The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-01-28
Reasons for and Against the Taking
of Jurisdiction by the Supreme
Court of the u. S. Are Given
COURT TAKES 1T UNDER CONSIDERATION
For the Company
w. D. Guthrie,
John W. Griggs.

lands and their STABILITY Will be greatly
impaired by the consolidation The in
come Of the state derived from taxation.
for the maintenance Of state institutions,
as we'll as the performance of its exec1l-
tive legislative and judicial functions VIII
be seriously impaired and interfered
WIN py reason OF such consolidation. The
state has granted many millions OF acres
or land to various companies as a consid-
GRAFTON for building and maintaining par
alieI and competing lines of railway
Wlthln the state, many of which railway
llneSs are now owned or controlled by
either the Great Northern or Northern
racing Hallway company. 1t is therefore
submitted that the state Of Minnesota iS
so far interested, in it's individual ca
pacIty, in the subject matter of this ac-
ton, as to entitle it to maintain the
same.
The state also claims the right to main
tain this action as parens patriae, or
as trustee or representative of al her
cItlzens. very large portion. if not all,
OF the citizens of Minnesota Will be ma
terlally injured by the cons olidation or
and the removal of competition in freighL
and passenger rates between, the lines OF
railway owned and operated by the two
companies We take it that this court
Will assume that the citizens of the state
generally will suffer material injury by
the removal of competition in freight and
passenger rates within the state Pre-
Sumably. it was in recognition of this
same principle that all of the antitrust
laws Of the various states have been
principle or all Of the decisions holding
common law monopolies invalid and
against public policy. Such being the
case, we contend that it is not only the
right but the duty of the state to prose-
cue this action In behalf Of the citizens
of the state.
SUMMARY OF THE
SITUATION HY DOUGLAS.
The situation can thus be summarized.
The holders of a large majority of tha
capital stock of the two railroad corpo-
rations authorized to construct and main
OF Minnesota have organized corporal
ton in another state for the express pur-
pose of consolidating the railway linaa
and property OF such companies and
eYadIng and violating one of the laws Of
the state OF Minnesota, which bears di-
rectly upon and gives the state and it's
citizens certain rights and privi eyes In
connection with the property owned and
controlled by the railroads thus sought
to be consolidated.
The only way in which the state can
reach @uch an evasion OF it's laws and
enforce its rights is to bring an action in
this court against the instrument or
means by which consolidation is sought
to be accomplished. II, the state of Min
nesota cannot avail itself Of the original
jurisdiction of this court to enforce it's
right, it cannot go into the state Of New
Jersey and ask the courts Of that state
to enforce its rights, because the same
reasons urged against the jurisdiction OF
this court could be urged with equal
force before the courts of New Jersey.
! The bill discloses that this consoHda-
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