The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1902-01-09
A MELANGE OF
LIVE TOPICS
Penned for Journal Readers
by a Local Scribe.
ATLANTA DEPOT LAW.

Under the neadlng 'OppoSltlon
to the Atlanta Depot, the Sa-
vannah News, after abiding to
the objections of property owners
in Atlanta to the closing of Pryor
street and the uncertainty of the
acceptance by the railroads Of the
proposition relative to the pro-
posed station, observes: Sit is
by no means certain that the state
will construct the building"
There are other objections to
the depot law besides those mem
toned by the News, the most i'm
portant of which is the apparent
unconstitutionality of the meas
ure. If the writer's impressions
are correct, the original station,
destroyed by northern troops dur
ing the civil war, was built upon
land conveyed as a gift to the
state on condition that the land
should always be used for depot
purposes by the roads which then
centered in Atlanta, namely, the
Western & Atlantic, the Georgia
and the Atlanta q West Point
railways. These roads erected
jointly the first station, all being
entitled to equal rights and privi-
leges therein; and after the de-
struction of the first building. the
present one was placed upon the
same site by the same parties and
under the same conditions. All
of this was done with the consent,
express or implied, of the state.
1t matters not that the state holds
the legal title to the land upon
which the station stands. By
permitting the other roads to
unite as tenants In common with
the Western & Atlantic railroad
to make certain improvements on
the property, not reservlng to her
self the fee simple title to the i'm
provements, the state lost, by limi-
tations and consent, the exclusive
ownership of the present building.
The Kimball House stands upon
land all of which is not owned by
the owners of the hotel and be-
cause the possessors of this land
have permitted the hotel to be
built upon it, they can never
claim the land nor an interest in
the hotel as long as the hotel
stands. These other roads would
have perpetual rights in any other
station erected upon the same site
to take the place of the present
station removed to make room for
the new one. Consequently the
present union passenger station
in Atlanta is not such an institu-
ton of the state as would author
ize the Legislature to take the
matter completely in hand, and,
relieving the other roads of their
liabilities as tenants in common
with the w. q A. to contribute
their proportionate shares to build
new station, make an appropri-
alton for the whole cost of the
building, from the public funds.
To have that effect the roads must
have surrendered in writing, be-
fore the passage of the depot law,
all their interests in the station,
and the same must have been &C.
cepted by the state through the
legislature.
Article Z, section 3, paragraph
1. of the constitution is as follows
"No general law affecting private
rights shall be varied in any case,
by special legislation except with
the free consent, in writing, of ali
the parties to be affected thereby"
The Georgia, the Macon q West
ern and the Atlanta & West Point
railways have, by general law, &C.
quired rights in the Atlanta depot.
They own three-fourths of the
building and consequently pay nc
rent for its use. Under the depot
act it is proposed to take this in
terest from them and to charge
them an enormous rental for the
use of the building. They did not
give their consent in writing prior
to the passage of the act, to this
special legislation. 1t is, there
fore, as to them and as to credit
ors of the state, (bond holders
and perhaps as to the taxpayers,
void and when drafts are drawn
upon the treasury for money to be
used for any purpose arising un-
der this law, the payment of the
same can be resisted by an in
junction filed by the taxpayers
and bond holders (101 Ga, 593. J
The writer would not criticise
the legislature for passing this act,
for in the house it went through
by large majority and in the
senate. the vote in it's favor was