Evening journal., 1916-05-20

involve disclosure Of the business and
financial relations of the corporations
with numerous banking institutions
other than those from whom the plain
tiff may be able to show that the loaus
in question were secured, and therefore
woul involve transactions and business
having no bearing upon OF materiality
TO the cause, with institutions having
no connection with the loans, and con-
cerning which the plaintiff has no right
to discovery. If the interrogatories
were so framed as to obtain information
only in relation TO banking institutions
connected in some way with the loan,
the facts thus obtained would be ma
terial as part of the scheme charged
TO have been devised and carried out by
Pierre $. dupont and his associates to
show that they obtained for themselves
credit upon which to base the loans,
and, by the advantage thus obtained
deprived the Powder Company of an OPP
portunity TO use its available assets TO
arrange for the purchase of the stock,
hut the interrogatories must be consid-
cred as they stand and they are too
broad and sweeping in their scope to re-
quire answers. All of the material
facts under this class of intcrrogatories
are equally with those in relation to
the powder contracts and the quantities
Of powder and other war munitions
manufactured and sold available to the
plaintiff from the books and accounts
Of the defendant companies.
"The bill is q stockholders bill in
which the plaitniff and the interven-
ing plaintiffs are seeking to enforce
against directors and other stockhold-
ers Of the corporations the rights OF
the corporation itself which IL is al
legged arise from wrongs done by the
individual defendants in violation Of
their duties as trustees for the cor
poration. and it Is averred in the bill
that. by reason OF the interest OF the
majority OF the directors and their
manifest purpose to serve their own
interest rather than that OF the pow
der company. any effort TO persuade
them to remedy the wrong through
the corporation would he futile and
unavaillng. Standing. as they claim
to do. in the shoes Of the corporation
itself which they claim is by reason
OF the action OF the individual defend
ants, unable to sue in its own benalf
they have the right. upon application
10 the court. TO an order for the in
spection OF the corporations books
and documents for the purpose OF es-
tablishing any fact material 10 the
cause. The documents themselves are
the best evidence OF these facts.
ITO summarize.
The gross receipts under the pow
der contracts and the quantities manu-
factured and sold would at best be
only constituent facts inconcmsive
and inoAectual, standing alone, in ar
irving at any material fact. The names
of all the repositories, the daily bal
ances they held for the companies
during the entire period covered by
/ interrogatOries and the dates upon
which the accounts were opened
would cause the disclosure of a multi.
! tude of transactions not material or
! relevant to throw any light upon the
averments in the bill and involving
institutions in no way connected with
the case.
THE situation is one which in
wolves the exercise OF a sound dis
erection by the court to protect not
only the corporation, in which the
plaintiffs are stockholders. and In
whose interest they sue. but banking
institutions in no wise connected
with the cause, from being undul,
oppressed and harassed by unneces-
sarily disclosing their intimate bust
ness affairs when the plaintiffs hav,
I'm their power to obtain tho facts, g,
far as they arc material. through IN,
inspection and production of th'
documents and hooks Of the corpora
tion. The objections 10 the interro
gatories are sustained"