The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-12-31
Move of Peter Power TO B. thv
Retirement
Of Northern Pacific Preferred
as Per Programme.
III is PROMPTLY MET
Transference to Federal Court
is Obtained.
Must Be Settled Today or Wait
Another Year.

Minneapolis, Dec. 31.-The reply oi
the controlling interests in the North
ern Pacific to the action of Peter Power
of New York, in securing an order re-
strainins the retirement of the preferred
stock and carrying out of the Northern
securities scheme was very prompt -
". Bum, general counsel Of the North-
ern Pacific, within few hours after the
service of the order of Judge Elliott oil
the district court of Hennepin county
secured from Judge Brooks, of the same
ourt, an order transferring the case
20 the jurisdiction of the federal court
An order from Judge Lochren of that
court was served late last night on
Power and his attorneys to appear at
10 o'clock this morning and show cause
why the restraining order should not
be dissolved.
The Northern Pacific attorneys con-
tend that the retirement of the preferred
stock is in every way legitimate, that
it has been 1egalized by a majority vote
of the stockholders, that it has no re-
lation whatever with the proposed
merger. and that Powers action has
been purposely delayed until 1t was
thought to be too late for the road 10
take counter action before January l,
1902. the date on which the proposed re-
tirement must be made if it is not post
poned another year. They characterize
the action as the attempt of a few dis
gruntled persons to throw obstacles in
the way of the Northern Pacific in the
legal conduct of its business and point
out that recent application for an in
junction in New York was peremptor-
lily refused by the courts To this the
attorneys of Power answer that the
New York action was in behalf of a
holder of preferred stock who could not
legally object to the retirement under
the terms of the charter. The present
action has a different relation because
ii IS brought by a holder of common
stock who claims that his property is
injured by the method OF retirement
Powers attorneys point out that while
dividends on preferred stock since it is
non-cumulatiye, are not payable unless
earned, the four per cent certificates
which IL is proposed u issue to bold
ers of preferred yield a regular rate of
interest and are therefore in the nature
OF a prior lien on the property, thus
depreciating the value of the comm on
stock
The opposing attorneys spent the
morning in arguing the various points
in the case before Judge Lochren-
Powers attorneys first asked for more
time to prepare their answer, but this
was refused, on the ground that the
case must be settled today if the stock
the matter be remanded to the Henne-
pin county district court where it orig
mated.
After an hour and a half Of argument
this. too was denied and the petition
Tor the dissolution of the injunction was
taken up on its merits
lir- Bum made a long argument in
which he made this significant state
ment:
Our friends across the table say that
there is plan here to turn the North
ern Pacific railroad over to somebody
else That is utterly untrue. The re-
tirement of the preferred stock can have
no relation whatever to that part of
the injunction I shall decline in this
case to enter into any argument as to
antitrust laws. or their violation The
stock question can have no bearing ON
that.
We don't object to that part of the
instruction restraining the Northern
Pacific company from going into an IL
legal corporation. The part we do OBJ
Ject to is that section preventing US from
retiring the preferred stock as we have
a right to do
Upon the conclusion of Mr. Bunn's
argument the court took a recess for
dinner 1t is expected that a final de-
cision viii be rendered this afternoon