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Show snrjGUBT 11. p. 1 . IN FEDERAL COURT Action Brought by Minority Stockholders of St. Joseph & Grand Island. OatAIIA, Dec. IS; The case of tho protective committee of minority stockholders stock-holders of the St. Joseph & Grand Island Railroad company .agaiust the Union Pacific Railroad, company to restrain re-strain certain improvements on a portion por-tion of the former road and enforco tho payment of dividonds on St. Joseph Jo-seph & Grand Island stocks began in the United States district court today. Tho complainants charge that' tho Union Paciric, which owns 70 per cent of the voting stock of the St. Joseph lino, has spent an excessive amount of the earnings of that line on improve mentB between irarysyillo, Kan and Grand Island, Neb., with a view to using us-ing that portion or the road as a section sec-tion of a proposed, now Union Pacific main lino between Kansas City and the west. The evidence of Ernest Stonger, general gen-eral manager of tho St. Joseph line, brought out that the success of the St. Joseph road depended largely on tho business brought to it. by ho Union Pacific rond. Ltc testified that the improvements im-provements being m?.de ultimately would result in great benefit to his road. Witnesses were also called from tho auditing department to show the comparative com-parative receipts of tho diffcront sections sec-tions of tho St. Joseph line and a number num-ber of depositions wero placed in the record. Recess was taken until afternoon, after-noon, when Attorney Louis jMarahall of Now York opened tho argument for tho complainants. Arguments will prob-ablv prob-ablv not be concluded) until Saturday noon. !Mr. Marshall oponod his argnmont with a historical review of tho affairs of the St. Joseph and Grand Island road. He told how in 1896 the late 10. FT. IFarriman, not being able to induce tho Union Pacific reorganization com-mittco com-mittco to acquire tho stock of tho St. Joseph & Grand Island road, purchasod on his own a.ccount a controlling interest inter-est in the stock of that line and later sold it to the reorganized Union Pacific Pa-cific company. Ho quoted from statistics statis-tics to show that tho road earned and paid dividends on part of its preferred stock until control of tho common stock was secured by !M!r. Harriman and later by the Union Pacific. 'Mr. Marshall rcviewod financial reports re-ports to show that tho earnings of the road had. been invested by the now ownors to tho great detriment of miuor- . ity shareholders. Ho doclared tho earnings earn-ings had been diverted for tho improvement improve-ment of .that part of tho St. Josoph line wliich would particularly benefit the Union Pacific road., greatly to tho Iosh of minority stockholders. |