Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1878-01-20
AT IT AGAIN.
STILL FIGHTING ron Bno4D ,4cHEs
Northern Pacific rs. st. Paul & Paeihc
Cor. Pillsbury's Deed Leads to a Nc.c
Phase OF the !Strife--Briey Outline of the
Case.

reference was made in the GLoBg, a day
or two ago, to the fact Of the delivery by Gov
ernor Pillsbury to the ST. Paul and Pacific
Railroad Company of deed of over 700. 900
acres OF land. These lands, it appears lie in
seven different counties, viz Douglas, Todd,
Otter Tail, Wilkin, Clay, Becker and Polk.
On Friday last, Gen. ]. B. sanborn of this
city, local attorney for the Northern Pacific,
forwarded for filing in the
Office of the Reo;star
of deeds of the several counties named.
notices of us pendeus, in accordance with
the provisions of Section 16 of Chapter Is
of the General Statutes of Minnesota. The
notice of Us pe11dens is given in action
affecting the title to, lien upon, or interest in
real property, and is filed for record n the
office OF the Register of deeds of the county
where the lands lie, or the property affected
IS situated. In other words it 10
simply notification that the title
/ to the lands is in dispute
and is intended to put purchasers on their
guard,
The notice servedin this case covers 800
600 out of the 100000 acres decided by Gov
ernor Pillsbury, the lands lying in a strip 80
miles III length by 40 i'll width. Tue belt
extends 40 miles on each side south of Glyn-
don towards st. Cloud, and 40 miles south of
! Glyndon towards st. Vincent.
The present proceedings. it appears are an
otfshoot of the suit commenced about a wear
and a half ago, in the State Courts and after
wards transferred to the United States Cir
cult Court where it now rests.
and 111f f<,. =
of the Governor (which was not anticipated
by the N. p would not have been resorted
to. The action of the Governor. however
while not affecting the legal status of the
case now in court. has rendered these add
tlonal proceedings necessary to the more
surely guarding of the interests of the N. p.
claimants
I A brief history OF the somewhat remarka-
bic litigation may not be out of place in the
columns of IHE GLOBE. In 1857 Con-
Sress MADE grant of lands
to construct line of road
from Saint Anthony ria st. Cloud and Grow
wing to SAINT Vncent-a portion of which
IS now known as the Branch Line. The orig
lnal line was to cross the Mississippi River at
Grow Wing, and thence strike off northwest
to Saint Vincent.
1t stood that way until 1871. In 1866
Congress passed a LAND grant for the construc-
ton OF railroad from Lake Superior west
ward, which road is now the Northern Pa
CHIC This latter road was constructed as far
as the Red River, in the years 1867, '6S, '69.
~ and III, reaching Moorhead
about the same time that the
st. +. & T. got. to Breckenridge, which
was in the fall of 1871.
That same year Congress passed an act
q 1(YJ1or fka =
It's crossing OF the Mississippi River to Grow
wing, to line which was to start from St
, Cloud, thence up the Sank Valley to Sank
Center, Alexandra, Fergus Falls, Glyndon
and Crookston to Saint Vincents, thereby
bringing the new lines Of 1871 about hun
/ dred miles west of the old line of 1867.
Because this line was thus changed by ac
OF Congress, the n. p. II. X. claims that it il
new grant, and in that view, have been sus
tanned by the Department of the Interior
and beng new grant does not carry tn
land with il.
! This land the N. P. r. r. claim to hol,
and to have patented to them by virtue o
thr first location of, and actual constructio,
: of their line
, The st. p. g. p. r. r. claim the same b
{ nirtne of the original grant of 1857. This i
the question that ultimately, the Unite
States for this litigation will not receive it
lts quletus short of that tribuna
! Will have to settle and determine
as different Secretaries of the Interior hay
arrived at different conclusions and conflict
ing decisions upon the same state of facts. !
is question of the legal operation of th
two Congressional grants as to the date whe7
the rights OF the respective claimants at
tached, and being of such weighty impol
and decidedly knotty in all its phases, ma
not be finally settled for years to come.