The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-04-16
RUSSELL'S AND BUFFERS AT
TEMPT TO MARE NORTH
CAROLINA PAY 8 1,00O,-
900 1T DOES NOT
OWE.

The case now being heard by the Su
preme Court of the United States OF
South Dakota VS.. North Carolina is the
most important one that has come be-
fore that court, so far as the South is
concerned, since the attempt to make
the Southern States pay the fraudulent
debts contracted by the carpet-bag gov
ernments during reconstruction. II South
Dakota and the other bond holders win,
they will have a lien OF over a million
dollars on the States stock in the North
Carolina railroad. Originally the con-
spirators expected to force the sale of
the States stock in the North Carolina
railroad, but exposure of their scheme
caused the organ of the conspiracy, (the
Morning Post, Of Raleigh yesterday to
announce that if the suit was decided
against North Carolina the State author
to pay the amount" Not SO fast. The
Estate authorities" will take no action,
even if the conspirators succeed, until
the peoples representatives in the Gen
eral Assembly pass upon the matter
The case is before the Supreme court
only through the fraud of giving ten bonds
to South Dakota. The original holders
of the bonds cannot sue. II the State
loses this suit, can the conspirators and
Ia .-l0
themselves? Will they not have to give
their bonds to some second-class State
ready to sell it's sovereign right 10 sue
a sovereign State for a few dollars? no;
the State will not simply SELF bonds
to the value of moro than million dol
lars to enrich Russell, Butler, and other
conspirators and spectators as long as
it can honorably resist such robbery.
The honest people of the State do not
look even with liberation upon this infa-
nous conspiracy against the State or up
on the parties thereto. The men who in
are ex-senator Butler and Ex-Governor
Russell. One of the objects of the Morn
ing Post in advocating Russell for Chief
Justice was to bring these bonds before
the Supreme Court of North Carolina so
that the outlawed bonds could be declar-
ed legal. The conspiracy was Matched
out by old stagers of the same stamp
as the gang that helped Littlefield in his
thievery and got part of the money. They
Not much!
Russell and Butler were in every hon
orable way sworn to act as trustees for
the State of North Carolina while hold
ing the States commissions as Senator
and Governor. Instead of being true to
the interest of the State they conspired
with other unworthy men to try to make
North Carolina pay more than a million
dollars by attempting a fraud upon the
jurisdiction. The whole story of their
scheming, of their procurement of South
Dakotas assistance through Senator
Pettigrew, of how law was passed in
South Dakota to get a footing for the
suit they contemplated bringing, and the
origin OF the fraud to the jurisdiction
all this story shows these two former
State officials to have been guilty of con-
duet that would have aroused the indig-
nation of the whole State in 1870. Are
al Of oh trai fNnr
conduct than our fathers?
We have never believed the Supreme
Court of the United States, if the fraud
to the juris4iction is fully exposed. would
entertain the rse. When they come to
consider il, We expect them to throw
it out as a case of somewhat like char
acter was thrown out when Vermont
tried to enforce the collection of some
fraudulent bonds issued by one of the
Southern States some years ago. If few
spectators and conspirators can buy a
States right to sue by giving it few
hundred dollars worth of bonds motor
iously worth only twenty-five cents in the
collar-;if that is permitted then a
borough State can get rich by conspiring
with the, holders of outlawed bonds of all
the Southern States. 1t is preposterous
to suppose that the Supreme Court will
invite such prostitution of one States
right to sue another.
This case is one of such great import
ance that We print elsewhere the full text
of the argument made before the Su-
pyeme Court by Hon. George Rountree,
of Wilmington, in addition to some ex-
t. acts from the argument and briefs OF
other attorneys. Mr. Rountree in an able
and mastery manner presents the case
of the State of North Carolina. Every
taxpayer ought to read it and pre-
serve il.