The Portland daily press., 1897-07-17
AMBIGUITY SUIT.
Brought By Postal Telegraph Co. Against
Yarmouth Electric Road.

Yesterday morning in the United
States Circuit court the Postal Telegraph
company, through it's attorney, Hon.
Clarence Hale, began a suit in equity
against the Portland and Yarmouth Rail-
road company. The trouble grows out of
the setting of the trolley poles of the
Yarmouth electric road, the Postal Tele-
graph company claiming that the trolley
wires have been placed so near to the tele-
graph wires as to make the latter nearly
useless for the transmission of messages
The plaintiff says that the defendant
corporation has within the past two
months proceed to build its road and
to construct its lines of poles, wires, ap-
planes and appurtenances upon the
highway between Portland and Var
mouth, but contrary to and in manner
injurious to the property, BUSINESS and
right of way of the plaintiff in the high
way; that the defendant corporation has
carelessly and negligently erected its
poles, wires, appliances and appurtenan-
ces in such manner as to interrupt and
interfere with the property and business
of the plaintiff and has wrongfully and
wilfully destroyed poles and wires of the
plaintiff corporation and has SO erected
its poles, so near to the poles of the plain
tiff corporation, and with bracket arm S
SO placed as to unreasonably and un-
warrantably interfere with the plaintiffs
line of telegraph. 1t has placed bracket
arm upon its poles upon the same level
with the lines of the wire upon the plain
tiff s poles in such a manner as to ground,
cross and unreasonably interfere the oper-
alton of the plaintiffs wires and so to
interrupt the flow of the electric current,
and to destroy the business CT the plain
tiff corporation. And the plaintiff alleges
that the defendant, by reasonable care
in the setting of it's poles and the plac-
ing of it's lines might so construct its
road and all its appurtenances as to I'M
reasonably interfere with the operation
of the plaintiffs telegraph line. The
plaintiff further says that if the defen-
dant corporation is permitted to locate
its poles and wires in pursuance of their
present undertaking, as aforesaid, and to
run its trolley by means OF trolley wire
upon said poles, in pursuance of their
present plan, it will utterly destroy the
wires of the plaintiff corporation and will
electrically make it impossible for the
plaintiff corporation to transmit its mes
sages over these wires, and SO will inter-
fere with the operation of it's wires be-
tween states and the public will be pre-
vented upon said post route from having
the benefit of telegraphic communication;
The defendant insists upon its acts
against the plaintiff corporation and
threatens still further to invade the
rights of the plaintiff corporation, when
by reasonable construction it could re-
frain from all injury to the plaintiff cor
poration. The plaintiff corporation
laims by said acts that it is entirely los
ing it's telegraph business and that it has
suffered loss already to the amount of
$4,000, which loss threatens to be much
greater.
Upon the petition for preliminary
injunction, the defendant corporation
has been ordered to show cause, the or
der being returnable July 81 at 10 a. m.
In the meantime Judge Webb has direct
ed restraining order to issue.