Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1904-04-25
PETITION is DENIED
HARTMAN AND PEARCE CANNOT
INTERVENE.
Plans of Directors of the Securities
Company Declared TO BE Not vi.
otatiVe OF the Decree OF the
Court. -OpiniOn Delivered by
Judge Thayer.

St Paul, April 20.-In the United
States circuit court Judges Sanborn,
Thayer, Handkerchief and Hook unani-
mously denied the application Of Har-
riman and Pierce and the Oregon Short
Line Railroad Company for leave to
intervene in the case of the United
States against the Northern Securities
Company on the following grounds.
Frst-The plans of the directors of
the company for the distribution of
the stock of the Northern Pacific and
Great Northern Railway Companies is
not violative of the decree in the
Northern Securities case.
SecOnd-No one but the United
States can successfully appeal to the
court to enjoin the execution of that
plan on the ground that it is in viola
ton Of the Sherman antitrust act,
and the United States expresses salts
faction with the present decree
Third-The stock of the two railway
companies is not in the custody of the
court.
Fourth-An Intervention is not nee
essary 70 enable the petitioners to pro-
tect any pecuniary interest or equity
they have.
Judge Thayer delivered the opinion
of the court.
The formal entry of the court is as
follows:
The application Of e. H. Hartman,
W. s. Pierce and the Oregon Short
Line Railroad Company for leave to
intervene in this case was heard before
this court on April ~ and Ii, 1904,
and after due consideration it is here.
by ordered that this application be and
is hereby denied.
Reasons for Decree.
The court in discussing the reasons
for the decree, after reciting the
grounds put forth by Hartman and
Pierce for leave to intervene, says
Applications for leave to intervene
i'll a case after the entry of a final de-
cree are very unusual. They are nev-
er granted as matter of course, and
owing to the tendency of such appli-
cations to occasion delay and prolong
litigation, they ought not to be granted
unless it is necessary to do so to pre-
serve some right that cannot otherwise
be protected or to avoid some compli-
cation that is liable to arise.
1.-THE principal ground, as it seems,
on which the petitioners, Hartman
and Pierce, base their application to
intervene is that it is necessary to the
due enforcement of the decree that
they should be admitted into the case
~ los oil fn uica f,1v h
issues and allowed to obtain further
orders 1t is undoubtedly true that a
supplemental bill may be filed in a
ease after final decree for the purpose
of fully executing it, when, after the
decree is entered, some action has been
taken, or unforeseen events have &C.
CURED which will prevent its enforce
ment unless soWe further orders or de
s.isions are given. But we fail to per
ceive that further orders are necessary
i'll the case in hand to insure the due
execution Of the decree according to it,
terms. The decree was wholly prohib
tory 1t enjoined the doing of certain
threatened acts, and so long as these
acts are not done it enforces itself, ant
no further action looking to its enforce
sment is deemed essential.
Disposition Of stock.
when the decree was entered it wa
assumed by the court that when thu
stock was thus rendered valueless ii
the hands of the Securities company
she stockholders of that compan.
would be able and likewise disposed t,
make some disposition of the stock
which, under all the circumstances o
would restore it to the markets of tn
world, where it would have some val
ne instead of being worthless com
modify. 1t was thought that the dut.
-ofthus disposing of it could safely b.
left to the stock holders of the Securi
ties company and that if any contro
yersy arose in the discharge of thi
function, in view of the situation tina
had been created by the decree, i
would be IA controversy that woul'
properly form the subject matter of al
independent suit between the partie
Immediately interested
In speaking of the contentious O
Hartman and Pierce that the proposed
plan of disposing of the stock Of tn
Northern Pacific and Great Northern
railways would result in leaving tn
control of the two railroads in tn
hands of persons ha co-Operae in form
ing the Securities company, the cour
said:
1.-THE issues suggested are disputes
and debatable questions of fact, whicl
the parties would be entitled to litigat
with witnesses and evidence afte
leave: to intervene had been granted
.and We decline to consider them or tn
affidavits of excerpts that present then
npon this motion.
According to well established rule
che petitioners cannot intrude into thi
litigation merely to protect the public
interests as long AS the government
present by the attorney general ant
expresses its disapproval of such in
trtusion. The petitioners can inter
vene only for their protection for thei
own individual interests and for tina
purpose only i'll the event that the,
can obtain adequate protection i'll III
other Wav