The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-06-29
ROW 70 AMEND CHARTERS
SUPREME COURT RENDERS DECIS-
ION DEFINING CITY'S CONSTT-
TUTIONAL RIGHTS
REQUIRES THREE-FIFTHs VOTE
Chief Justice Start Sustains District
Court in Admitting Minneapolis
Scale Records In Crooks
ton Log Case.

In order to amend a city charter in
this state it is necessary that the pro-
posed amendment shall receive three
fifths of the total vote case for any pur-
pose at the election at which the amend
ment is submitted, and majority of
three-fifths of the votes cast on the
proposition alone is not sufficient. Thus
the supreme court CONSTITUTES the consti-
tutional provision enabling cities to
frame their own charters in a decision
handed down yesterday. The decision
bears the signature of Chief Justice
Start, and relates to the case of the
State of Minnesota ex rel. Henry f.
Greene, contestant, VS.. Hon. I. w.
Hugo, mayor of tue city of Duluth ct
al, respondent; ; Henry F. Greene, con-
testant, appellant, VS.. City of Duluth,
T. w. Hugo mayor Of said city, ct al,
contestants. In this decision the su-
preme court affirms the judgment Of the
district court of st. Louis county.
CROOKSTON LOG CASE.
In another decision by Chief Justice
Start the supreme court holds that in
the Crookston leg contract case the dis
trict court was not in error in admitting
the scale records of the Minneapolis
surveyor general as evidence of the di-
mansions of the logs in question. The
title of this case is E. e. Carver, 0. f.
Carver, Nathan Carver and Fred Carver,
respondents, VS.. Crookston Lumber com
pany appellant. The Minneapolis sur
Veyor generals scale records were In
troduced and admitted in evidence in the
trial of the case to show the dimensions
of the logs involved in the suit. The APP
pellants raised a contention on the
ground that the state had surveyor
general for the Crookston district, and
as these logs were cut and scaled In
that district the work should have been
done by the surveyor general of the
Crookston district although the contract
provided that it should be done by The
surveyor general of the Minneapolis dis
trict, and therefore that the scale rec
ords of the Minneapolis office were not
admissible as the best evidence. Had
this contention been upheld by the ST.
preme court the effect would have been
to throw into the hands of the Crooks
ton surveyor general great deal Of the
business which now goes to the Min
neapolis man, and thus increase the rev.
enue of the Crookston Office about $1,000
year.
REvERsEs sTEARNS COUNTY
COURT
Justice Brown is the author Of de-
cison bearing upon the proposed de-
struction of the old dam across Sank
river at Cold Springs and involving the
riparian rights of a number of the prop
erty owners in that vicinity. In this de-
cision he reverses the Judgment of the
Stearns county district court and holds
that the dam must remain as it is for
the reason that 1t has stood thus for
more than forty years and the land own
ers of the vicinity have adjusted their
holdings with reference to its continued
existence. The dam was built in 1886
to furnish power for a mill, and its effect.
was to raise the water to a height of
seven feet for a distance of sixteen miles
back. Some time ago P. II. KTay and
others who were conducting summer re-
sorts along the shore OF the river learned
that Anton Mugg1i and Elizabeth Muggli,
who owned the land upon which the
dam was located, had agreed for con-
sideration of $1,000 to have the dam de-
stroyed and allow the water Of the
stream to resume its former course and
condition, and brought suit to prevent
such action. The district court held that
Muggli, as the owner, had a right to
have the dam destroyed.
The syllabi in the above and other
cases handed down yesterday are as fol-
lows: