The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-12-22
OVER SHAG ROCK.
Won Schmidt Will Not Get
His Money.
The Supreme Court Decides That the
Supervisors Had No Right to
Make the Purchase.

a. w. Won Schmidt is not going to re-
ceive SIS, 600 from the city for his land in
Mission Bay. called Shag Rock. The Su-
preme Court has decided that City and
County Treasurer Widber is not required
to pay over that amount to Won Schmidt.
The case just decided dates from Janu-
airy, 1891. when the Board of Supervisors
agreed TO purchase Shag Rock, intending
it as a site for new Pesthouse. They
passed resolution ordering Treasurer
Widber to honor a warrant, but this the
Treasurer refused TO do. Won Schmidtsued
for the money and recovered judgment.
From this decision Widber appealed, aud
the Judgment of the lower court is reversed
by the Supreme Court.
Ii is decided that Won Schmidts claim
against the city is invalid, because the act
OF the Supervisors in passing the resolution
to purchase Shag Rock was unauthorized
by law The Supreme Court holds that a
mu nlcipai corporation can exercise no
powers except such as are conferred upon
it by It's charter. The following are de-
hned as the limited powers of the corpora
tion: FirSt-Those granted in express
words. Second - Those necessarily or
fairly implied in or incident to the powers
expressly granted Third-Those essential
TO the declared effects and purposes of the
corporation, not simply convenient but in
disDensable. ANY fair reasonable doubt
concerning the existence of the power is
resolved by the court against the corpora
ton and the power is denied"
The Supreme Court states: 1.-THE power
of taxation is one of the highest attributes
Of sovereignty. and as a municipality
seeking TO exercise it must find express
authority from the Legislature, so its
power 10 disburse the public moneys, be-
ing correlatlve to the power of taxation,
must equally ind express authority for its
exercise. The purchase of real estate, by
Itself conceived, Is not the exercise of any
governmental Junction, and such purchase
by municipality can be sustained only
by the production OF an express authority
from the Legislature therefor or upon it
being shown that it is necessarily incl
dental to the exercise of some express
function of government with which the
municipality is charged"
Counsel for Won Schmidt had admitted
that 10 statute had authorized in SO MANY
words the purchase of Shag Rock or any
ether site for pesthouse But it was
claimed that there was an inherent power
TO make such IL purchase vested In the
Supervisors under the consolidation act.
but the Supreme Court takes an opposite
view. The following is quoted from the
opinion:
We are of the opinion that in none of
theSe statutes mas the Legislature con-
ferred upon the city and county of San
Francisco the authority to purchase any
real estate as a site for smallpox hos
pitai, and, consequently, that the Board
of Supervisors had no authority TO make
the purchase of real estate for which the
demand was given to the petitioner; and
that the action of the Treasurer in refusing
To pay the demand was in the exercise of
an authority conferred upcn him by the
terms OF the consolidation act"
So A. w. Won Scnmidt will have to dis
rose of Shag Rock to some one else.