The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1901-11-13
Employed in Both the Lease
and Taxation Cases.
IMPEACHMENT TRIAL SAVED THE STATE
The 0philus White Suit Established
Precedent Which Would Have Been
Employed in This Case. The News
and Observers Disclosures Yester-
day the Talk Over the State South
ern's Ear Marks Were Convincing.


The exclusive publication in the News
and Observer yesterday of the influences
behind the South Dakota suit to wrest
the North Carolina Railroad from the
control of the State, was the talk
throughout North Carolina yesterday.
Not since the midnight lease of this
road by the Southern Railway has there
been such comment as was neard yester-
day. 1t was the general topic of CONVEX
slow to express an opinion of this latest
scheme on the part of the great railroad
cover in the State.
The circumstances leading up to this
latest exploit from South Dakota and the
imprint of Southern Railway influences
at every turn gave only one impression
. and the feeble efforts at denial by the
railroad cloquers failed to help their
cause in the least.
The eleventh amendment of the Consti-
tuition of the United States borbids a
State to be sued. but allows one State to
sue another State. Some years ago when
the outhern States were repudiating these
conceived the idea of letting the State of
Vermont buy some of the reconstruction
bonds of the State of Louisiana and bring
suit upon them. The Supreme Court of
the United States very promptly set down
upon the transaction as a fraud upon
the jurisdiction and an attempt to evade
the constitutional provision of the
eleventh amendment of the United States
Constitution. This attempt to steal the
Ncrh Carolina Railroad will fare 10 better
than its predecessors.
The bluff to make the State compromise
is no untried experiment with thetrail-
read Indeed bluffing is the favoritc
practice of the Southern Railway in the
courts.
When the lease of the North Carolina
Railroad was being assailed on every side
suit was brought in the Federal cour. To
prevent the State from interfering WITH
tho lease of that road to the Southern.
The Federal court had no Jurisdiction be-
cause in reality it was suit against the
State and if carried to, Washington. the
Supreme Court of the United States would
have bundled it out in a hurry.
The Southern was bluffing in that suit
for compromise and it got it.
When the Southern brought suit in the
taxation cases before the Supreme court,
whose judges are notoriously corporation
men. every lawyer knew it was a bluff
and that if that case was carried to
Washington it would also have been
THROWN out by the Supreme Court of the
United States.
When the we'll known Swazey case was
Thought to subject the States interest in
tie North Carolina Railroad good law
yers were of the opinion that If the
question of jurisdiction had been raised
end carried to the United States Supreme
Court the action would have been dis
missed because the proceeding toNsubject
the States property is an action against
tho State which is forbidden by the Fed
tal reconstruction
When the action was Brought fer The
ophilus White to get mandamus against
ire State Treasurer, many thought anc
still think that the object Oh the defend
anls was to lose the case and let the court
act the precedent which they did--that i
tho State once directed payment out o.
certain fund, a subsequent act repeating
that direction was nullity II thai
precedent had stood ,inquestiOned theI
this suit which is now brought by Soutl
Dakota would-have been brought in thu
Sl;tte supreme court upon lHc 6iouH'
that the State having directed that the
interest on the Western North Caroline
bonds should be a second lien on the
States interest in the North Caroline
Railroad. Then the subsequent prohibit.
tion of such payment by the Legislature
could be disregarded and a mandarin.
could have been issued against the
Treasurer to appropriate State receipts
from the North Carolina Railroad to the
Western North Carolina bonds.
But the impeachment proceedings mad,
the precedent too hot to handle ans
hence the case is not in our State Su
RENE Court and will not be unless tn,
Southern Railway can elect three Repub
lican Supreme Court judges, who will b.
a. friendly to them is Mr.. Simonton.
The North Carolina Railroad is reall
worth between $4,000. 900 or $12 1000 00C
Judged by its earning capacity it is wort
1000 900. The possibility Of that muc
stealable property CT the State of Nortl
Carolina. yet instanter is constant in
ccntive to the Southern Railway to in
vent plans for it's capture.
Capt. Ashes Sketch Of Sir Walter