Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1905-10-10
GOULD LINES MAY VOTE THEIR STocs
Judge FINDS that Plaintiff Does Not Come
Into Court with Clean Hands.
STATE LAW FREQUENTLY VIOLATE
Ramsey Often Did Same Acts BE Seeks 10
Prevent Others from Doing.
ELECTION TAKES PLACE IN TOLEDO TO AY
Each Leader. with His Legal Ad-
visers and supporters, Awaited
Decision in the Ohio
city.


sT LOUIS oct. Ain The St Louis cir
cut court today Judge Daniel G. Taylor
uenied the application OF Joseph Ramsey,
jr., deposed president of the Wabash rail
road, for an Injunction to restrain the
Missouri Pacific and Iron Mountain road
for their trustees from voting Wabash
stock held by or for those railroads in
the annual Wabash election to be held IN
Toledo tomorrow.
News of the decision was telegraphed at
once to Toledo, where George ]. Gould and
his supporters and Joseph Ramsey and his
personal advisers are awaiting the deci-
sion. The failure of the Injunction suit
which, II successful would have tied up
large block OF Gould stock is regarded as
a most important victory for the Gould
interests.
Judge Taylor's decision in part follows:
II appears from the plaintiffs verified
bill and the verified returns Of such of
the defendants as have been served in TINS
case and the evidence adduced upon the
hearing for preliminary Injunction, that
the plaintiff is a minority stockholder of
the Wabash Railroad company that the
Missouri Pacific Railway company is the
benehelary owner, OF 1000 shares of the
which are now registered upon the stock
books of the Wabash Railroad company In
the name OF II, M. WALKER uUueT an IN
strument of pledge given to secure certain
obligations Of the Missouri Pacific Railway
company, held by persons who are stran-
Mountain q Southern Railway company,
practically all the shares Of which are
owned by the Missouri Pacific Railway
company has an Interest in s., 435, 600 Of
the debenture bonds of the wabash COM,
pany which are in the possession of and
company in the name of the Mercantile
Trust company OF New YORK. under the
refunding mortgage, and owns 200 shares
OF the preferred stock of the wabash COM
pany. which are, in the name OF George
Gould is the chief executive officer of all
three of defendant railroad companies and
that the board of directors of all three OF
them are composed largely of the same
persons, while the principal active othoers
OF the Iron Mountain ana missouri PaSint q,
the last meeting OF the stockholders of the
Wabash company, held in October, l9o4'
inS @ g MIS-. a Pasle and IRON Mnnntain
q companies g'hoidings in the Wabash COM
pany, as well as those of others, cast all
81 the ballots at the meeting and elected
the entire present board of directors of the
n also appears that while the defendant
Wabash company and the Missouri PACING
company have lines extending through
both fOGd Of them them have Missouri charters and
the most important portions of their Mis-
state of Missouri from St Louis to Kan
sas city and from Kansas City to St
Louis
Alleges Lines should Compete.
The plaintiff complains that the Wabasf
company and the Missouri Pacihc company
are parallel and competing lines within
the meaning of the provisions of section II
article xii OF the constitution of Missour
and Of section 1862 of the Missouri statutes
and hence that the, holding Of these securi
ties of the Wabash Railroad company by
the Missouri Pacific company is illegal anG
that inasmuch as the Missouri Pacihc com
pany owns and controls all of the stock OF
the Iron Mountain company; that th'
holding of the Wabash by the Iron Noun
not fln be DONE indirectiy e Which w6ich cannot ann 5,
done directly, and seeks by his bill hlef
herein to, enjoin the voting of these securl
pany TO be held October 10 upon thu
ground that they are illegally owned an'
10 stIfe competition between the Mi ssour
Pacific and Wabash companies in Missouri
through the operation OF these two com
bination, and that he as a stockholder il
the Wabash company, will be hjure,
Ali Of the defendants who have appeare,
or been served disavow such Illegal pur
Tlaintiffs application. The court finds tn
record in this case SO ,er.ste with evidenc
OF the Missouri laws Enacted for the pro
tectiop OF the public that II has been loat
to reach the conclusions herein expressed
Ramsey's Hands Not Clean.
Inc feCOfu develops lne ldCl lndI at Tn
last annual election of the Wabash Raj
road company the plaintiff. Ramsey, mold
ing the proxies of the then and now owner
which he now seeks to have enjoined. vote
all of them for the election OF the very pei
sons whom he now charges will, II elected
so conduct the property of the Wabas
road as to not only violate the provision
OF the laws of Missouri, but will also S
conduct the same as TO injure him. l al
of the view that this action of plaintiff
is sufieient 20 compel the court to deny hiI
the relief which he seeks IN the absence {
proof showing that something has trans
pired since the time of such voting of th
stock by him which would indicate that III
purposes OF those who will be elected b
the voting OF this stock at the meeting
be held on October 10 will be different frol
those OF the persons elected by III
The order will therefore be that the ru
heretofore made upon the defendants
shoSld hot be issued viii Be yaoated a6
plaintiffs application for a temporary il
Csisned5 DANIEL G. TAYLOR
Next Probable Move.
The junior member of the firm of Lei
mann a. Lehman, counsel for Ramsey
conducting the petition for injunction mao
the following statement;
We have nothing to say regarding d
decision, II the shares OF stock held by Il
way companies are illegally held, as Il
court intimated in the decision, and Il
voting OF those shares determines the n
suit OF the election al Toledo. then the
Is nothing to prevent the state of Nilsson
or a stockholder in the Wabash compaI
and who has not himself acQuiesced in ii
holding Of the stock in the past from a
taokins the validity OF the election.
ELECTION TODAY AT TOLED
MIR. Ramsey withdraw Applicable
for Removal of inspectors.