The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1901-02-12

COMPENSATORY Ire constitution answers
that question. 1t only remains TO say
that any charter which undertakes to give
a corporation the right to take private
property without providing that the
owner shall havs the power 30 have the
"just computation" determined by q
iurY. fslls to give any right at all.
3. "Unless the public exigencies re-
quirs IT," Who shall determine thisf
This must be determi ned in every case.
A street or way IL not legally laid out
unless duly au thorized tribunal decides
that common convenience and neoes-
sity require" It's construction.
1t is settled that in specific cases the
legislature determines this. IL 10 charters
a railroad in the usual form. that Is de-
oision by 10 that the public exigencies
rsouire the construction of that particu-
lar railroad and, therefore, the taking ana
holding OF the private property reason.
ably necessary tor Its construction, OF
course upon making just CONDENSATION
for &c to be determined in the manner
provided In the constitution, unless the
parties agree. But charter TO build
railroads anywhere in Maine which the
corporation Rh ould see fit to build, and TO
take private property therefor, would not
he worth the paper 1t Is printed on. For
this reason, our general railroad law re-
ouires the railroad commissioners to de-
termine as a condition Drecedent to the
granting of a charter, that the public ext
penoies require its construction. The
rule Re the same as In laying out streets.
1t goes without saying that this appli les
equally to all persons ana eorporations
who, in any manner, take or use the
property Of others in carrying out their
enterprises,
There is apparently a grave miFappre-
henEion as TO the right which 10 acquired
by the taking OF property Tor pubno
use. For example. luoging ny aoes, ~
seems to be assumed that the city owns
our streets; whereas the city has no more
ognership IL them than any other city
or town has, and that is none at all
When land Is taken for q street nr hign-
way, only the use OF 1t by the pubic Tor
a street or highway Is taken; tne owner
ship OF the land subject TO the puDsio
easement las 1t Is caiiad), remains In the
owner from whom 1t was taken, his heirs
and assigns forever; he may use 10 Tor
any purpose not inconsistent Win tne
pu piio use, ana when the street Is ais
conbnued the land reverts to him or
them, freed from all membranes
While tie street exists. the public have
no right to use it save for way. Ine
rule OF law is that the damages are those
arising from the particular use Tor Wnlcn
the land is taken; damages Tor lanu
taken for a railroad are very different
from those tor land taken for street.
Our court has dc cided that a street rail-
road Is means OF using the land taken,
for PURPOSES of travel and, therefore, no
additional damages can De recovered by
the land owner. This was regarded 10y
many as going beyond the true line, be-
cause as matter of fact, the possibility OF
that
oIasaed among the remote damages
not allowe1 in the fixing OF the just COM
pensation.
But almost every other company using
wires has disreRarded utterly the consti-
tutional requirement OF making just COM
pensatlon: and In most cases there has
never been any adjudication that the
public exigencies required their existence;
from this perhaps, the telegraph COM
panies should be excepted.
But every one OF the telephone and
electric light companies has been exer-
cising the right Of eminent domain" as
fully as is proposed in the charters now
pending before the legislature. and with
ont right
In our own city. they have demanded
to be allowed to set their poles and wire
in our streets on the Plea OF "competi-
tion. And 10 has seemed TO be assumed
that petition should be allowed,
although that assumption WAS based on
the other assumption that all the parties
interested were the unEcrupulous speou-
lators and the comp aratively very few OF
our people who would use the telephones
and the lights, utterly diEregarding The
rights and Interests OF owners OF real es-
tate taken, wnofe value has teen largely
diminished thereby.
Those owners have not objected to a
street railway, n system OF electric lights,
teIegraphs and telephones sufficient to
cNF all
cations, but when IL comes to giving
SPECTATORS the power 10 destroy the value
OF our property on the plea Of giving
cheaper service, we are justified In OBJ
iecting TO It's being done at our expense
especially when IL an unreasonable charge
is made, the legislature has the power TO
give an ample remedy.
1t has been stated, and by good judges
believed to be true, that three per can't
en- the decrease In the marked value OF
residential real estate in the city caused
by tine addition of the poles and wires or
the Portland Electric Light company to
those already existing, would pay, twenty
times over, the total difference between
their prices and the previous prices for all
the lights Luss6. OF course it Is very
pleasant for the users to save money. but
when their neighbors have to paw 1t, 1t
is not pleasant for the neighborsl
Instead OF granting special charters to
wire companies," the legislature ought
to provide for their organization by gem
eral law, framed in accordance with the
provisions of the constitution; but es-
psciaIly esta blishing a tribunal to deter
mine whether the public exigencies
require the construction of a proposed
line ana to have such supervision over
lines when constructed, as well as those
already constructed, IA will prevent the
abuse OF the privileges granted to them.