The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-04-08
MORE MERGER LITIGATION
THE SLATE OF HARRINGTON OPENS
 ITS FIGHT.

Attorney General stratton of That Com
 monwealth Asks Supreme Court fol
 Leave to File Bili of CompIaint-Th'
 Objection, Under Which the Court Ike.
 fused to Entertain Niinnesota's Bill | Avoided.
 Washington, April 7.-Attorney Gen. eral Stratton, of the state of Washing ton, to-day brought to the attention of | the United States supreme court the de sire of that state to bring suit to pre- vent the merger of the Northern Pacific and the Great Northern railroads by moving for leave to file bill of com plaint on behalf of the state versus the Northern Pacific, the Great Northern Railroad company and the Northern Securities company. In making the motion MT. Stratton said that counsel for the defendant were present and pre- pared to proceed with an oral argu- ment, if the court was prepared to hear them, adding that the case involves the same questions as were presented in the Minnesota case. He said that an immediate hearing was desired, because it would save another trip from the state of Washington.
 Ex-Attorney General Griggs, who was present as the representative of the railroad companies, acquiesced in what MT. Stratton has said as to the desira IN;I I, I, ,,,,t declined to announce an immediate de- cision on that point. The chief justice said, however, that an early response would be given.
 In connection with his motion for leave to file his bill of complaint MT. Stratton submitted copies of his bill and a brief in it's support To avoid the ob- jeetion under which this court refused to entertain the bill of the state of Min nesota against the Northern Securities company, the state of Washington has made the Great Northern Railroad com pany and the Northern Pacific Railroad company defendants.
 The bill asks for a general order of restraint and injunction, and is a gen eral recital of the acts of merger which,
 
 laws of the state of Washington pro- hibiting the consolidation of competing lines of railroads. It is charged speci- tically that "the Northern Securities company was organized solely for the purpose of carrying out and accom- plishing the designs, agreement and plans of James J. Hill and J. Perpont Morgan, and their associate stockhold- CTS, to effect consolidation of the railroad lines, corporate pow CTS and franchises of the Great North ern and Northern Pacific Railrcad com panies. respectively, through the North ern Securities company"
 This combination is characterized as a conspiracy" and it is asserted that the interest of the individual stock holders in the property and franchise | of the two railroad companies was to terminate and to be converted into an interest in the property and franchise | of the Northern Securities company. The individual stockholders were no | longer to hold an interest in, or draw | their dividends from, the earnings of | either of said railroad companies, but l rather from the earnings of both sys- tems collected and distributed by such holding corporation; that the defendant the Northern Securities company-is not only exercising the right of owner ship of such stock but also dictating
 (Continued on Sixth Page.)