Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1907-01-10
COULD MERGER IS ATTACKED
Asks Dissolution Of Combination
and Forfeiture Of Franchises
COAL MINES AND ELEVATORS INVOLVED
wabash and Missouri Pacific Are
Alleged to Have Violated
Charters Issued by the
state.

Missouri Pacific and Iron Mountain Railway
companies and the Pacific Express COM
pany and to revoke the licenses and char
tiers OF the Pacific Refrigerator Transporta-
ton company, Western Coal and Mining
company, Rich Hin Coal Mining company
and Kansas-Missouri Elevator company
were filed in the supreme court by Attorney
General Hadley today
The petition alleges the stocks of the
companies named are owned by the same
interests-the Goulds-in violation of the
provisions Of the constitution and laws of
Missouri.
| Chief Justice Can't of the supreme court
made quo warranto writs asked by Attor-
ney General Hadley returnable in the SUI
preme court on January %, upon which
day the defendants must appear and make
answer to the allegations in Hadley's petit
! ton.
The petition asking that the merger of
the stock ownership of the roads be dis
solved alleges that the Missouri Pacific,
| Iron Mountain and Wabash roads are cor
porations created by and existing under
the laws of Missouri; that the Pacific Ex-
press company is chartered in Nebraska,
but licensed to do business in Missouri;
| that the American Refrigerator Transit
company is chartered in Illinois, but IL
| NNheSh III AhlSSuuii DIS Il COulI1On CdTE1tT Oh
cold storage products. 1t states that the
Wabash and the Missouri Pacific roads
between st. Louis and Kansas City are
parallel and competing lines as to traffic
between those two cities. and also as to
much of the intermediate territory.
| II is alleged that the Missouri Pacific
owns and holds 443,3541k of 443,9Ol outstand-
ing shares of the Iron Mountain that the
Missouri Pacific owns 10000 shares of the
preferred stock of the Wabash; the Iron
/ Mountain 5000 shares of the preferred
stock of the Wabash and IS, $4,000 of the
debenture bonds of the Wabash; that the
| Wabash owns 1900 and the Missouri Pa
cific 1900 shares of the $4,000 shares of
stock of the Pacific Express company; that
the Iron Mountain owns 1883 and the Mis-
souri, Pacific 1,217 shares of the stock of
the American Refrigerator Transit COM
pany, being the entire amount of stock
issued by that company.
There is also an allegation that the Iron
Mountain and Missouri Pacific have the
same officers, have no general officers in
the state, and that books and records of the
companies are kept in the Office in New
York. The petition says:
The persons and interests in ownership
and control of the Missouri Pacific COM
pany, being members of the Gould family.
Of which Jay Gould was until his death
the head, and other persons interested with
the said Gould family in railroad, tele-
graph and kindred enterprises, have COM
bined and conspired to bring under the
control and domination of the same persons
and interests the Wabash and Missouri
Pacific companies. for the purpose of pre-
venting and destroying all competition be-
| tween the said companies and for the
purpose OF making the two companies as
one in practical effect and so far as con-
Germs any public interest involved.
The arrangements hereinbefore set forth,
whereby the holders of the debenture bonds
OF the Wabash company are permitted to
elect six of the thirteen directors of the
said companies and the shareholders are
permitted to elect but six OF said directors,
and the thirteenth director is elected by
the twelve directors previously chosen, is
unlawful and in contravention of the stat
utes and public policy of the state Of Mis-
souri, and Is usurpation by the said Wa
bash company, it's president and members,
OF franchises. liberties powers and privi-
Ieges not granted by law and forbidden
by law to be exercised or enjoyed by said
company, its president and members.
HadIey Talks of Case.
Concerning the nature of the suits At
torney General Hadley said:
These suits are brought for the purpose
of forcing a discontinuance of the owner
ship of the stock of the Wabash. Missouri
| Pacific and Iron Mountain companies and
the control of these three companies, two
lines, by the same interests, and to force
discontinuance of the ownership of the
STOCK Dy these companies IN the Pac1f1C
Express company, American Refrigerator
Transit company, Rich Hill Coal Mining
company Western Coal and Mining COM
pany and the Kansas Missouri Elevator
company. By this stock ownership these
rC ads have in fact, been engaging in bust
ness not authorized by their charters and
prohibited by the constitution and laws of
the state. The forfeiture of the charters
Of the coal mining companies and of the
prayed for, the license of the Pacific Ex-
press company and the American Refrig
orator Transit company to do business In
the charters of the railroad companies is
asked for only in case they should fail to
discontinue, within definite time, these
usurpations, should the courts order.
Illegal practices exist to a greater or less
extent in the case of number Of other
Missouri roads and other suits will be be-
gun as soon as the work i'm my office will
permit. These cases have been under con-
sideration nearly year, ever since the
disclosures incident to the Gould Ramsey
contest for control OF the Wabash. Their
institution has, however, been delayed by
press Of work incident to the Standard Oil
and maximum freight liquidation and sick
ness which took me from my office for
nearly six months.
Gould Declines to Talk.
NEW ORLEANS, Jan. 9-George ].
Gould when shown the Associated Press
dispatch from st. Louis relative to the
suit filed against the Gould interests in Mis-
souri,, said he knew nothing whatever about
Ject.
Later, Mr.. Gould laughed and remarked
About the only thing l can see is the
fact that Mr.. Hadley failed to include In
ternatonal & Great Northern and the Texas
& Pacific railways. He ought to have
known these were Gould interests also.
WELL" he continued, MI Hadley may
be right. He lives in Missouri, the state
where the people have to be shown. He
will find that nearly all the stock owned
by the Pacific Express company and the
coal mines mentioned are not Gould inter
ests."
jeffrey IL Surprised
NEW YORK, Jan. 9-President jeffrey OF
the Denver Rio Grande, who is also
chairman of the Wabash railroad and an
odicer OF various other properties known as
the Gould system, stated today that tht
Associated Press bulletin was the first in
. timation he received Of the action of At
ltorney General Hadley to dissolve the al
I legged merger of the companies named al
defendants in the action Under the cir
cumstances, Mr.. JEFFREY said, no statement
: could be given out at this time. Genera
counsel Of the Gould lines here will at once