The sun., 1904-04-21
HARRIMANSUESN new JERSEY
NOT TO PREVENT MORT HERN
SECURITIES VOTE TO-DAY,
But 10 stay the Proposed Distribution
OF the Assets Pending Return OH Mon.
day OF an Order to Show Cause Why
II should Not BE Permanently stayed.

ON the application Of X. V. Lindabury
and W. ID. Guthrie, acting for E. II. Harr
man and Winsow S. Pierce, Judge Andrew
D. Kirkpatrick of the United States Circuit
court for the District of New Jersey granted
rule last night to show cause on Mon
day at Trenton why an injunction should
not issue restraining the Northern Secur-
ties Company from parting with or dis
tributing the stock of tHe Northern Pacific
Railway Company which the Oregon Short
Line and Hartman and Pierce say was
deposited by them upon the formation Of
the Northern Securities Company.
The order also directs the Northern Sc
curites Company to refrain from carrying
out its proposed plan of distribution of Great
Northern and Northern Pacific stock pro
rata TO its stockholders until after the hear
ing of the arguments on Monday.
The order of Judge Kirkpatrick in no
way restrains the Northern Securities
Company from holding its stockholders
meeting In Hoboken to-day and voting to
carry out the pro rata distribution recon-
mended by the directors
Since the defeat Of the Hartman inter.
yerltion suit by the decision of the Circuit
Court at st. Paul the Union Pacific in-
,erests have been in consultation seeking
a way in which final adjudication on the
proposed distribution by the Northern
Securities Company could be obtained.
Counsel for the Union Pacific interests said
last night that the application had been
made to Judge Kirkpatrick to secure this
adjudication, and that through this action
determination OF the rights Of Mr.. Harri-
man and the Oregon Short Line would be
secured, in accordance with the suggestion
Of the court at st. Paul. In the proceedings
in Minnesota Mr.. Hartman and NJ. Pierce
attempted to intervene in the case and to
get a decree of the Circuit Court that tho
exact amount OF Northern Pacific stock
which they had originally deposited for the
merger should be returned to them.
1t was pointed out on behalf Of the Union
Pacific interests last night that the present
proceeding differed from that instituted
by Venner in the State court in New Jersey,
inasmuch as Mr.. Hartman and Mr.. Pierce
originally deposited Northern Pacific stock
to the amount of s7s,OOO,OOO, whereas the
Continental Securities Company, Nenner's
company, bought in the open market its
Northern Securities stock after the plan
Of distribution had been recommended
means Of tracing the Great Northern or
Northern Pacific stock which it represented.
The affidavits upon which the rule to
show cause was granted were filed with
Judge Kirkpatrick late last evening at his
home in Newark, and were Immediately
forwarded to the clerk Of the court at
Trenton. II is understood that the papers
rehearse practically the points which
were brought forward in the Hartman 4
Intervention petition at St, Paul. and. after
explaining the method by which the Harri-
man holdings OF Northern Pacific stock
we're originally deposited, set up that the
complainant would be injured by an accept
ance Of both Great Northern and Northern
Pacific stock for substitution under the
Oregon Short Line bonds, the security for
which is now Northern Securities stock.
This substitution, it is alleged, would i'm
pair the value of the bonds.
Copies of all the opinions in the Minnesota
suit and the other suit against the Northern
Securities Company are among the papers.
In explaining the application last night,
r V. Lindabury said that there Is no inter-
ference with the meeting of the Northern
Securities stockholders to-day, nor with
any action which they may take on the pro-
posed plan of distribution. The in junction
covers only the dist tribution of the assets
of the company, and under the New Jersey
laws, where the Northern Securities Com
pany was organized, such a distribution
could not be made under any circun-
stances until fifteen days after it had
been authorized by the stockholders. The
Northern Securities Company is in control
of some 100000 shares OF stock. more than
the two-thirds necessary to ratify the pro
rata distribution.
Col W. p, Clough, counsel to the North
ern Securities Company. said last night
that he had only heard rumors If such
an action by the Union Pacif .erests
and had not been served with IL. order.
I'VE do not know. Of course. what the
allegations are" he said, "but We do not
see what suggestion there was in the st.
Paul decision in the intervention suit which
would lead to the present proceedings.
The stookholders' meeting will be held in
Hoboken as planned and the proposed
pro rata plan will be ratified as recon-
ruended by the directors OF the Northern
Securities Company"
1t is understood that proxies for about
100000 out of the 3,050,000 shares Of
Northern Securities stock are now in the
companys control.
c. H. venner who has figured recently
in many suits against corporations, the
most recent being that fruitlessly brought
through his Continental Securities Com
pany against the Northern Securities Com
pany to enjoin it from carrying out its
distribution plan. filed notice yesterday
with Justice Giegerich in the Supreme
Court that he would make a motion to-day
on a suit begun against the Equitable Trust
Company, which is trustee OF the Oregon
Short Line bonds. The suit, it is under
stood, is to restrain that company from
accepting Nor thern Pacific and Great
Northern stocks in substitution for the
present underlying Northern Securities
stock.
Mr.. Venner' Is contention is that as holder
of the Short Line bonds he would be in
jured IL such a substitution were made.
and this he believes Is about to be effected
through AZ agreement by the Union Pacific
interests and the Equitable Trust Company
10 accept the Northern Securities plan of
llluidation.
Neither Northern Securities interests
nor Union Pacific interests were disposed
Yesterday TO treat the Venner proceedings