The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1888-11-25
TO PREVENT TRESPASS.
A Railroad Fences i'm Its Prop
erty on Pike Street.
Al About the Alleged Claim to
the Alleged Unsurveyee Tract
Of Forty Acres

Aeu1g under legal advice. erazlsyss Of
ne Colzrahis L Puget Sound Railroad ye>-
tertsy began 20 bald fence arorztf ffs
property a. the foot Of Pike street. % p-e-
vent TIE necessity OF the repetition of any
evens Ike thatof Friday evening. whea il
nsd seemed advisable % the raf~pmA an
fhoriiie% 10 tear down thet uu-
isned Buildings being erect on
the.r premises By Thomas H.rvfu.
70 resistance vas made 70 the construction
Of the fence either b Harwin or any other
parties The work was watched by an
o1ieer. and last night /: wsx well along
towards completion.
The claim Of Harwin that ia taking
possession Of the lots and erecting the
buildings be Was merely pre-empsszg .
part Of 20 acres Of land TO which there was
no legal title and which I; xas alleged was
not included in the donation land claims
Of either Arthur A. Denny or Carson
D. Boren, involved possible litigation over
the ownership OF property that Is now OF
immense value, running from the bay
shore 10 Front street and including the
home place OF M A. A. Denny. and Was
deemed Of sufficient importance to sug-
gest an Interview With Mr. Denny on the
subject
To reporter who called at his residence
last nigf1t, Mr.. Desny showeS the original
title papers. aud from them IL appeared
faat he holds a patent from the govern
ment for 80 acres OF land. the western
boundary Of which IL tech ideally de-
seribed IN the field notes Of survey made
By authority Of the general government
as running from point At half tide on
the beach of Elliott bay, IS links west OF
high water marx, that being the northwest
corner OF his claim aud the southwest cor
ner of w. y. Bells claim: thence with the
meanders Of the bay south 5os< degrees,
east 5s.07 chains: thence south ST. de-
grees. east 17.67 chains 70 q point % links
west of high water mark, where a post
was set and marked for the southwest cor
ner OF the claim. The patent fol-
lows infinitely the description given In
the notes of the survey. From the ground
covered BY the survey il would appear that
there Is absolutely no ground upon which
TO predicate . contest OF the title, or claim
that there are 20 acres In that vicinity 20
which there Is no title.
81 have heard that Buell. Hall claims 20
have discovered haw in the surveyors
notes by reason of the wrong bearing Of
one Of the witness trees. That cannot be
true, and even IL IL were. II could not in
any way affect the title. I"
THE LEGAL PHASE.
Judge II. g. Strive, attorney for the rail-
road company, consented to make a state
ment concerning the legal phase Of the
difficulty. He said
.'Ail know about the matter is simply
this: The lot in question is a part OF the
donation claim OF Mr.. A. A. benny and
included In the description of his patent as
made in the United States lsad ofiee. upon
which the patent ~ predicsted-
The patent conveyed 20 Mr.. Denny
the paramount legal and equitable titles
of the land and the Seattle Coal and Trans
portation Company being the present
owner OF this particular lot. bases It's claim
OF title upon regular chain Of convey
apces from the paientee and his gran
tees. The patent Is conclusive evidence of
title and cannot be collaterally assailed in
any case, where the land originally be-
longed to the United States and provision
has been made by law for its disposal
The United States may attack the patent in
a suit against the patentee or his grantee
unless he has been an innocent purchaser:
on the ground OF fraud. mistake. or some
other head OF equitable Jurisdiction A
third party can never attack i directly or
eollaterally. unless the patent Is void on its
face, or unless he has paramount equit-
able title, in which event he NAV compel
the pa,entee to convey the legal title as his
trustee.
There is no such preiext In this case.
The attempt TO appropriate this land Is
without the shadow of justification and
is trespass OF an aggravated character.
The idea that some 20 acres of land in
the very heart of the CITY can be appTopri-
aied in this way and taken from parties
who have held title for over so years on
account OF an alleged discrepancy be-
tween the field notes of some deputy
surveyor which are opposed to all the
other records OF the land department, Is q
wild yagary emanating from a mind to-
tally ignorant OF elementary principles OF
law, and IL Is To be regretted that misguided
men have been led by bad advice to
commit these trespasses, which must
result inevitably IN disastrous defeat. I
have advised the company and the
other corporations under the same
management, who have lands similarly
situated and threatened. to resist these
trespasses without committing a breach
of the peace by holding possession and
enclosing the land, and not TO use force
unless FIRST attacked by trespassers, and
then Dot use more force than Is reasonably
necessary to keep possession and defend
the persons Of the rightiul occupants
think i is certain that parties trying TO
enter wrongfuliy and with strong hand.
viii be held criminaliy responsible"