The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-10-09
POWER CASE TAKEN
UNDER AMUSEMENT
0pfnionWili Probably Be Hand
ed Down Before Adjourn
ment of Court Here

The final termination of the suit
brought originally by Peter Power. of
New York, the object of which was to
| make impossible the organization of
the Northern Securities company, COM
| monty called the merger" is now up
TO the Judges of the United States
court of appeals, the final arguments
having been submitted before the
| judges Of this court in st. Paul yes
! terday.
Although the title of the case argued
yesterday is Camille WeidenfeId
against The Northern Pacific Railway
Company, it is nothing more than a
| continuation of the suit which was
brought by Peter Power, the clerk in a
/ wall street office, who went to Canada
after commencing the suit and refused
to return to testify before the commits
! sioner who first took the testimony in
| the case.
1t was charged at that time that
Weidenfeld and other New York brok-
| ers We're the real instigators of the
suit. and when Power failed to show
up, Weidenfeld entered the suit as
| plaintiff intervenor.
The object of the suit was to prevent
the retirement of $75,000,000 in pre-
| ferred stock of the Northern Pacific,
which was necessary before the North
| ern Securities company could be or
4 SdIHZcU LII Tile united states circuit
| court the suit was decided in favor of
| the Northern Pacific, and the retire
ment OF the preferred stock was de-
| elared legal. The case was appealed
! and 1t was before the court of appeals
that the case was argued yesterday
The sitting judges were Sanborn,
Van Deventer and Cook. In behalf of
the Northern Pacific the case was ar
gued by c. w. Bum and F. B. Kellogg,
and by NJ II. Boutelle and A. w. Buck
ley for the appellant.
Claims Ii Was to Promote Merqer.
Attorney Boutelle, after giving a
brief review of the history Of the case,
explained to the court that In 1901 the
Northern Pacific planned to retire it's
preferred stock, which amounted to
$75,000,000. and in lieu thereof issue
certificates of indebtedness. This was
for the purpose, Mr.. Boutelle contend
ed, of placing the control of the entire
stock in the hands of the holders of
the common stock, which was held by
| the Hill-Morgan interests.
1t was, explained that at the time of
| the transfer of the stock the common
stock amounted to $S0000,000 and the
preferred to $75,000,00 The Hill Nor
gan interests controlled the majority
| Of the common stock, but did not con-
troll a majority Of the entire stock, and
for this reason, it was stated, the plan
for the retirement of the preferred
stock was evolved, which finally re-
suited in the control of majority of
all of the stock. by the Northern Secu-
rites company, or the Hill Morgan in
terests.
| At that time there were two fac
items holding stock in the Northern
Pacific, one the Hill-Mergan faction,
which favored the retirement of the
TarG -tn fxo
| Northern Securities company might be
organized, and the other, which held
the major portion of the preferred
stock, opposing the plan.
The preferred stock was finally re-
tired and it was to have this action de-
clared illegal that the Power suit, aft
erwards the Weidenfeld suit was COM
| menced.
| Attorney Boutelle, in. the argument
yesterday, admitted that the Power
suit was nothing more than a fiction
and that the case would soon have
been dismissed had not Weidenfeld in
| tervened.
| Why Decision Should Be Reversed.
Mr.. Boutelle argued that there were
| three reasons why the decision of the
circuit court should be reversed. The
| first of these was the legality or lille
7 gality of the attempted combination, in
view of the various constitutional and
statutory provisions of the state of
Minnesota, in which the suit was in
augurated; second, the legality or lille
gality of the several steps and pro-
| ceedings inaugurated for the retire
ment of the preferred stock; third, the
measure and nature Of relief to which
"a non assessing stockholder of ap-
pellee was entitled in a. suit inaugu-
| rated to have the legality or illegaIity
Il n fhA nT~n1 oh
7 aScertalned, and for appropriate re-
dress. Eighteen assignments of error
by the lower court were referred to by
Mr.. Boutelle in his argument for re-
Versal of the decree of the lower court,
but none of them was. entered into at
length.
A. w. Buckley, who also appeared in
behalf of the appellant, spoke for TWEEN
ty minutes or more before the close of
court in the afternoon. He devoted the
| greater portion of the short time al
lotted him to answering the arguments
made by Messrs. Bum and Kellogg.
Suit Not Brought in Good Faith.
c. w. Bum, general solicitor for the
Northern Pacific, was the first to pre-
sent the Northern Pacific's side of the
case.
Mr.. Bum, in opening, told of the
manner in which the original suit had
Deen brought by a person named Peter
Power, of how Power, although a resi-
dent Of New York, where the plans
for the retirement Of the stock were
consummated, and in which city the
Northern Pacific had one of it's gen.
eral offices, had come all the way to
Minnesota, and on the day before that
on which it was decided to transfer
the preferred stock had applied for
and secured a temporary injunction
restraining the transfer of the stock!
He also related how Power later dis
appeared, going to Canada, and of how
the case was afterwards taken up by
Weidenfeld, who was charged by the
Northern Pacific with having been in
strumental in the instigation of the
Power suit.
To show that the suit was not
brought by Weidenfeld, or by Power,
in good faith, Mr.. Bum cited evidence
to show that, while Power came to
Minnesota and applied for an injune-
ton on Dec. 80, 1901, asserting that
he owned certain shares of stock, this
same stock was purchased by Weiden-
field in New York on the same day,
and that the suit of Weidenfeld, as
intervenor was brought upon the same
stock as Power was supposed to have
owned.
Mr.. Bum commended that the North
Dr. 1P