The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-08-02
CONSOLIDATION WAS
AUTHORIZED BY LAW

In 1881 the legislature of Minnesota
enacted a statute claws OF 1881, =. go
authorizing and empowering any rail-
road corporation, domestic or foreign, TO
consolidate it's stock and franchises with,
or lease or purchase or in any way De-
come owner of or control the STOCK OF
any other railroad corpora ton when their
respective railroads can be connected ana
operated together so as 10 constitute d
continuous main line, with or without
branches. But the same statute relterat-
ed the prohibition against the conSollda-
ton of railroads having parallel and com
peting lines; and by a subsequent amend
nent of this statute Claws OF 1899, Z. z99)
the same prohibition was again enacted,
almost in the language of the act OF 1874,
above quoted.
In 1889 the legislature of Minnesota
also enacted a statute known as the
ANTITRUST Law claws Of 1889, c. $3.50,
which provided:
Section /. Any contract agreement,
arrangement, or conspiracy, or any com
bination in the form of a trust or other
wise. hereafter entered into which is in
restraint of trade or commerce within
this state, or in restraint OF trade or
commerce between any of the people or
o otiIs STAT state a or conntrV is hereby
prohibited and declared to be unlawful
Severe penalties are denounced against
all who shall violate the act, including
he forfeiture of the charter of any Of
Dnding corporation. And 1t Is made the
lty of the attorney general to institute
hi the name of the state, proceedings
IN any court Of competent jurisdiction, to
recover the penalties imposed, and also,
in the case of offending corporations, 10
enforce the forfeiture of their charters
Burlington Deal Explained.
Fourth-The railroads, both Of the
Great Northern and Northern PACING
companies. between the Missouri river
and Puget sound, pass through long
stretches of mountains and unsettled or
sparsely settled country which supplies
comparatively, little traffic or business to
these railroads. But the forests near
Puget sound produce a great supply OF
lumber, readily marketable east of the
Missouri river and in Iowa, illinois, Ne
these railroads (Which in the direction
of the principal markets for the lumber,
ended at st. PauD at rates which would
make the business practicable, 1t Was nee,
essary that west-bound freight should
be secured for the cars which would
bring the lumber eastward.
The Great Northern company and and
Northern Pacific company were alike
interested in this business, and acting
in harmony in the spring of 1901, pur-
chased substantially all the shares of
the Chicago, Burlington d Quincy Rail
way company (each company buying
and owning one-half), at 5000 per share,
amounting to sos, 900, 600 par value the
cost being about ;$216,oOo,ooo; paving
bonds of the two purchasing companies.
AS the Burlington system so pur-
chased, has railway extending from
Minneapolis and st. Paul to Chicago,
and railway covering large portions
of the states of Illinois, Iowa, Missouri
and Nebraska. and connecting again
with the Northern Pacific at Billings
by it's own directors and officers, af-
fords to the two purchasing railroads
the needed mutual extension to trans
port their trains of lumber to desirable
markets, and to bring return traffic in
coal, iron, steel, cotton and other COM
modities, needed on the route of these
two railroads and on the Pacific coast,
Puget sound and Alaska, China and
Japan.
Union Pacific Interfered.
The Union Pacific railway extends
from Omaha to Ogden, and by its con-
nection with the Central or Southern
branches and connections which reach
points on the Great Northern and
Morthern Pacific in Montana and
connects with the Union Pacific at
Omaha and elsewhere in Nebraska, and
extends east, north and south from
passed over the Union Pacific.
system by the Great Northern and
Northern Pacific, which was completed
about April l, 1901, led the managers
of the Union Pacific company to fear
a diversion of this traffic from the
railway of the Union Pacific to the
railways of the two purchasing COM
panies and Edward H Hartman, rep
Tesenting the Union Pacific company,
applied to James j. Hill and j. Pier
pont Morgan, who respectively repre-
scented the Great Northern and North
ern Pacific companies in such pur-
chase. to permit the Union Pacific com
pany to join and share with them in the
purchase of the Burlington system, but
his application was declined.