The Northern Pacific Receivers Keep Their Grip
A federal judge denies an attempt by shareholders to seize control of the Northern Pacific railroad, citing the need for court oversight during a messy corporate reorganization.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Jan. 30. Judge Jenkins this afternoon filed in the United States circuit court a decision in the matter of the petition of the Drayton Ives faction of the Northern Pacific stockholders to compel the receivers to turn over control of the road to the officers. Judge Jenkins denies the petition. The opinion says, after detailing the history of the receivership, that the qualification or disqualification of the present receivers and the manner in which they have discharged their trust and the propriety of continuing them will be considered when the matter is properly before the court, but earlier reference to this would be premature. The receivers have thus far not failed in their duty to the court or the public. Regarding the custody of the books and papers, Judge Jenkins says he conceives it his duty to private interests and the public alike to keep them in the custody of the court until all parties interested, in a bill of county and equity, shall have agreed upon such wise provisions for reorganization as will entail the least possible loss to each holder of bonds and stock.
“I conceive it my duty to private interests and the public alike to keep them in the custody of the court until all parties interested shall have agreed upon such wise provisions for reorganization as will entail the least possible loss.”
This decision captures the mid-1890s economic chaos where federal courts essentially functioned as the board of directors for the massive, failing railroad empires that built Seattle. Today's corporate bankruptcies are similarly complex, but in 1894, the 'receivership' was the primary tool for settling the debts of the era's massive, monopolistic entities.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.