Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1902-03-17

ST. Paul, Mimi, March 11.-By di-
rection of the attorney general of the
United States a bill was filed at ST.
Paul yesterday in the circuit court
of the United States for the district
of Minnesota in the case Of the Unit
ed States, complainant, against the
Northern Securities Co., the Great
Northern Railway Co., the Northern
Pacific Railway Co., and others, de-
PENDANTS, to test the legality of the
alleged combination or merger of the
two roads and others named in the
bill The action is brought under inc
act of July 2, 1890, known as the Sher-
man antitrust act.
After reciting the fact that the
Northern Securities Co. is a corpora
ton organized under the laws of the
state of New Jersey; that the Great
Northern railroad was organized I'M
der the laws of the state of Minae-
sofa, and the Northern Pacific rail
road under the laws of Wisconsin,
and that the two last named com
panies are common carriers, doing an
interstate business, and that these
companies at and prior to the doing
of the acts complained of, owned and
operated two separate, Independent,
parallel and competing lines of rail
way aggregating over 5000 miles in
length, the petition goes on to say
that they were the only transcont1
mental lines of railway extending
across the northern tier of states west
of the great lakes, from the great
lakes and The Mississippi river to The
Pacific ocean and were engaged in &C
tive competition with one another for
freight and passenger traffic among
the several states of the United States
and between such states and foreign
countries, each system connecting at
it's eastern terminals, not only with
lines of railway, but with lake and
river steamers to other states, and to
foreign countries, and at its western
terminals with sea-going vessels 70
other states, territories and posses
sions of the United States and to
foreign countries.
THAT prior to the year 1893 the
Northern Pacific system was owned
and operated by the Northern Pacific
Railroad Co., a corporation organized
under certain acts of congress-; that
during that year the company became
insolvent and was placed in the hands
OF a receiver. While in this condi-
ton, awaiting foreclosure and sale, an
arrangement was entered into be-
tween a majority of the bondholders
of the Northern Pacific Railway Co.
and the Great Northern Railway Co.,
for virtual consolidation of the two
and placing the control of the North
ern Pacific system in the hands of The
Great Northern. This arrangement
contemplated the sale under foreclo-
sure of the Northern Pacific company
to a committee of bOndholders VINO
should organize a new corporation TO
be known as the Northern Pacific
Railway Co. One half Of the capital
stock of the new company was turned
over to the Great Northern Co., when
in turn was to guarantee the bonds
of the Northern Pacific Railway COM
pany."
The carrying out of this arrange
ment," says the petition, was defeat
ed by the decision of the United
States supreme court in the case of
Pearsall against the Great Northern
Railway Co., which was decided
March 80. 1885, in which it was held
that the practical effect would be the
consolidation of two parallel and COM
peting lines of railway, and the Civ
ing to the defendant, the Great North
ern Railway Co., a monopoly Of all
traffic in the northern half of the
state of Minnesota, as well as of all
transcontinental traffic north of the
line of the Union Pacific, to the de.ri-
ment of the public and in violation OF
the laws of the state of Minnesota.
Early in the year, 1901, the defend
ants, the Great Northern and North
ern Pacific Railway companies, in con-
temptation of the ultimate placing of
the Great Northern and Northern pa
cific systems under a common source
of control united in the pun chase of
the total capital stock of the Chicago,
Burlington & Quincy Railway Co. of
Illinois, giving the joint ponds or tne
Great Northern and Northern Pacific
Railway companies.
I'm this manner the Great Northern
and Northern Pacific Railway COM
panies secured control of the vast
system of lines known as the Burling-
ton system about 5000 miles in
length. The attempt to turn over
controlling interest of the Northern
Pacific Railway Co. to the Great
Northern, having thus, in the year,
1896, been defeated by a decision OF
the supreme court the defendants,
James J. Hill, and his associate stock
holders of the Great Northern, owning
or controlling a majority of it's sto TX,
and the defendants. J. Pierpont Nor
gan and his associates owning or
controlling a majority of the stock OF
the Northern Pacific company entered