The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1910-10-07
Railroad News
Big MERGER CASE
open NEXT WEEK
UNION PACIFIC MERGER HEAR.
ING TO ATTRACT ATTENTION
OF UNITED STATES.


| St. Paul, Oct. 7,-IIearing In til,
Union Pacific merger case, wherein
the government charges q giganti,
conspiracy to destroy railroad com
Ipetition west of Kansas City. will be
gin Monday in ST. Paul. The case ii
generally considered to involve issue.
of as great Importance to the bust.
ness interests of the country as any
that was ever brought before a bar 81
Justice
All four Of the circuit judges Of the
eigth federal judicial district are hur-
rying to the twin cities, Judge w. III
sanborn, the presiding Judge, coming
from his vacation in the east, Judges
Van Devanter and Hook from the ses
sion of the United States court of an.
peals at Denver, and Judge Adams
from st. Louis, Although the case is
still in the circuit court, all four OF
the judges will hear and pass upon the
arguments. and whatever their, deci-
sion, the case is expected to go directly
to the federal supreme court.
Many Notable Names.
Notable men will be party to the
hearing, either as counsel or defen.
dants. Former United States Sen
John G. Spooner, now of New York
City; p. F. Dunno of San francisco
general counsel Of the Southern Pa.
| cific, and N. FL. Loomis of Omaha, gen
eral solicitor of the Union Pacific, are
to present the railroads eide, while the
| government will be represented by
Frank B. Kellogg and G. A, Severance
of the st. Paul law firm of Davis. KEEL
legg & Severance.
The specific allegation Of the govern
ment Is that the defendants named
have been engaged in furthering a
great conspiracy, the purpose of which
| Is to destroy railroad competition
| through that part of the United States
that lies west Of Kansas City, by weld
ing into one vast cooperative interest
all the railroad companies specified
The suit was instituted at Salt Lake
in February, 1908, by direction of the
attorney general OF the United States,
against the Union Pacific Railroad
Co, the Oregon Short Line Railroad
Co, the San Pedro, Los Angeles G. Salt
Lake Railroad Co, the Atchison, To-
peka & Santa Fe Railway Co, the
Southern Pacific Co.. the Northern Pa
cific Railway Co., the Great Northern
Railway Co.. and the Farmers Loan
& Trust Co.; also, Edward Fl. Harri-
man, Jacob H. Schiff, Otto III. Kahn.
James Stillman and Henry III. Rogers
of New York city, Henry c. Frick of
Pittsburg and Senator William A.
Clark Of Butte, Mont.
Two Defendants Dead.
Two Of the defendants, e. H. Har-
riman. president of the Union Pacific,
and Henry H. Rogers, one of the direc-
tors, have died since the suit was in
stituted, Judge Robert S. Lovett of
New York, who succeeded Mr.. Harri-
man as president of the Union Pacific.
is now one of the defendants. Jacob
Fl. Schiff and Otto III. Kahn were sued
as members OF the New York banking
firm of Kuhn, Loeb & Co., fiscal agent
of the Union Pacific. James Stillman,
president of the National City bank
Of New York, was sued as a director
Of the Union Pacific Senator Clark
is sued as being the principal mover
In the construction Of the San Pedro,
Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad Co..
which would have been an important
competitor against the Union Pacific
system If, according to the allegations
of the government, the senator and his
associates in this railroad had not been
induced by threats and overtures on
the part of the Hartman interests to
come to terms with the Union Pacific
system, agree upon schedule OF
rates and confine its operations and
extensions to certain prescribed terri
tory. The name of Henry C. Frick
has long been familiar as that OF one
Of the countrys kings of finance He
was sued as being one of the chief
stockholders and guides of the doings
of the Union Pacific.
The government alleges that the con-
spiracy was substantially carried out
by means of clever purchases and COM
btnations of stock, except that the at
tempt to gain control of the Great
Northern and Northern Pacific svs-
TENS, which control the Chicago, Burl-
lngton & Quincy, was a failure; but
that, with that exception the railroad
traffic over the whole vast western
country, including that of Pacific and
Atlantic steamship lines which are con-
nected with these railroads, was sue
cessfully brought under the domina-
ton of the Hartman interests. The
Great Northern and Northern Pacific
railroads, with their connecting steam
ship lines, and the Chicago, Burlington
& Quincy, whose stock was Jointly
owned and controlled by the Great
Northern and Northern Pacific, were
practically all that remained, contends
the government, to keep the railroad
traffic of practically the western half
of the United States from passing into
the control of the Union Pacific South
ern Pacific merger.