, 1872-12-24
DULUTH.
Row Twenty Thousand Dollars Flung
or .Ex-cnty-sevela Days---A f2cvcIa-
ton OF the Inner History of tzao Ee-
7sjGh Cir.

H11h City.
From, the st. Paul Press.
An important suit in equity, involving yalua-
bic property, has just been decided by Judge
Mckelvcy, Of the Duluth district, by which Mr..
Ossian r. Dodge. of this city, is declared the
owner Of lands situatsl in Duluth, said to be
worth in the neighborhood Of $40. QUO. As there
is considerable of history attached to this re-
erlt ii may be we'll to relate the moro interest
ing portions Of it.
Seven years ago the now lusty and prosperous
city Of Duluth was : in m exceedingly infanti}p
condition. In fact, it was o grave question Of
d, doubt UT Tith tho two - OF or three sPeGn- s2 u
unchopped pine hill-Bides, that it would ever
succeed to moro than fishing port. Its future
was aHostion which lay entirely with the man.
ayers OF the projected Lake Superior s Nissis-
sippi Railroad, ind depended altogether upon
wIlel her the lake terminus was made ct Duluth
or Superior City, then q thriving village. So
the pTopriotors OF Duluthisn real cstate cast
about them for some available and effective
means Of waking up the public mind to cogni-
zance Of Dulrth's superiority az terminal point
for the railroad, and concluded that newspaper
articles were just what were needed to accom-
plish that result. They then concluded that
there was no moro ready writer, or ono better
able to reach the newspaper world, than OsHian
E. Dodge, Secretary of the st. Paul Cham
tl:oy get him? At the first opportunity Mr.
Dodge vas sounded on tho subject Of the pro-
posed railroad, and they wero delighted to learn
that he waa strongly IN favor OF the road, and
its making terminus at Duluth harbor. A
proposition was then made to him that if he
would lend his time and pen to tho subject Of
showing up tho advantages of the road finding
itB terminus at Duluth, they would deed him an
undivided half Of q certain five acres Of ground,
located in about the centre of the plated
ever, that the road must ba completed
and cars running within fvo years Of
thct date. Land ut that time vas worth
about SIS Ter acre, but Dodge accepted the propo-
sition, and received = deed of tho land from
Sidney Luce, conditional however that tho road
should be in working order by July 4, 1870.
Then Dodge went to work, and soon hed h1t,7-
1reds Of Eas.c-n pagers chanting the praises. Of
Duluth as an eligible point for the deElderated
railroad terminus. It was through his efforts in
respondent of threo hundred papers,"
Sure enough, the road was built, and to Du-
1uth instead of Superior City. But unfortunately
for Dodge, the conditions Ut bus deed for tho
WIS not completed until July 31st, 1870, just
twenty-seven days too late.
Mr.. Luce declined to make the deed good, but
ead that as he should have been compelled to
live up to the terms Of tho bond had tho time
been short, SO also should Dodge live up to II,
now that the express terms had not been com
piled with. Dodge was up stump" in fact,
several Of them. lie referred lis grievance and
decd to number Of the first attorneys in This
city and Slate, and all told him Il At there was
not E ghost Of chance far him. He had per-
formed his stipulated labor, and tie
Dulutlians wero rejoicing III the. road,
but took advantage OF tho IS letter of the bond
and be could find no Daniel to cit in judy
ment'' and confound the Beornful shylock.
Finally, however, John 3. Brisbin. Of this city.
hearing Of the way matters stood, asked per1n!s-
siou to handle the case, saying that he thought
he could win in Court OF Equity. uo took tho
case, and it was tried before Judge McKcl7cy,
in equity, in August last, Br1sbin t. Palmer,
counsel fo2 plaintiff. Tho case WIS taken into
consideration by the Judge, and bis decision has
just been rendered, BY which he declarcB Dodge
lawfully entitled to the property in question.
His main points taken are, first, that Dodge
performed his part Of the conditions
OF tho cont act, namely, tho letter writing :;
second. that the road was built to Duluth, as
agreed upon, and The twcnty-Bcven days over
running tho contract time in no way injured Du-
luth third, that it was through no fault Of
Dodse's that the time was oyerrnn.
The defendant has Elk months in which to
appeal, but Dodge's counsel cxpress the utmost
confidence in being able to win tlloir cause in
any trial which may eneue.
Tho property in question is very valuable, and
is said TO bo worth nearly, if not quite, $40 600.
At eny rate, it there is :. happy man in the city
Of st. Paul to-day, it is Osziaa r. Dodge.