Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1870-08-10
INSANE AsYLUM LOCATION.

| WV @A'S fol VhS New AnSdue Asylum at OSu"
kosh, provoking more or less discussion,
and the people of this city feeling somewhat
| interested in the matter, we accordingly
publish the following documents relative to
the transaction
The GOVERNOR TO THE COMMISSIONERS.
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT,
MADISON, Wis, Aug. I'd.
| Hon. WynaGa Sp0oHer, Madison, Wis:
| DEAR SIR-i have received from the hands
OF Hon. E. Y. Young, secretary of the board
OF commissioners appointed under the pro-
visions Of chapter 80, General Laws 1870,
| to select site for an additional institution
for the insane, the following description of
| the land selected by said board for such site,
viz:
'Lots No. l, 2, and of section six, town
| eighteen, range seventeen, and $50 acres off
! from the south side of section thirty one
town l9, range ! T. which includes the whole
farm OF Godfried Weiderman, and, also, the
land OF Jefferson Eaton in said section 81"
have examined the above land person
ally and have now before me an accurate
survey and plot of the same made by Mr.. L.
z. Drake, surveyor Of this city. After full
consideration and investigation of the whole
| LAitAttSI otHl COustIdIiltU 10 NItHuOtu APPROX
al of the selection made and to ask the board
10 select another site.
1t is due to the Board of Commissioners
that / give the reasons for disapproval of
| thair action.
The plat which 1 herewith hand you for
| reformation of the Board, discloses the fact
tiAt at least forty eight acres Of the land
| s2.ected is overtoWed at high water At
re present stage of water forty acres are
overlooked or wet.
/ am convinced that had the Board been
&" IRE of this fact, they would not have
a.ie this selection. | also Deg leave to call
| "a attention OF the Board to the elevations
/ .! The various points on said land above the
| sent level OF Lake Winne0ago, partIcu-
| y, those points, one Of which must be Sc
| LED for the building site; also to the dis
t41ces OF such points from the lake, drainage
.; each, and the proximity OF one building
sic to the overlooked land marked on the
plat as ''marSh.'
Another reason has impelled me to with
| hold approval is the fact there Is not q rail
! foad station within two miles of the land
| selected, nor have | any official knowledge
| AS to the time when station will be in op-
Grafton within such distance therefrom
| Geo. l.. Dunlap, Esq, General Manager OF
the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad has
| Informed me that station win be put in
! operation near the land selected by the
! Board. but it is not certainly stated when
such station will be ready for the convent
| ence Of the State, as will be seen by the fol-
lowing copy of his letter to me, viz:
| CHICAGO " NORTHWESTERN RAILWAY,
OFFICE OF THE GENERAL MANAGER
CHICAGO, July 6. 1870.
| HIS E1celJency, Coz FaircHiLd, Hudson:
| Ny DEAR SIR-In reply to yours dated
| yesterday, and referring 10 a new station at
Oshkosh, beg to say that the station in
| question is to be one of the kind you de-
scribe, that is to say, both passenger and
freight trains will stop there, and it vii
/ have all proper facilities for the taking and
| delivering Of passengers and freight It will
| be what you are pleased to term a full sta
| ton
| I Will also endeavor to have the station in
| operation during tue erection of the BULL
ings. to afford all necessary facilities for the
reception and delivery Of supplies for such
| erection.
am, sir, yours very respectfully,
[Signedl Gee. L. DUNLAP,
General Manager.
! I have no doubt that such an endeavor
/
made, and that the General Manager, so far
as he has the power intends faithfully to
carry out the purpose expressed in his letter,
| but respectfully submit to tie board
whether all the know ledge we have Of the
establishing Of a station within two miles of
| the selected size is such as to bring the Sc
| lection you have made within the law. To
my mind it is clearly net This question, up
on the facts presented, being a legal one, |
have submitted it to the Attorney General
Of the State, and for your information | en-
| close herewith copy of his opinion.
Very respectfully, your obe3ient servant,
TSigned1 LUCIUS FAIRCHILD
OPINION OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
MADISON, Aug. 2, $40
| His Erce5lency L1scius Fairca5td, lNa75soa
| GOVERNOR learn from your communi-
Cation of tue 2Gth ultim0, That there is not
| at this time, within two miles Of Che site Sc
| lected for the additional asylum fer the in
! insane, any railroad station in actual opera
| ton, or place at which trains do nor receive
! and discharge passengers and freight, but
! You have dispatch from Mr.. Dunlap, Gen
| eraI Manager Of the Chicago and Northwest
ern Railway Company, stating that "Depot
! has been ordered and established near Osh-
! kosh, near proposed site for A8yluGii and a
| letter from the same gentleman, under date
/ of July 26th, saying that the station re-
ferred to in his dispatch is to be a station
! at which both passenger and freight trains
will stop" and that it will have sail proper
| facilities for the taking and delivering pas
sengers." He adds Il will also endea00r to
| to have the station in operation during the
erection Of the buildings, to afford all nee
cessay facilities for the reception and deliv-
cry of supplies for such erection"
Upon these facts you require my opinion
| whether the location selected is ''within
two miles Of q railroad station, as required
by provso to section two of the act under
which the location is made.
In my opinion the railroad station must
exist within two mile of the site proposed,
at the time the location is consummated by
| your approval II is not enough that there
is an assurance that there will be station
in operation within two miles of the site
selected By the time the building IS erected.
The want of the facilities which such sta
ton would afford might add materially to
tn cost of the building, and there should
at least be q salts factory assurance that
the station ,oitbin the requisite proximity o0lU
be ready for use By the time the contract for
| the building is TO be let. The promise of Mr..
| Dunlap that he will 'se9dedU0r' 10 have it
| in operation during the erection Of the
building does not think, fulfill the require
ment of the law. IF he should fail ID his
endeavor, and no train should. stop al the
point designated, while the building is be-
ing erected it could not be said that any
contract had been broken; nor could it be
said during that time, that the institution IS
"located within two miles ofa railroad sta
ton" within the meaning law.
do not say that no site could be legally
selected Tor the institution unless there were,
at the time. railroad station in full use, with
the unusal accommodations fer receiving
passengers and freight. Such a construct
taion would be too technical. A railroad
company may make an agreement to main-
tain a station, which the courts will enforce
specifically. But such an agreement should
be explicit in its terms and made by per-
sons competent to bind the corporation