The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-06-01
RED LbkE MUST SETTLE
SUPREME COURT AFFIRMs FIRST
JUDGMENT IN POLK
COUNTY CASE
UNCLE RUSSELL SAGE. WINS
Stearns County Settlers Mast Give
Way to Wall street Masnate-
Definition OF COntribu-
tory Negligence.

action of the trial court in all but one
of them which in itself was not of wide
spread Importance and in which the re-
versal of the judgment was based upon
the exclusion of certain evidence.
One Of the decisions which is Of i'm
portance is that by Justice Lovely, in
the contention arising out of the partI-
ton of Polk county, whereby a portion of
the original territory Of that county was
set apart as RED Lake county. This d.
vision was consunlrnated under al act Of
1895, which beside constituting the new
county, provides that the commissioners
of Red Lake county shall at once levy
taxes to pay pro rata share of the
indebtedness of the parent organism of
which it was an off-Snoot. The bonded
Indebtedness of the original Polk county
was $SS,OO0 and the floating indebted
ness SIS, S42.57, against which tisere stood
as an offset the county buildings Which
remained in Polk county as reorganiZed
and which were appraised at the time OF
the division at S32, 00j Thus far the new
county has not taken steps to defray its
share Of the common Indebtedness and
the decision in effect directs that this
shall be done. the bonded and floating
Indebtedness, less the appraised valuation
of the Polk county buildings is to be
! apportioned upon the assessed valuationJ
of the property in the respective areas,
whereupon it will become the duty of the
commissioners of the new county to pro-
vide by levy of taxation for its share
of the necessary funds. Upon failure OF
Red Lake county to comply with this
order the parent county may compel
such action by mandamus proceedings.
Justice Brown places a broad interpra-
tation on "contributOry negligence in
the personal injury case of lone Fl. Rus
sell against the Minneapolis Street Rail-
f1irVY1c n NTynT
court in refusing. damages or the ground
that the plaintiff was guilty of contribu-
tory negligence. He holds that If a per-
son in ignorance Of danger, such as reas-
enable care would have made known, is
injured and there has been a failure to
exercise such care such person is charge
able with contribUtory negligence to the
same extent as though familiar with the
location of the danger.
BY reason of a decision of Judge Lewis
a number of settlers in Stearns county
will have to surrender the land Which
they have occupied, to the possession CT
Russell Sage. The title of this case IS
Russell Sage as assignee of the Hastings
& Dakota Railroad company, against
David Crowley and others. The syllabt
in the cases decided yesterday are as fol-
lows:
State of Minnesota ex rel Board of
County Commissioners of Polk County
state Oh MINES DJd, AEJpOlldulSs W. - ~"
L. Demich, James Suter, Ole j. Jonn-
son and ]. B. Herbert, County Commits
sione!s of the Red Lake County, Re
spondents.
Vided statutory provisions for apportlon-
ing the Indebtedness of the old and new
districts involve questions purely OF leg
islatiVe policy and II not in violation OF
any constitutional right are in all re-
spects final and must be followed.
,, Under the provisions OF chap. 40 q
L. 1893 providing fof the division of
counties and the organization of new ones
the liability for the county buildings Is to
be exclusively assumed by the parent
county, and the value Of the same to be
ascertained under statutory provisions
provided therefor is to be deducted from
the Indebtedness apporttoned between
the counties so divided.
g. Upon the division of the county IN
such cases the bonded and floating in
debtnesses of the old county Excluding
the value of the county building) is to be
apportioned upon the assessed valuation
of the property in the two municipalities
whereupOn it becomes the duty of the
commissioners Of the new county to pro-
vide by levy and taxation the necessary
funds to pay it's proportion OF the same
| as it becomes due.
4 Upon failure Of the new county
to take steps to comply with statutory
requirements to provide for the levy and
taxation to pay it's proper share Of the
Indebtedness of both counties, existing
at the time of admission, the parent
county may compel it's officers to do so
! by mandamus proceedings.
Judgment reversed. Lovely, j.
In re Guardianship of William P La
Plant and Frederick La Plant-John
| Chadwick proposed guardian, Respond
ent, VS.. Alvena A, Durham, Appellant.
]. In proceedings instituted upon the
petition of the teStamentaiy guardian for
| his appointment to that trust the next
! of kin appeared and objected to such ap-
! pointnent, also filed petition setting
| forth that such testamentary guardian
was not suitable person to discharge
the trust A determination by the pro-
| bate court in such a case that the guar
! dian is competent and suitable is review
| able and upon proper appeal being taken
| is entitled to be heard upon it's merits
! in the district court.
3 Where an effort is made in the pro-
| bate court, upon petition of next of kin,
| to prevent the testamentary guardian
| from executing his trust and the probate
court decides that he is competent and
! suitable, upon appeal from such order the
| question OF such guardians right to act
further may be considered and the dis
! trict court may permit an amendment
| of the petition of the next of kin, If
necessary to enable the question to be
! fully determined whether such testa-
mentary guardian should be removed.
Ordered reversed Lovely, J.
| 7. Sylvester, Appellant VS.. Winston
Holasek and Mark Holasek.
| TIE owner of land who has contracted
to sell the same may terminate the rights
| of the purchaser for deferred payment
| under chap. 223 c.. L. 1897, which requires
! service of notice so provided for therein
! stating the time not less than thirty days
from such service when rights of the
| purchaser under the contract will be
! cancelled
2 Where no notice has been properly
served as required by the terms of the
statute and the time to be relieved from
default has passed the purchasers legal
! ilShl 10 pay the amount due on the same
is terminated. and tender thereof after
such time will rot be of avail
.. Where a bank check has been ten
| deHed TO the wife of the contractor in
such case. who in the absence of her
husband accepted it, and the husband
seasonably returned the same to the
| agent Of whom it was received the ac
| ceptance of the check by the wife did
not constitute waiver of such deferred
! payment nor reinstate the purchaser
! contract. INC
Order affirmed. -Tova1v 7
Nelson Reeves, appellant. VS. Racl,rs-
| Brooks company respondent
| l. Inc rule Of law as to the rights Of
| d riparian owner TO use the water be-
| tween his shore line and the navigabIa
enamel OF river, laid down in Brisbane
! ": hahWay company, % Mimi. ia and
other cases. approved and applied to the
conceded facts in the case at bar
z. All persons having lands on the
margin OF a flowing stream have. bv ma
| ture, certain riparian rights In the water
! of that stream, whether thew exercisa
| these rights or not; and they NAV heein
to use them when they choose. =
| 1T matters not how much the owner of
land upon stream has actually used
the water or whether he has used if at
| -