The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-11-06
MUST REBUILD THE BRIDGE.
sKIDAWAY PROPERTY OWNERS
WIN THEIR LONG FIGHT.

Judge FaIIigaRt VIII Sign a Rule
Absolute Compelling the County
Commissioners to Rebuild the
Skidaway Bridge - Held to BE a
Part of the Public Highways for
Which the County Is Responsible.
Fight Has Lasted About Twenty
five Years-An Appeal VIII PrOba-
bly, BE Taken.
The end of a twenty-five year fight. as
1t has been called, is at last in sight.
Judge Robert Falligant of the superior
court has decided that the county must
build a bridge from the mainland across
to Skidaway Island and maintain it as a
part Of the public road system.
The order requiring the county commits
sioners to do this work will be presented
to Judge Falligant for his signature this
morning. 1t will be in the nature of a
rule absolute upon the mandamus proceed
ings instituted against the commissioners
some time ago by Wolf Bennett, one Of
the property owners on the island, who
practically represented as plaintiff all of
those interested.
The fight over this question has been a
long and stubborn one. A bridge was built
years ago from the mainland to the
island by the property owners on the ISL
and but 1t was destroyed during the war
The bridge was afterwards rebuilt and
subsequently by an act of the legislature
was made part of the public road system
of the county. The bridge was again de-
stroyed by one of the storms, and has not
since been rebuilt.
Since the last destruction of the bridge
all sorts of efforts have been made by
the property owners on Skidaway Island
to have 1t rebuilt. Petition after petition
has been placed before the county com
mlssioners, and that body has discussed
and rediscussed the matter, each time re-
fusing to do anything toward rebuilding
it. Several years ago the Skidaway prop
erty owners went before the grand Jury
and after presenting their claims, that
body recommended that the sum of s., 900
be raised by taxation for the purpose of
building the bridge. When the budget
came before the commissioners with this
item in it, they decided after some discus
sion that $500 was not enough money for
the purpose, and the tax was never levied.
1t was at that time that the board prac-
dcally refused outright to build the bridge.
The Skidaway property owners then
brought mandamuS proceedings in the SUI
perior court to compel the commissioners
to build the bridge. This was the case of
Wolf Barnett against the commissioners
of Chatham county. The law provides for
only one plaintiff in a mandamus proceed
Ing, so he represented all of the Skidaway
property owners in that capacity. The
case was conducted on the part of the
property owners of Skidaway by Messrs.
Charlton, Mackall & Anderson, and for
the county commissioners by Mr. j. r.
Saussy the county attorney
The petition for the mandamus was ar
gued in June, 1896. 1t was claimed on the
part of the property owners that by act
of the legislature the Skidaway bridge
along with the Skldaway road, was made
a part of the public highways of Chat
ham county and that the county commits
sioners had accepted 1t as such. The con-
clusion was, therefore, that the commits
sloners were compelled to keep the bridge,
as well as the road, in order and COM
PEELED to rebuild it if it were destroyed.
The commissioners claimed that the bridge
was not part of the public highways,
and that they were therefore not response
BILE for it.
Judge Falligant evidently concluded that
the bridge was part of the public high
ways. and that as such the county was
obligated to keep 1t up. The rule abso-
lutte requires the commissioners to buifd
the bridge at once. Before doing this.
however, 1T is probable that they will APP
peal the case to the supreme court and
have 1t finally determined there. ...
There was time when property on
Skidaway Island was quite valuable. Now
the entire amount of property there pays
but little more than $50 taxes to the coun-
ty annually 1t was claimed that the de-
terioration of the property was due en-
tirely to the loss of the bridge.
ART L CIrEr,s Nm &c