The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-04-12
ANGLING FOR MILLIONS
Litigauts Who Hope to Win Something
F. ON the Huntington Estate.

New York, April Elm my letter Few
DAYS ago | referred to the suit of Mr. u.
Emily Reynolds, of Washington, against
the Huntington Estate and the MOTION
made last Friday, for the immediate nj
ing of the appraisers inventory of the es-
tate. A suit similar to this was brought
last wear by an Englishman named Mors-
head and was dismissed by Surrogate
Thomas on the ground that since there
was no evidence to prove that Morshead
was a creditor of the estate-which the
executors formally and emphatically de-
nied-the Surrogate had no jurisdiction
in the matter. The main point OF dlfferencc
collision and fraud in making these con-
claimed to own 100 shares, while Mrs.
REYNOLDS is the owner of only ten OF the
Central Pacific Railroad stock, concern
ing which both charged fraud and col
fusion in the making and carrying out of
construction contracts.
Surrogate Fitzgerald was inclined last
Friday to deny the present application on
the ground set forth in Surrogate Thomas
elaborate decision but yielded to the
pleading of the petitioners to be allowed
to submit briefs and these briefs are to
be submitted today. The matter. there
fore. now awaits the decision Of the Sur
rogate which it is to be hoped VIII DE
promptly rendered and do a great deal
of good in stopping the bringing OF use
less and expensive law suits
The Central Pacific Railroad was built
by Huntington and his associates. Hop
llins, Crocker and Sanford and a few
other strong business men of California
who had amassed fortunes in their va
rious occupations and were bold enough
to risk them in scheme to connect the
East and the West by a pioneer railroad
over the Sierra Nevada Mountains. From
their connection with the construction
company which actually built the line
arose many years afterwards the claims
of certain disappointed stockholders or
alleged stockholders that there had been
collision and fraud in making these con-
struction contracts These men and their
associates were laughed at because of
their fool-hardincss in trying to put
railroad line over the high mountain
ranges and the almost painless plains and
deserts that then lay like an ocean be
tween the Mississippi and the Golden
Gate and Huntington was dubbed Pacific
Railroad Crazy" because of his cnthus-
iastic faith in the venture. He and his
associates triumphed however, over
coming all obstacles and the Union and
Central Pacific Railroads became facts.
IN the case Of the present plaintiff it
is interesting to note that she did not
acquire her stock until three years after
President Cleveland's Commission APP
pointed by Congress in 1887 to investi-
gate the affairs of the Central Pacific had
made their widely published report 1t
was shown that the contracts termed col
lusive and fraudulent and all acts and
proceedings under them had been rati-
fed, approved and confirmed by the
stockholders without a dissenting voice
and that the profits made in construction
were only reasonable in view of the
risks assumed
MIR. Huntington used to be amused at
these law suits and when Morshead in
1897 or 1898 made an outbreak in tho Eng
lish newspapers attacking Huntington
savagely the latter laughed and com
mented on it with a remark better UNI
derstood in London than here: IF Mors-
head can get any satisfaction our of such
things it is all right l don't mind. They
don't injure me and may be they will
keep Morshead from thinking of certain
things that arc moro harmful to him than
law suits" The policy of the eXecu-
| tors OF his estate seems to be like his
own. that is TO have everything brought
out into open and threshed ever as they
! have already been threshed over many
times.
/ John MARTHOE
SMOKE LA Iosephina" and "YounE