The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-08-26
Short Line VIII Be Asked For Com.
pensation.
JUDGE BISHOPS OPINION
SAYS PAY SHOULD BE DE-
MANDED.
Question Taken Up By the State
Board of Land Commissioners
When Rio Grande Western Asked
For Right of Way On Property
Set Apart For School Purposes.

The state board of land commission
ers will ask the Oregon Short Line rail
road for a reasonable amount of COM
pensation for appropriating a right OF
way over the school lands of the state
Ihls action will be taken in accordance
with decision handed down by At.
torney General Bishop yesterday after
noon. The matter will probably be
tested in the courts, for Farley l.. Will
Hams, the railroad attorney, does not
agree with Judge Bishop at ALL
Inc question was brought before the
board some time ago when the Rio
Grande Western filed an application
/ for a right of way over certain school
lands in the regular way. An investi-
cation followed, and it was discovered
that the Short Line had thrown up its
embankments and laid it's tracks with
out saying anything to anybody.
Attorney Williams Opinion.
A letter relative to the matter was re-
ceived from Mr.. Williams, and then the
board asked the opinion of the attorney
general. Mr.. Williams held that the
road was entitled to right of way un-
der an act of congress of 1852 granting
the Pacific railroads a right of way
over all public lands. He further held
that special act of congress granting
right of way to the old Utah Central
covered school lands and that special
acts for the Short Line were of the
same nature.
Judge Bishop stated his willingness
to concede that these acts are sub
stantially the same as those granting
right of way to the Pacific railroads,
provided the grantees brought them
selves within the conditions of such
acts. As TO what portions of the Short
Line are embraced in the special acts
he was unable to say.
Under the act of 1875 rights of way
were granted to all railroads over pub
lie lands, said the attorney general. un-
less such lands We're within the limits
of any military. park or Indian reserv-
alton, or other lands specially reserved
from sale. He holds that school lands
granted by the government to the state
are exempt under this clause. These
lands are sections 16 and So in each
township and were set apap by spe-
cial act for school purposes when Utah
was territory, and to be used when
the territory became a state.
No Right to School Sections
You are therefore advised" says
Attorney General Bishop. in conclu-
sion, that in all cases where any rail-
road company depends for its right of
way through the public lands upon the
general law of congress relating there
to, approved March 8, 1874, it obtains
no rights by reason of said acts
through school sections Is and sc. That
in all cases where it depends for it's
right of way upon a special grant of
congress similar to the grant to the
Pacific railroads, which contains no
reservations or exceptions. the right of
way is acquired through all such lands
under the authority of the case of the
Union Pacific company VS.. Douglass
county
That railroads have located and
built their lines of road over sections
16 and Sc at time when no right of
way could be legally obtained, and that
by reason thereof they may be said to
be trespassers, is not material in de-
termining this question. Nor is such
a position entirely unusual with such
Being now in possession,
the only question to be determined is
the value of such land thus occupied
and used for its right of way"
When asked about the matter last
night, Governor Wells, who is an ex-
officio member of the board, said the eff
feet of the decision would be that the
land commissioners would proceed to
collect from the Short Line some COM
pensation for the right of way it has
taken for itself over school lands.