Omaha daily bee., 1903-06-02
LIBRARY SITE UNDECIDED
Trustees Have Meeting and Wind Up
Just Where They Started.
OPINION OF JUDGE REED CONSIDERED
Attorney for e. l.. ShuRart Tenders
the Trustees a Deed I'm Conform
tty with the Reed
Opinion.

At their meeting last evening the trustees
of the public library had before them the
opinion of Judge Joseph r. Reed, sustain
ing the title to the Shugart property, re-
Gently selected as the site for the new
Carnegie library. They discussed II for an
hour and a half from all points of view,
considered a number of suggestions tending
to a further delay of the matter and some
for the immediate solution of the problem,
nearly every member having some course
to suggest. but no common ground was
struck until the possibility of ambiguity
in Judge Reeds opinion was suggested
This suggestion was acted on and the
opinion referred back to Judge Reed
through the attorneys for the shugarts
with the request that he state whether it
was his intention to cover by It a clause
of the will OF Mrs. Shugart conveying an
interest In the property to the heirs OF
one Of her sons in the event of the death
OF the other without issue. In the Ian
guage of the will the term his death" is
so used that there might be some question
as to whether It referred TO the death OF
e. l.. Shugart or to the death of one Of
his sons. Whether Judge Reed gave this
consideration is the point now to be sub
mitted to him.
At the conclusion of the reading of the
opinion of Judge Reed, which was a docu-
ment of six typewriter pages A. T.
F'lickinger. attorney for the Shugarts, ad-
dressed the board, explaining that Judge
Reeds opinion simply meant that e. l..
Shugart and his sons, Lyman and Elmer,
could give perfect title by warranty deed,
and that II this was not satisfactory there
could be no possible obstacle to securing
title through condemnation by serving no
"a 70 fanu unf 7 =
the two devisees, Lyman and Elmer shu-
gart. Concluding, Mr.. Flickinger rendered
the board a deed to the property.
Judge Reeds Opinion,
In his opinion Judge Reed, referring to
the doubt raised by City Attorney Snyder
as to tho possibility Of securing good title
to the property. says:
The doubt of the city attorney arises out
Of this language in the will of Mrs Shu-
gart: In the event that either the sons
Lyman and Elmer) shall die without issue,
at his death, be and belong to the heirs
OF the body OF said surviving son." II the
contingencies here provided against had
happened before the death of the testator-
that Ia, II one of the sons had died, without
issue. after the execution of the will, but
9es9re fSa9 n the death Of the testatorI grant
have gone to the children of the survivor,
| IL there we're any.
Dub ucny lndts unueT existing CO00i-
( tons. the contingencies not having thus
happened, 1t Is of any force whatever.
The bequest to the legatees (the two
sons) Is absolute, and without conditions
precedent. II is direct and immediate
gift TO Lyman and Elmer OF the whole
estate. subject only to the estate of the
| life tenant. They were given and are now
In the enjoyment of q vested remainder,
| which. with the life estate of E. L. Shu-
CART, constitutes the whole estate in the
property.
Regarding the contention that perfect
title could not be had by condemning,
because of the possibility OF interest of
heirs yet unborn, Judge Reed said:
| l grant that all parties having any pres
ent interest In the property must be made
parues 70 the proceeding, or they will not
be bound by II. But II is only persons
certainly In existence. having definite rights
In the property now, or rights which are
certain to accrue In the future who are
necessary parties to the proceedings.
The board is to meet again next Monday
evening.