Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-04-04
Another Step In Struggle For
Control of the Northern
Pacific Company
THE PETITION FILED SATURDAY
Makes Demands of the Directors of the
Northern Securities Company = How
the Stock Was issued - Course to
be Pursued by the Defendants In
known at Present Time.

the attorneys Tor the QeIenuaHlS III Tie
suit of e. II. Hartman and Winslow
Pierce and the Oregon Short Line
Railway Company against the North
ern Securities Company, notice OF
which was served Saturday, would
make any extended statement with
reference thereto 1t was admitted,
however, that the suit was step in
the struggle for control of the North
ern Pacific company. which is being
waged between E. H. Hartman and
allied interests and James j. Hill, j.
r. Morgan and others. That some
step was anticipated the attorneys
soon admitted but each stated that
the filing of the petition on Saturday
came as surprise. and that he would
be unable to state what course would
be pursued until the principals had
been consulted. The citation in the
suit is directed to the Northern Sc
curities Company, the Northern Pa
cifc Railway Company, the Great
Northern Railway Company, James J..
Hill, ]. p Morgan and others, and
gives notice that on April u Harri-
man, Pierce and the Oregon Short
Line Railway Company will apply to
the Judges of the United States dis
trict court for leave to file a petition
for Intervention in the suit of the
United States against the same de-
PENDANTS, with reference to the ex-
emption of the final decree of the
court, which was filed on April g.,
1903. The petition Itself In substance
declares that the petitioners, Hartman
and Pierce, are now, and ever since
Nov. Is, 1901, have been the regis
tered owners and holders OF $S2, 491,-
371 par value Of the capital stock Of
the defendant Northern Securities
Company, and such holding OF stock
by them is and was as trustees for
the use and the benefit of the Oregon
Short Line Railroad Company.
The latter company by indenture
dated July II, 1902. pledged $50, 491.-
coo par vaule of said stock with the
Equitable Trust Company of New
York as trustee for an issue of bonds
of which $S2. 491 600 face value have
been certified and issued: but unde rthe
terms of said trust indenture the stock
SO pledged and standing the name of
the petitioners Hartman and Pierce is
available for the purpose of tender,
return and restoration as alleged.
The petitioners believe that 9S1a per
cent of the outstanding capital stock
of the Northern Securities Company
was issued in exchange for shares Of
the capital stock of the Northern Pa
cif1c and Great Northern railway COM
panies respectively, and less half per
cent of such stock was issued for
other property. They are further in
formed and believe that about $17S,
$4,000 par value of the stock of the
Securities company was issued in ex
change for $153,749,425 par value of
the stock of the Northern Pacific Rail-
way Company, and about $212.60O,000
Par value of said securities company
stock was issued in exchange for s11s,-
124,250 par value OF the stock of the
Great Northern Railroad Company.
The petition states that the North
ern Securities stock assigned to the
petitioners in exchange for Northern
Pacific common and preferred stock is
held intact by the Equitable Trust
Company of New York as pledge for
a bond issue of the Oregon Short Line,
and is available for exchange. 1t is
alleged that the plan proposed for the
of Northern Securities as
sets by the pro rata return of North
ern Pacific and Great Northern stock
would leave the control of the two
roads In the hands Of the same people
who now are in control. and would. in
effect, defeat the decree of the court
1t is asked that the directors of the
Northern Securities Company be di-
rected to return to the petitioners the
Northern Pacific common stock origi-
pally exchanged by them, and the adj
ditional Northern Pacific common
stock created by the conversion of the
preferred stock and that the directors
Of the Northern Securities Company
be enjoined from carrying into effect
the proposed plan of distribution until
the court acts upon this petition.