The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1900-01-15
Are W. P. Hubbard and others in
Wheeling Bridge Litigation.
JUDGE HERYEYS DECISION
Was Handed Down Saturday Morn
ing-It Is an Exhaustive Docu-
ment, Fully Covering the Many
Phases Of the Litigation, Which
Has Been on In the Circuit Court
for Several Years,

| para y. "a. sweeney ana w. u. Upte-
gran. in which the plaintiff sued for
Sl25,OOO damages, has reached its con-
clusionin the Ohio county circuit court,
Judge Hervey, after having been on
for the pust six years, first before
Judge Joseph n. PAUL. and since HIS
death before Judge Hervey. The
courts decision exonerates the defend
ants, Mr.. Hubbard In particular being
held blameless.
Judge Hervey's opinion relates at
length the history of the case. In part
the opinion is as follows:
1.-THE plaintiff, the Wheeling Bridge
Company, seeks to recover from the de-
PENDANTS, w. P. Hubbard. j. NJ,
Sweeney and W. D. Uptegraff. $l25OOO,
and POUNDS It's right to recover on the
charge that the above-named defend
ants, together with G. W. G. Ferris
and Gustav Kaufman, entered into an
arrangement by which 1t was agreed
that Sweeney, Hubbard and Uptegraff,
who were three Of the FIVE directors OF
the wheeling Bridge Company, should
procure for Ferris & Kaufman the
contract for the construction OF the
plaintiffs bridges across the Ohio river
at price Of about $125.OOO above the
cost Of construction; that this profit Of
$125,OOO should be shared equally by
the 1--WE persons interested in this con-
splracy, namely: Sweeney, Hubbard,
Uutegraff, Ferris and Kaufmann; that
the plan SO arranged was carried out
and the contract, through the efforts
of the three persons named, who were
members Of the board of directors, was
awarded to Ferris & Kaufman at
$4,000, which was about S125,OOO
above the cost Of the bridges. This is
the substance of the plaintiffs case.
A great many facts are averred in the
bill, and a vast amount Of evidence
bearing more or less upon these facts,
has been taken, but the whole case
turns upon the question whether there
was such fraudulent conspiracy as
alleged, and whether the contract was
let under arrangements perfected by
those alleged to have been engaged in
that conspiracy.
"The questions to be settled are pure
ly questions OF fact; and the large
amount of testimony in the case rem
ders 1t impossible for me to do more
than briefly outline what believe to
refer to the testimony of the partIcu'
lar witnesses on which my opinion is
based.
Some time before the Incorporation
Of the Wheeling Bridge Company, the
street car lines had changed their
methods Of operation and introduced
electricity as the motive power, The
Wheeling & Belmont Bridge Company
refused to permit the electric cars TO
be run over its bridge, not dezmIng tt
strong enough for that use. G. ". G.
Ferris, Of the firm of Ferris & Kauf-
mann, came to Wheeling as the repre-
sentative OF the johnson company to
look after the sale Of the rails to the
Street Railway Company. Sweeney
who was interested in the street car
lines, knowing that Ferris was an en-
gineer, talked to him about tho situa-
ton of the Street Railway Company.
the desire Of that company to get its
lines across the river, and asked his
advice as % the strength of the Wheel
ing & Belmont bridge. Ferris seems
from the very beginning to have had
in his mind the prospect of securing
the profitable contract for his firm.
and he went carefully over the ground
and advised Sweeney that the suspen-
sion bridge was not strong enough 20
carry the electric cars. The project Of
building a new bridge was then dis
cussed with others, and more espec-
tally with those interested In having
the electric lines extended across the
river including w. P. Hubbard and
w. D. Uptegran. on March 8, 1888,
Ferris wrote to Sweeney letter in
which he places the bridge project in
the most favorable light, and estimated
IT'S cost at about 100000.
"A movement was set on foot to In
corporate a company which resulted in
an agreement Of incorporation being
signed on April 20, 1889. and certii-
cate of Incorporation was issued to the
wheeling Bridge Company, on May 6,
1889. Although no contract of employ
ment appears, and no one seems to
have actually employed Ferris, he took
such an interest in the project that he
made surveys and prepared plans and
drawings OF the proposed bridges, and
afterward subscribed $1,000 for him
self and $1,000 for Kaufman TO the
capital stock OF the company. After
the Incorporation of the company. steps
were taken to secure the permission
of the United States government for
the erection Of the bridges and efforts
were made to raise the necessary capl-
tai stock. As result of these efforts.
by November, 1889, six weeks after the
incorporation OF the company, about
$4,000 had been subscribed.
while the evidence fixes no certain
date on Which It is claimed that the
conspiracy was framed 1t is said to
have been entered into before Novem-
her, 1850, AS stated, the subscribed
stock OF the company Mt this time only
amounted to about $4,000. The only
estimate us to the cost of the bridges
which had been submitted to the MEM
bers Of the board of directors approx
mated 100000 Including the amount
necessary to be expended for real es-