The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-05-17
Henry B. Gray Gets a
 Judgment.
JUDGE sAYRE WRITES OPINION
lawyers for Railroad Company
 Announce an Appeal.
Minority stockholder Wins Contentien As to Operation of Rich Link in His quo warranto Proceed-
 fnss Before Lower Court.

Judge A. D. Sayre of the City Court of Montgomery yesterday granted judgment of custer against the Loufs- vile Railroad Company's control of the South and North Railroad companys property. declaring that the former company has no legal right to exercise the franchise which had been granted the South and North Company
 The important decision was in the quo warranto proceedings brought by Henry B. Gray of Birmingham. against the Louisville and Nashville Company. Mir. Gray is a minority stockholder in the South and North Company whose line between Montgomery and 2Deca- tur is operated by the Louisville and Nashville under a lease.
 The attorneys for the Louisville and Nashville immediately announced an appeal from the decision and gave a supersedeas bond of s1o,ooo. pending action of the Supreme Court upon the appeal
 The decision yesterday is the most important yet made by court in the various suits brought by Henry B. Gray against the Louisville and Nash vile and aimed at the control of the South and North by the Louisville and Nashville. It created flutter in legal and railroad circles when it became known. ~sr
 It was declared that the effect of the decision was declaration that the Louisville and Nashville could not To- gally operate the South and North and that in this it was a legal decision of far reaching consequences.
 Rich Connecting Link.
 The South and North which extends from Decatur to Montgorssry is per haps the richest link in ene splendid system of the Louisville and Nashville. braced in theshrdlu shrdlu hrdlumfwyp
 
 and of all connecting lines that section embraced in the South and North and running through the rich mineral district of Alabama onsr, s sst yslnasls tSe ts sation, sus t the apss psndins suits @ are the the first to De brought under quo wafran-
 They were Based upon the eontsntion that the directors of the south and to @ transfer the property ana its is control control under the charter. It was contended that no pewsr tss, was given the s. road , n ferred to another road. It was con tended that no other roads could ex- snssd ross the sotS nifs h as ns been
 The efrect of the decision by Judge Sayre yesterday Is to sustain these in in" effeet. that the Louisviile and Nash. Nash. of the road to which t has no right, brings the suit is a stockho1der of the South and North He has been plain tiff in number of cases which grows bili in in the the chaneery Court askins an accounting of the Louisville and Nash vile of its management of the South ing order to prevent the sale of the south and North to the Louisville and Nashville In n answer , to this the at vile filed a bill containing sixteen pleas making answer to the charges and assertions in the bill of MT. Gray. The bill of pleadings was later amend ed so as to admit of seventeenth plea. To these pleas the attorneys for MT. Gray demurred and in their quo war fssntg proee,,s,dings asked Ss the right of else a charter granted the South and North by the State of Alabama. It was asserted in the demurrers that the pleas and. answers were not sufficient to show the legal authority. The de- nurrers were sustained in court.
 Judgment of Custer.
 And as result of the quo warranto proceedings. the court issued yesterday afternoon judgment of custer. In this judgment of custer. 1t was de- clared that the Louisville and Nash vile should not longer exercise the powers of the franchise granted the South and North.
 .. The attorneys for the Louisville and Nashville immediately asked for an pending the appeal. After a discussion between the attorneys on both sides od odo the case. bond in the sum of $1o. 900 was agreed upon. <. There was some. talk yesterday after noon that notwithstanding the appeal that the status of the North and South road was still an open question in that judgment of custer having been is- IerIak k.o try to immediately break the control of It by the Louisville and Nashville. II was even intimated that perhaps the attorneys for MT Gray might begin some sort of proceedings to this end
 On the other hand 1t was contended that no action of any sort would be open for either party until the Supreme Court of Alabama had passed upon the appeal. This seemed to be the general view of the case at the court house yesterday.
 The case involves one of the most valuable pieces of property in all Ala bama. No suit perhaps brought in Alabama in recent years carried so large a monetary value.
 MT. Gray has tried to get receiver for the South and North, but in this he has failed. Now that the judgment of custer has been rendered 1t is said he will renew the efforts for a receiver It is believd that no receiver will be appointed, however, whatever course the litigation may take.
 The majority of the stockholders, the great majority of them, favor the leasing of the road to the Louisville and Nashville. In effecting this lease the directors were carrkying out the vote of the stockholders. The legal proceedings were brought by the mi nority stockholders. In so far as these proceedings are successful. they are successful in the contention that the directors could not transfer the fran chise as 1t was granted by the State
 over this already famous case much more litigation Is expected.
 Mir. Gray the plaintiff in the suit was in court yesterday when the decision was rendered He returned to his home in Birmingham last night.