St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1896-01-08
{ G CITY COUNCIL MAY AUTHOR
IZE RAILS TO BE LAID IN
STREETS.
IT EXCEEDED ITS RIGHTS
WHEN 1T GAVE THE RAILWAY A
DEPOT ON THE RIVER
FRONT.
AMERICAN is AGAIN A LOSER.
BIinneapoIis Building Association
Suffers in a Supreme Court De-
cisiOn.

Three decisions were hanQeQ GOWN
by the supreme court yesterday, the
most important one being that confirm
ng the right of the city to the land on
which part Of the Chicago, Milwaukee
& St. Paul depot on the levee stands.
The supreme court holds that while
city council may grant the right to
company to occupy certain streets or
parts thereof for trackage purposes,
the council has no right to authorize
their occupance with buildings. 1t
practically rescinds, therefore, the or
dinance by which the railroad COM
pany appeared to obtain such rights.
The syllabus is as follows:
City of ST. Paul, respondent, VS.. Chicago
Milwaukee st. Paul Railway Company
appellant.
A municipal corporation has no proprietary
rights in the Streets levee or other pubic
grounds within its territorial limits; what
ever rights it has in them it holds merely
In trust for the public.
municipality has no authority over such
public grounds except such as are delegated
tc 1t by the legislature.
The "care supervision and control of all
public highways, streets, ETC., within the city
limits given to the common council OF me
city of st. Paul by the city charters Esp
Laws 1874. CHI. J. sub. oh. 4, sec. q did not
authorize the council to grant to railway
company the right to construct and main
tain freight house on public levee," for
It's own exclusive use.
ing that 1.-THE common council shall have
power and authority to grant the
right of way upon, over and through any of
the public streets, highways alleys, public
grounds or levees Of said city to any steam
or horse railway company or corporation up
on such limitations or conditions as they may
prescribe by ordinance only authorized the
common council to grant the right of track
age; that is the right to construct and oper-
grounds within the city, but not to occupy
and use such grounds a site for depots
freight houses or other buildings.
Sec 2s4 g. pr SS en- that bea en neesa
sary in the location of any part of a rail
road to occupy any road, street, alley or pub
petent for, the municipal = or other
public authorities owning or having charge
thereof, and the railroad company to agree
upon the manner and upon the terms and
or occupied Held that this only authorizes
municipal or other public authorities to agree
manner or terms upon which it may occupy
public streets or ways with it's railroad
tracks, but does not authorize them to grant
to the railroad company the right to occupy
them as sites for its depots, freight houses or
other like structures. Ordinance No. 2S6 of
the city of St Paul by which the common
council assumed to grant to the defendant
the right to occupy part of the public levee
as a site for a permanent freight house was
Invalid because In excess of the powers of the
common council Order affirmed.
Mitchell, ].
The other decisions are as follows:
Ellen Maudlin, respondent VS.. American Saw
mgs d Loan Association, appellant.
syllabus-The defendant. national build
Ing and and loan ASSOCIATION" doing business un-
s ane Gen to ISEs sS O Ss tbs ss
value of her stock less Sc, 600 premium bid
by her for the loan. 1t was assumed that
the stock would mature in nine years. The
hlY tn
cure the payment of the interest on the
$4,000 advanced and the payment of the
monthly dues on the stock for the nine years
The mortgage contained a stipulation that
deyault in the payment of an instalment of
interest or stock dues for six months should
renaer tine, the stock dues for the whole nine
the same might be enforced and recovered
r. once as liquidated damages together with
All interest and fines then due and all costs
and disbursements Default having been
made Ia the conditions Of the mortgage the
aefendant foreclesed, treating the stock dues
for the whole nine years as presently due
Held that the amount due on the mortgage
Tor stock dues was only their present worth
in - gross s;,n,,,...o 49,.
stock dues, without any rebate or discount
Tor the time they had to run, might be recov-
cred as "ltquidated damages" is non-enforce.
able because the case is simply one of the
preach OF contract for the payment of money
where the measure of damages is suscenti.
Die Of definite measurement. Judgment af-
Mitchell j.
Canton Iron Company, respondent. VS.. Bi-
Wablk-Bessemer Company appellant.
Where the owner of an upper or dominant
estate, for the benefit of his own land. d.
verts into an artificial ditch surface waters
which previously and naturally flowed in a
raVlne from his land upon and through q
lower or servient estate, the effect of the
diversion being to relieve the latter of the
burien of the waters the owner of the serv
lent estate does not acquire any right to the
continuance of this immunity or to prevent
the owner Of the dominant estate from re.
storing, the waters to their original and nat
ural channel unless the facts are such as
create an equitable estoppel, as where. for
example, the owner Of the dominant estate
mas. by words or acts. represented that the
diversion was to be permanent and the own
er OF the servent estate in reliance unon
these representations has so improved mr.
otnefWise changed the condition of his nrem.
lses that 1t would be inequitable to him To
permit the owner Of the dominant estate 10
restore the waters to their original channeI
mer servitude. " us ioi
Held that the facts alleged In this case
are not sufficient to create any such eouitahIe
estoppel. Orders reversed. -MitcheI1 7
Every sportsman will appreciate the
go gA.