RAILWAY CONSOLIDATION. 493 A similar decision was very recently rendered in Indiana.^ The present tendency of the courts seems, therefore, to be toward a holding that the combination of railway companies of Illinois and Indiana made in the manner described, will not be regarded as a consolidation in Indiana, and a purchase or sale in Illinois, but that on both sides of the line the combination will be regarded as an attempt to consolidate, lawful in Indiana but unauthorized in Illinois. It appears, therefore, that a question exists as to the validity of the consolidation of railway corporations organized under the gen- eral laws of Illinois and Indiana, and that this question extends to and affects the legality of corporate securities. It is likely that some time this question will be settled in the courts, and if so the litigation will hold out no prospect of reward for those who so easily assume its risks, and in the case of unfavorable result may entail great disaster upon bondholders. E. Parmalee Prentice. Chicago, January, 1899. 1 Railroad Co. v. State, 51 N. E. Rep. 924.
