St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-01-06
AN IMPORTANT DECISION
Affecting Public and Street Rights
on the West Side.

on the West Side.
Judge Wilkin filed on Friday last an
important decision in the matter of the
application for judgment against GER
tain real estate for unpaid assessments
in the matter of opening, widening and
extending State street. The applica-
ton for Judgment against each and all
the parties who filed objections was de-
MED. The principles are reviewed i'll a
memorandum filed, from which the fol
lowing extracts are made:
1.-THE objection taken by the parties
opposing the application is substan-
TALLY that a portion of the land sought
to be condemned had been previously
dedicated to public use as a highway,
and the assessment was therefore with
out authority Of law. If any substan-
tial part of the land proposed to be con-
demned was a public highway at the
time such proceedings were taken then
the application, as matter of course,
must fail. A vast amount of testimony
was taken as to the changes in the
street and the claim lines of the old
settlers, and there was much discus
sion as to the true boundary line
between the claimants. The question
as to boundary line between Bell and
the West st. Paul syndicate is not an
issue in this case. 1t is quite clear that
if the easterly line of Osakis street, as
delineated upon the plat of West St.
Paul Proper, was the true line between
Bel and the West st. Paul syndicate,
OsakiS street from Susan to Con-
cord street, for width of forty feet, was
dedicated to the public use as high
way. If it was not the true line &C.
cording to the deeds, the weight of evil
dence is that 1t was for long time and
until the Fish survey generally re-
galded as the true line.
1t is evident That the plat of Bells
First addition was made upon the theory
that the easterly line OF West st. Paul
Proper was the westerly line of Bells
addition; that Osakls street was on the
easterly line of st. Paul Proper, but it
was only forty feet wide, and there was
a strip of land left in the plat of Bells
addition between the westerly line of
the blocks in the addition and the east
the West st. Paul plat. sufficient to
Of full width. 1t is evident that the
considered by the public as street and
the settlement was sparse, and the
street not being much used, it varied
somewhat in its course. There was a
graded street from the ferry across the
bottom to Odell creek-a bridge over
the creek and cut through the bluff
south of that creek anG on the line of
Mississippi or A street, through which
travel went to a connection with the
roads which led out into the country
from the neighborhood of Bells house.
The citizens in that vicinity, among
whom Capt. Bell was prominent man,
were interested and active in establish
ing that line of travel from the ferry to
the country roads. The general route
was recognized by the public authori-
ties, of whom Capt. Bell was one. There
was a general understanding that there
was Street there. The line was near
his house and no objection seems to
have been made by him until after the
Fish survey.
"Under the circumstances, / do not
think that either the owners under the
West st. Paul plat OF Mr.. Bell can be
heard to dispute the rights of the pub
lie to the use of Osakis street between
the points named as highway. Wher-
ever the true line may have been orig
inally between Bell and the West st.
Paul syndicate, there is enough to show
that the forty-foot strip known as Osa-
kis street between these points was in
tended by the owners as public high
way, and regarded as such by the pub
lie and all the public authorities. 1t is
unnecessary, therefore, to decide in this
matter where the true line was. An at
tempt to make such decision would
not be binding upon the owners. The
decision in the case Of Bell against The
City of st. Paul is not conclusive in
this proceeding as to the property be-
tween Susan and Concord streets.