The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1897-02-05
THE OMAHA WINS.
Court Passes Upon the
Appeals of l.. q. n. Fletcher.
One Appeal Is Denied and the Other
is Dismissed.

The supreme court yesterday hand
ed down decisions in the two appeals
of L. G.. NJ. Fletcher from the finding
of the district court in his suits
against the Omaha road growing OUT
of the condemnation of some of his
property for right OF way purposes.
| The first decision SuStainS The order
of Judge Severance in appointing
commissioners to appraise the value
of the land to be condemned. The
other decision dismisses the second
appeal. The decision is as follows:
Syllabus: First-The petitioner in
condemnation proceedings may legal
ly amend his petition, with leave OF
the court, so as to strike therefrom
land as to which it does not wish to
continue the proceedings, the owner
of such land not Directing.
Second-rhe respondent having de-
cided to change the line of it's railway
through the City OF MaukaGO instituG-
ed proceedings in this matter to con-
denim the right of way for it's new line,
and on the hearing Of it's petition it
Ill CNluCuCC oil vi
the city authorizing such change,
which was objected TO on the ground
that it's provisions as to rights in the
streets which it purported to grant to
the respondent were invalid. No
rights of the respondent in any of the
streets were involved in such hearing:
| Held that the ordinance was rightly
| received in evidence.
Third-On such hearing the materi-
al and competenp evidence was such
as to require a finding that public in
terests required and would be pro-
NOTED by the construction and opera
tion of the proposed new line:
Held, that it was not reversible
error to receive other evidence tend
ing to show the amount already eX-
pended by respondent on the line.
Fourth-Held that the evit ence
was sufficient to sustain the finding of
trial court to the effect that the board
of directors Of the respondent duly de-
termined, by two-thirds vote of the
whole number thereof, to alter the
line Of it's railway as proposed in its
petition.
Fifti,-lt is not necessary in petit
| tiOn to condemn land for railway pur-
poses to specify the particular public
use to which each tract of land is to be
put. A general allegation of the pur-
poses for which it is sought to acquire
the land described in the petition is
sufficient, for the land owners dam
ages are to be assessed upon the hypo-
| thesis that the land to be acquired is
liable to be appropriated for any or all
of the public uses stated in the petit
tion at any time when the railway
company deems such use necessary or
expedient,
SiXth-General Statutes 1894, Sec
tiOn 2750, which authorizes any rail-
road corporation to alter it's railway
line whenever it shall appear to it's
board of directors that the line can be
improved thereby, and expressly con-
fers upon such corporation 'the same
rights and privileges to bnild such
road, as altered, as if it were the orr
ginal line" construed and held that it
authorizes such corporation to con-
denim land for such new line, and that
the respondent herein has such right.
Seventh-An order denying a mo-
tiOn to set aside the report of the
commissioners in condemnation pro-
ceedings is not appealable. Whether
an order appointing them is, query?
Order on the appeal affirmed. and
second appeal dismissed.