Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-07-17
BOOMING LOGS.

|
pany VS.. the st. Louis River Boom and {
Improvement Company.
The Duluth Lumber company, plaintiff.
VS. the St. Louis Boom and Improve
ment company, defendant. W. w.
Billson and JnoM. Gilman, for plaintiff;
Warner & Stevens and Greenleaf Clark
= for defendant.
Decision of Judges Miller and Nelson in
the above entitled action.
JUDGE MILLER: We have arrived at
satisfactory conclusion in regard to the
case of the Duluth Lumber company
against the st. Louis Boom and Improve
ment company, submitted to us without a
jury few days ago.
The case made by the plaintiff is that 1t
is the owner of a considerable lot of logs
which came into the possession Of the de-
PENDANT, the Boom company, and that they |
are entitled to the present possession of
them and have made demand which was
refused The facts seem to be that the
Duluth Lumber company had logs above !
| the location of the Boom company which /
we're run down slngly and irregularly
and came within the limits of the
Boom company's corporate ter
ritory and were taken possession
of by the Boom company and certain acts
performed with regard to them, such as
scaling them, helping them over the rocky
| places within the limits of the Boom COM
pany's dominions and finally delivering
all of them to the Lumber company, except
some that they retained on account of a
lien for the services on the whole of them.
This lien on the logs that they retained is
the subject matter of controversy.
It is denied by the plaintiff, the Lumber
company, that any statute exists author
izing theBoom company to take these logs
without the consent of the owner and to
do anything about them without their con-
sent. It is denied that the statute confers
any such authority, and it is denied that
if the statute intended to confer any such
authority that it is in that respect war
ranted by constitutional law.
The first question, then, to be consider
ed 10 whether the statute confers any such
authority. The statute which governs the
matter is an act relating to the Knife
Falls Boom corporation IN Carlton coun-
ty, which is found in the laws of Mime
sofa, chapter LOG, page 454, and of the
date of February %, 1872. The statute is
a long one and don't deem it necessary
to read much of it. It creates the corpora
t ton. in the first place, and describes the
3.
exercise its powers. These are in townships
! 40 and 80, range II, 10 Carlton county.
It recognizes their public character, au-
thorizes them to take the land that may
e be necessary for the purposes of their or
| ganlzation, by condemnation under the
T | power of eminent domain, and almost two
thirds of this act is devoted to the manner
I in which this land shall be condemned
!; and It's value ascertained and paid for
The second section of the act Is the one
=; that ccnfers the power, and before 1 read
tshat section l wish 10 state that the argu
Il ment is that where this section says thai
q this Boom company shall take and receive
e all logs coming within those two townships
that the statute don't mean that, but i
means all such logs as the owners shall
g desire them to boom and to receive and Il
< take charge of. That is the argument an(
as reinforcing that argument it is sai'
: that no statute of the kind has ever beer
held to include all logs, but that all stat
d utes in regard to boomage provide that
way be kept open for parts Of logs, 70
j; boats, for navigation, where it is naviga
t bile, for RATS and other things Of the kline
and therefore it cannot mean all logs, bu
Id that way shall be kept open for all tina
lg the owners DO not desire shall not go int
the boom.
ar Now. in view of the fact that ther
is an important proviso to this sectio
IN which shows what exceptions th
81, legislature intended to make to the phras
It ''all logs coming into that boom.
~ Sec. 2. THAT said corporation
authorized and required to construc
Is maintain and keep in reasonable repa
such booms in and upon the st. Lou
st river, within said towns 40 and so, CT rang
or. II aforesaid, at such points as it may deer
advisable, and sufficient to secure, receiv
scale and deliver all logs that may froI
., time to time come or be driven within Il
limits of the towns aforesaid, and the sal
corporation is hereby authorized and 7
II ouired to receive and take the entire col
ne troll and possession of all logs aud timbt
m which may be run, come or be driven wit
nd IN the limits aforesaid. and boom, sea
,at and deliver the same, as hereafter provide
-, That all logs and timber which shall
-. fOated or run down the ST. Louis river
90 the tributaries thereof, from points abo'
lHI said town, be III the possession OF, and u
hs der the control of said corporation Tor 4
~ the purpose of securing, scaling and d
~ liyerng the same, rs il its acts provided
is Now, il would be very difficult TO ma
III this more comprehensive. ''all the logs Tia
~ come from above ana III any manner cor
ais into the boom of the said defendants wit
cen III those Townships" but to show that it d
md mean all logs, and that there was an e
ich ception, therefore making clear that not
, to ing but this exception was excepted,) the
the is this proviso: That all vessels or cra1
the navigating said river st. Louis, and
RATS of logs or timber made up at Poir
the above the limits of town so aforesaid, a
destined for points south of town 40 afol
GU said shall be allowed free passage up
new said river, and the said corporation sh
but not be allowed TO o5struct the channel
hat said river so as to interfere with the fl
,nts navigation thereof as aforesaid"
sers Now the meaning of that is so pls
nod. that it astonishes me that there shot
np- be any controversy about it-that all lo(
lese logs set afloat in the river, coming do
by into that township and caught in thu
the booms are within the meaning of this a.
All logs that are RATED up above and
at a steamboats, or any kind of vessel navig
ting ing the river are not to be taken, but
IN boom men are to provide a free way
|. in them to go through. There is no ar