The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-06-21
TOLLEsTON CASE ARGUMENT.
Suit by the State Involving several
Thousand Dollars.

The Tolleston Club case was argued in
the Supreme Court yesterday. 1t involves
the title to about three thodsand acres of
swamp land located near the city of Chi
cago, in Lake county, Ind, generally val
ued at 800 an acre. The Tolleston Club is
a hunting organization, and composed of
the wealthiest citizens Of Chicago. who
use these lands solely for hunting, and the
Calumet river, which traverses it, for fish
ing purposes. The State bases it's title
upon the swamp land act Of Sept. Is, 1850,
which granted to the several States of the
Union all lands so wet and overlooked as
to be unfit for cultivation, averring that
the Identification of the entire swamp, as
coming within the meaning of the act of
1850, was sufficiently found in the govern
ment map, surveys and field notes which
describe these lands as an impossible
marsh; that in addition to this. under the
rules of the "a Department, the State,
In April, 1851, listed all of these sections.
the act of March 3, 1857, which declared
b bHat the on SAVE sHam ARE ia s.baseb S1ef conf1med ns and
approved;' that in addition to this the
United States issued a patent fully embrac-
The Tolleston Club claims title under an
act Of Congress Of 1870. passed on the last
p pasa@ of the of se whiea Of aes eaa5 ye a: f fae xea as
'unsold and unsurveyed;" declares that
they are swamp lands. and that the Cal
umet Draining Company has been organ
lied for the purpose of retaining them.
Tn act directs that they shall be sur
yeyed and sold to the highest and best
bidder. The State insists that this act was
void and the patents issued Hereunder alb
solute utilities; that the very act itself in
its preamble shows that, therefore, the
government had no title in them to sell.
The TolleSton Club further contends that
If its title is not good under the act of
1871, ana these lands were owned by the
State. that the State. when it sold the bor-
der lots abutting upon the swamp. land in
question, passed title to the grantees I'M
der the riparian doctrine that owners of
land upon nonnavigable streams and in
land lakes take to the center thereof. Re
plying to this, the State argues that the
riparian doctrine has no application to
swamp lands, and that even il this terri
tory were a lake, under the decision of
the Supreme Court of Indiana in the Beav-
er lake case the holdings OF the border lot
owners are limited by the meander or
boundary line of the swamp. 1t is gener-
ally conceded that the State in this litiga-
ton has established a perfect title, and
that the decision OF the lower court in it's
favor will be affirmed by the Supreme
Court All moneys derived from the sale
of these lands, without deducting for the
expense of recovery, will go to the COM
mon school fund.
Tie Tolleston Club and other appellants
were represented by Judge Odds. of Chi
cage; John b. Peterson. j. w. Youche and
J. Kopelke. of Crown Point. and Judge
C~ruinpacker, Of Valparaiso. Senator
Youche and Judge Crumpacker, however,
Supreme Court yesterday on the side of the
appellants. The State was represented by
Attcrney-general Smith, Judge Winfield, of
Logansport, and Leon o. Bailey, Of Indian
apolls, the argument for the State being
made in the Supreme Court yesterday by
| Mr.. Bailey alone.