The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-10-09
TELLS WHY HE DID NOT ATTEND
CONFERENCE OF NORTH
WESTERN GOVERNORS
THOUGHT RAILROADS HAD
ALREADY CONSOLIDATED
He Says the Legislature Can Authorize
a Suit Against Northern Securities
Company If North Dakota Wants
one-No Emergency Requiring Pre-
cipitate Action.
Special to The Globe

Special to The Globe.
VALLEY CITY, N. D., Oct. s.
Speaking at a rally here last night
Gov. Frank White said:
If North Dakota wants a lawsuit
with the Northern Securities company
the legislature, fresh from the people,
and soon to meet, can authorize any
action that seems to them appropriate
and provide means for carrying 1t to
determination. l have often been asked
why l did not attend the meeting of
the governors at Helena. When my
attention was called to the organiZa-
ton of the Northern Securities COM
pany, and 1 accepted the invitation to
the meeting, l had given this matter
very little consideration.
MY investigation, however, soon
brought me to the belief that the con-
solidation had already been practically
accomplished If the law permitted
any man to own one share in the
Great Northern, and also one share in
the Northern Pacific, he could own as
many shares of each as he could buy
and pay for; and if he owned a con-
trolling interest in both there would be
very little competition between them
and it would make no difference
whether they were managed separately
or together. This seemed to me to be
the whole case in question. Mr.. Hill
owned a majority of the stock in each
one of these roads. You couldn't take
1t away from them, and you couldn't
prevent their selling what they owned;
and you couldn't take it away from the
man who bought from them. If each
and every individual stakeholder sold
his stock to John Doe his right to
own it in it's entirety and to exercise
every right that pertains to ownership
cannot, it seems to me, be questioned
Railway stock is private personal
property subject to the laws of con-
tract and sale.
Joint Action Intellectual.
''It became evident, too, that no joint
action by the Northwestern states could
be brought to dissolve the Securities COM
pany. Each state must act alone, and
bring such action under the laws of the
state as thought proper. | was not long
in arriving at the determination that SO
far as the state of North Dakota was con-
cerned, as the executive l should not
cause an action to be brought against this
company. did not believe that any of the
actions proposed (and which were after
wards commenced by the states of Min
nesota and Washington would accom-
pliSh anything; and l am more firmly con-
WINGED that the end sought will not be ac-
compliShed.
you can't compel competition by law.
You may compel separate management,
arate ownership. Our state has lost norh-
ing by inaction. Every right we had we
still have. Our case has been in no way
prejudiced We also have the advantage
of mature consideration and of the eX-
perience of Minnesota, and could without
doubt at least get our case into court.
There is no emergency requiring pre-
cipitate action Either the conSolldatlo On
was legal or it was not legal, and must in
any case be determined by the slow pro-
cess of the court"