The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1897-03-12
RUSSELL CHECKMATED.

An Injunction Out of the Federal Court
Against Any Interfereneewith the Lease
Of the North Carolina Railroad to the
= Southern.
Especial to The Messenger.)
Raleigh. N. c., March 9.-There was
a fresh sensation today in the matter
of the lease of the North Carolina rail-
way to the Southern. Attorney Gen.
eral Walser received the following tel
egram from Samuel L. Trogden, clerk
Of the United States circuit court at
granted an injunction, now on file in
my office, enjoining and restraining the
North Carolina railway Governor Rus
sell and yourself and all others from
breaking or threatening to break any
of the covenants contained in the ex-
listing lease Of the North Carolina rail-
way or from instituting any suit to
disaffirm or cancel said lease"
Later in the day United States Mar
shall Carroll served upon the governor,
attorney general, all directors of the
North "a rnlina railway and nr
Wolfe, the state proxy, summons in
the injunction case. to appear at
Greensboro the first Monday in April
to answer bill filed in chancery by
the Southern railway, a citizen of Vir-
ginia.
The Southern railway brings this ac-
ton against the North Carolina rail-
way and the individual members of it's
directorate, Governor Russell and the
attorney general. Counsel for the
plaintiffs are John G. Carlisle and F.
H. Busbee.
Before the suit there was another.
brought by the Central Trust Com
pany, Of New York, against the South
ern and the North Carolina railways as
trustees for it's bondholders, to prevent
these roads from interfering in any
way with it's security, which is the
mortgage on it's lease hold property.
It seems that a belief gained cur
rency that Governor Russell intended
to remove today the present state d1-
rectors. It is learned that he will do
this as soon as the legislature gets
away.
There is no doubt that Dr. R. M
Norment, of Robson county, is to sue
ceed S. B. Alexander as president If
the North Carolina railway.
The action Of the federal court has
greatly stirred the anti-lease men.
They contend that such a proceeding
cannot lie against the state, and cite
IL
Temple against the state treasurer to
force him to pay the special tax bonds
in which the federal court decided that
the state was sovereign and that its
treasurer shared it's sovereignty. The
attorney general declines to give any
expression Of opinion in the case. say
ing he did not consider it proper. In
quiry made as to whether it had been
the purpose Of the state to begin ac-
ton Immediately to test the validity
Of the lease was answered in the neg
ative.
Governor Russell was interviewed
tonight regarding the injunction pro-
ceedings by the Southern railway, and
said: "They omitted one thing. This
was to make the order mandatory by
directing the governor to make an i'm
mediate apology to the Southern rail-
way. Then, again, they ought to have
provided that no governor shall send
message nor deliver an inaugural ad-
dress without first submitting it to the
managers Of the Southern railway in
New York and London and their
agents in North Carolina, and, lastly,
they need an injunction to restrain
the legislature of 1898 from doing any
thing they don't like