
view of the decisions in the various
states declining to enforce liability I'M
der such statutes against their own
citizens, this court should follow the
rule of Massachusetts and other states
and give such statutes a strict con-
structiOn, and not by broadening the
terms of the statute enforce liability
against the citizens of this state, leav-
ing them to their right of contribution.
a right which they cannot enforce in
those states which have denied the liza
bility.
The defendants claim that an entire
~ different question is presented than
would be if all the persons to be af-
fected were wholly within one jurisdic-
ton; that so long as stockholders from
whom distribution is entitled to be had
reside in different states. many of which
refuse to enforce the Kansas statute
an attempt to enforce the liability in
this state in favor of non-residents
against Maine citizens would be a Dlain
act of injustice
The claim of the plaintiffs is that the
corporations by their own voluntary
act; that if the speculation had been
successful they would have claimed and
been justly entitled to the rewards of
the enterprise; that if the citizens of
other states are to be screened from the
liability imposed upon their coadven-
turers who happen to reside in Kansas,
1t would be grossly unjust; that the de-
PENDANTS must be deemed to have
known the law of Kansas, and to have
taken their stock with that knowledge
In 70 Iaa I'll
attendant upon it under the law
the cases were deliberately argued bv
William F. Guthrie of Kansas Aue11s-
tus F. Moulton of Portland and Henry
W Cakes of Auburn for the plaintiffs;
j. w. SimOnds and Charles S Cook OF
Portland and John A. Morrill, of An
neys were in attendance as spectators
A decision is not expected for some
months.
DOR AM WAC nENED