OCR Text |
Show - J I W . 3 .... m , . w . . 1 .u U ST. PAUL, Harca 23. TLa T,lif Eujreme court today upheld the Great Northern railroad la Its ctentlon that Is tad tha rlht to Issue the $50,000,000 of stock authorized by the board of directors di-rectors a few months ago, and whlcn was. enjoined by Attorney-General Young, -who claimed that the company should first coma befora the etata railroad rail-road and warehouse commission and submit to an examination to show the necessity and the purpose of the issue. is-sue. This contention of the State was upheld up-held by Judge Hallam in the Bamsey county District court, who ordered an injunction to issue. The 8uprema court today reverses that decision. The opin- ion of the court was unanimous." Chief JuBtice Stsrt delivered the opinion, the syllabus of which is as follows; "1. The terms and conditions upon which corporations ivay be created, the powers and capital stock they may have, the purposes for which they may, increase the capital stock, and the conditions con-ditions and limitations of these are exclusively matters for legislative action ac-tion which can be delegated. "2. The State having created railway rail-way corporations for public purposes, the Legislature has tbft right to enact statutes regulating the increase of their capital stock. Such regulations tend to prevent secrecy-of operation and accounts by such publie agencies, and the issue and sale of fictitious or watered stock, which is a felony in this State.-. "3. In the exercise of this right, the Legislature may enact a statute providing pro-viding generally for what purposes and upon what terms, conditions and limitations limi-tations an increase of stock may be made, and confer upon a commission the duty of supervising any proposed increase. , ' "4. It may also delegate to the commission the duty . of finding the facts ia each particular case, authorize and require it, if it finds the existence of facts that bring the ease within the statute,1 to allow the proposed increase, or otherwise to refuse it. "5. Any statute, however, which attempts to authorize a commission in its judgment to allow an increase of capital stock for such purposes and on such terms as it may deem advisable, or in its discretion to refuse it, would be unconstitutional, as an attempt to delegate legislative power." |