The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1875-06-24
ST. CROIX LAND GRANT.
Full Text of the Decision of the Su.
preme Court

preme Court opinion In full III the
St. Croix land grant case, just Civ
en- out for publication:
Frederick Schulenbcrg, Adolph
Boeckler and Louis Ho>per, Part
ners as Schulenberg, Boeckler &
CO., plaintiffs in error, to the Circuit
Court for the District of Minnesota.
Mr.. Justice Field delivered the
opinion TO the court, in substance
thus:
On the Sd of June, 1856, Congress
passed an act entitled can act
granting public lands to the State
of Wisconsin, to aid in the con
struction of railroads in said State.n
That act grants to the State, for the
purpose OF aiding in the construc-
tion of railroad between certain
specified points, every alternate
section of land designated by an
odd number, for six sections in
width on each side of the road.
The language of the first section of
the act is: THAT there be and here
by is granted to the State of Wis
consin" the lands specified. The
third section declares that ''the sad
lands, hereby granted to said State,
shall be subject to the disposal of
the Legislature thereof" and the
fourth section provides in wha,
manner sales shall be made, and the
lands unsold shall revert to the
United States. The State accepted
the grant thus made, and assumed
the exr rcution of the trust The
route of the road was SURVEYED.
and map of its location was flel
In the land office at Washington
The adjoining additional sections,
within the present limits, were then
withdrawn from sale by the proper
officers of the government, and GER
titled lists thereof, approved by the
Secretary of the Interior, were de-
hvered to the State. Subsequently,
on the 5th of May, 1864, Congress
passed another act on the same sub
Ject, entitled, can act granting
lands to aid in the construction of
certain railroads in the State of
Wisconsin" By its first section
additional land is granted to the
State, upon the same terms andc on
ditlons as those contained in the pre-
yious act for the purpose of aiding in
the construction of the road between
certain Of the points designated by
the act of 1856; and the last act ex-
tends the time for completion of the
road for five years. This road has
never been constructed, nor any
part of it, and the time of its con-
struction has not been extended
since the act OF 1864, nor has Con-
gress passed any act, nor have anv
judicial proceedings been taken to
enforce forfeiture of the grants fer
the failure To construct the road
within the period prescribed.
Held, that the act of June 8, 1856,
and the first section of the act of
May 5, 1864, are grants, i,e prenseti,
and passed the title to he odd
sections designated, to be atterward
located. When the route was fixed,
their location became certain, and
the title, which was previously i'm
perfect, acquired precision, and be-
came attached to the land The
lands granted have not reverted to
the United States, although The
road was not completed within the
period prescribed, no action having
been taken, either by legislation
or by judicial proceedings, 10 en-
force forfeiture of the grants
Unless there are clauses in the stat
ute restraining the operation of the
words OF the present part, these
must be taken in their natural
sense, to impart all immediate
transfer of title, although subse-
quent proceedings may be required
to give precision to that title, and
attsch TO specific tracts. Ne indi-
vidual can call in question the validl-
ty of the proceedings, by which
precision is thus given to the title,
where the United States are salts
fed with them. The provision in
the act of 1856, that all lands re-
naming unsold after ten years shall
revert TO the United States, if the
road be not then completed, is
condition subsequent, being in effect
sprovlsion that the grant, to the