The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-07-12
PROPERTY IS In A MIDDLE
DECISION IN THE pHAIEN
PARK ASSESSMENT CASES

sessed, Those Who Did Not Object
VIII Have to- Stand the Judgment
Law Is CONSTITUTIONAL
dent Yheeiock Thinks the Rui-
ing a Public Calamity.
Judge Bum yesterday handed down
a decision in the matter Of the appli-
cation Of the city treasurer Of ST. Paul
for judgment against the owners Of
property delinquent on the assessment
for the Phalen park Improvement. The
judge denies the application Of the
city treasurer, so far as the property
OF the persons represented as DIRECTORS
to the application Is concerned. The
consequence Of the decision will be
very far reaching.
Jared How said, after looking over
the decision and memorandum Of the
court:
IF that stands. then there will be
no more public parks in st. Paul.
President Wheelock, Of the park
board, said
IF l am correctly informed of the
purport Of the decision, it is nothing
less than public calamity"
Judge Bum himself said, speaking
as an Individual of course:
suppose ludI Will De the erect
that there will be no more public
parks acquired under the law as it
stands"
The decision leaves g great deal of
property in middle. When the de-
cision was arrived at by the board OF
public works to acquire the property
at cost of sos, 900 a scheme of as
sessment was planned, whereby the
assessment should fall on the city
n CT nf VOL el,o
streets. The park fund contained some
S24,O00 that was available for the pur-
chase OF the property, the rest of the
amount was spread over the city, Or
that portion of the city referred to. 1t
was supposed thai the scheme of as
sessment was based on the assumption
that the district west of Wabasha
street would have to pay for acquir-
ing more park lands along the Mis-
sissippi and In the neighborhood of
Como, and the West side was left
alone in order that ii might be made
to pay for the West side boulevard.
The consequence of this distribution
was that down town business prop
erty was assessed for special benefits
by reason of the establishment of a
park at Phalen; on one side of Wa
basha street lots were assessed at So
each for special benefits, while those
on the other side were not supposed
to be benefited at all.
Property that was not plotted, but
which lay in the district supposed to
be benefited, was assessed at the same
rate as the lot property, at the rate of
six lots to the acre. Former Gov.
Ramsey has 100 acres lying along Rice
street which came under the special
benefit feature, and he protested. He
was not alone in his protesting. Some
of the assessments were paid, and
the city treasurer brought suit against
all of the others.
When the case went into court a
great many of the persons whose prop
erty had been assessed and who favor
ed the acquisition of the property did
not object to the application of the
treasurer for judgment, and judgments
were entered against them. Those
judgments still stand, and this adds to
the muddle, for they have no stand
ing in court. They did not object, and
they have no ground upon which to
ask for reopening the judgments
against them. These judgments and
the assessments paid amount in all to
total of $4,000 The rest of the
property owners objected, and their
objection is sustained
The decision leaves the matter in
such shape that the persons who ap-
peared as DIRECTORS cannot be assessed
again, the others have no apparent re-
dress for the judgments that stand
against their property, and there is no
way to go on with the improvement
In a memorandum accompanying the
decision the court remarks that the
objection made on the ground that the
park law Is unconstitutional is over
ruled. This question is discussed at
some length, and coming to the gem
eral objections the court says:
The other general objections relate to the
actlons OF the board of public works in fixing
the assessment district and in spreading the
assessment within the district
The proposed Phalen park is stu tied at The
ext enc nor-nerly lim'.s of ne city of ST.
p ri. 1t is one hundr II and III rty acres in
area. The assessment district Is five miles
long east and west from the park and ex-
tends in southerly direction about two and
one-half miles on the east end thereof and
a out three and one-thifd niles at the west
crn end thereof. Its area IS over thirteen
sol are miles. 1t includes the ars.r port O.
of tie business district of the city; a large
territory east and south of the park that is
and has b. en- used so ely for agricultural pur-
poses is included within the district. The dis
trlct comprises over one-third of the entire
area CT the city
From these facts alone it is clear to me
that the beard of public works proceeded upon
an erroneous principle in fixing the limits of
the assessment district. 1t is, to my mind,
absurd to say that special as distinguished
from general benefits result in this case
to very large portion of the district. It is
evident from consideration of the size and
shape of the district, the amount and char
acter of the property included and excluded
as well as from a cOnsiderat on of the ties j.
mony given at the hearing that the sole aim
OF the board was to include enough territory
in the district to Fay for the cost of the p3rk
Even conceding that the board actually de-
termined that all the property within the dis
trict was specially benefited, a rropos ton
open to serious doubt on the evidence pres Mt
ed, that determination, in my opinion, was
either based upon an eEt:rsly erroneous con-
ception OF what are special benefits to a par
ticular locality as distinguished from general
benefits to the entire city, or it was an en-
tirely arbitrary determination based upon no
grounds or reasons other than the necessity
to raise the money to pay for the park It
is not case OF mere error in judgment In
State ex. rel. Scotch, v. Brill. IS Mimi, 1872
the court says that it is difficult to see on
What basis the board proceeded in fixing the
limits of the assessment district for Indian
Mound park, unless 1T was to include prop
for it is hard to conceive that property stu
ated mile and half from the park would
derive any special benefit from it, But as
the distinction between general and special
benefits is somewhat indefinite and it is often
difficult to determine where the one ends and
the other begins, and as much must be left
to the Judgment Of the board. and as one of
lne witnesses SAID, they must stop some
disturbing the action OF the board in fixing
the limits OF the assessment district The as
sessment district in the Indian Mound
ter in a direct line north of the north
line of the park. None of the reasons given
by the court for not disturbing the action
OF the board 'es exist in this case. Instead OF
being difficult, it is impossible to see on
what basis the board proceeded unless on the
one suggested; 1t is not only hard but Inn
possible to conceive how property situated in
rive special benefit from the park; the dis
tnctions between special and general benefits