Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1901-11-26
SWAMP LAND CASE UP.
Comes to United States Supreme
Court on Appeal From
State Court.
Originality in Raising Rows at
Every Step Of Des Moines
Court House Work.
Official Vote on Supreme Judge.
Superintendent and Railroad
Commissioner.

Special to Times Republican.
Des Mones, Nov. 26.-An interesting
suit is soon to be submitted to the Unit
ed States supreme court on appeal from
Iowa in which the state of Iowa is the
party appealing and which involves the
right and title to the lake beds of Iowa.
The case which went to the higher
court involved ownership OF Owl lake
The lake had been surveyed as a lake
by the government and the meandered
lines accepted by the surveyor general.
The ownership Of the lake bed there
fore Immediately and forever vested in
the state. But when the lake was
drained number of persons secured
patents from the state of Iowa as
swamp land, the patents being Issued
by Governor Jackson. The claimants
had in the meantime secured a resurvey
of the lake and had 1t declared swamp
land. Then others attempted to home
stead the land, and when the swamp
land owners brought suit the state in
tervened and claimed the right and title
to the lake beds. The supreme court
decided that the patents issued as
swamp land were good. The state is
taking the case to the supreme court, as
1t inYolves a revision of the acts of the
SUR, ors department in resurveying
land once decided to be lake property
and then calling it swamp land. The
state claims that when the lake was
meandered the government was thru
and had no right to go back and make
resurvey many years afterward when
conditions had changed. The owner
ship of Owl lake is not such difficult
matter, but there are other cases SINH
lar and the desire is that the question
of the right of the government to back
and make surveys again shall be set
tied. The papers have been prepared
and will soon go to the United States
supreme court.
Since the old court house has been
abandoned In Des Moines for the pur-
pose of having q new one built the OLD
ruin is even more unsightly than before,
and the county board of supervisors has
let contract for having it partly hid
from view with a fence ten feet high
all round. OF course the fence will be
painted with signs, but not as bill
board. Since the contract is closed and
the work begun the petty critics have
bobbed up all round to say it is an out
rage to have the fence built and that 1t
would be much more picturesque and
pleasing to the eyes to have the entire
work of demolition of the ruin and re-
building exposed to pubic view. And
the fact that one Of the persons having
the contract for the fence is a newspa-
per man has brought upon the project
the criticism of all the newspaper men,
who are of naturally jealous DISPOSE
ton. But the fence lis being built. 1t
may vet become as much bone of con-
tention as the building Of the court
house itself.
The figures on state officers other than
governor and lieutenant governor have
at last been made public. The board
completed the canvass last evening. The
figures are as follows:
Superintendent Public instruction
Richard c. Barrett, rep...........22 227, 1903
W. P. johnson, dem. ........1 43.SSS
Ella Moffatt, pro.................. 11.SSS
z. E. Stevens, soc. 3,35S
Ira C. Harlan, pop. bso
Republican plurality .......... sS,S2o
Judge supreme court
Silas NJ. Weaver. rep. 227, ,3Sl
John Shortley, dem ..............l .l44, ,O91
j. "A. Harvey. pro. l2,lS2
A. F. Thompson, soc.............. 1924
j. r. Mcdonald, pop. us
Republican plurality .......... S3,29o
Railroad commissioner
Ed. c. Brown, rep. ............. ,2of
A. C. Brlce, dem ..................144,0S5
Wesley Sudduth, pro-. 11,S2o
H. C. Middlebrook, Soc. .......... 3,40S
Luke Mcdowell. pop. 7O4
Republican plurality .......... 83,122
These figures differ practically in ev
cry line from those which were made
up before and sent out as the vote of
the state on these three offices. 1t will
be seen that Barrett has the largest
plurality tho he did not receive as many
votes as Weaver The difference was
chiefly in the loss to Johnson.
The suggestion has been made that
other cities of Iowa ought to avail
themselves of some of the lecture tall
ent which is brought into use in Dav
export and other cities where scientific
associations are maintained. The state
is now at that point where among the
college professors are to be found many
who are capable of giving splendid lee
lures, and their services could be had at
moderate rates. The program of lee
lures by the Davenport academy of sci
ences, for instance. includes the fol-
lowing:
Lecture by DR.. G. c. Nutting. IF the
Iowa state university, on his return
from the Hawaiian islands: date not yet
announced.
Saturday JAM 4.-"The Snake Dance
of the Mokies." DR.. j. Walter Fewkes.
Bureau of Ethnology. Washington, d. G.
Saturday, JaE. 11.-''Life of the Deep
Sea-" Porf Henry B. Ward, the Univer-
sity of Nebraska.
Saturday. Jan. 1S-"The Glacial Per-
iod of Iowa." Prof. Samuel Calvin, the
University of Iowa.
Saturday, Jan. 25.-Lecture on botany,
Prof. Thomas H. Macbride, the Univer-
,tty of Iowa