The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1905-01-19
THE BOUNDARY LINE
CASE DISMISSED.
Garrett County Commissioners Aban-
don Contention Concerning Line.
BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTIES.
Papers Were Almost Completed and
Ready for Filling In Higher Court
When Order Was Passed Dismiss
ing 1t


ing 1t
The case of the County Commiss-
toner's of Garrett county VS.. The Con
solidation Coal Company, appealed to
the Court of Appeals of Maryland
from decision rendered early last
fall by Chief Judge Boyd in the Circuit
Court for Garrett county, has been
dismissed, which puts an end to the
case. The case involved the
boundary line between the two coun-
ties and vast area of land, also the
question of the right of Garrett coun-
ty to collect from the Consolidation
Coal Company about $40, 900 in taxes
claimed to be be due this county in
the disputed territory. La the year
1872, by an act of the Legislature
Daniel Chisholm, then county survey
or of AlleganY county, was directed
to run straight line from the Saw
age river at point where the river
empties into the Potomac river, using
the Fairfax stone on the West Vir
ginia side of the Potomac as an obser.
walton point to the Mason and Dixon
line, the section north of said line to
form what is now known as Garrett
county. The line was located and
the surveyors returns with plat ac-
cepted, and by vote of the people the
new county was formed.
The line thus formed by Surveyor
Chisholm and returned by him was
considered by both Alleganv and Gar
rett counties as the boundary line
until Hiram P. Tasker made the aver
ment that a number of military lots
in both counties were not assessed.
He was Instrumental in having the
~ Eislature of 1898 pass an act author
N lgSurveyor L. A. Bauer tOrelocate
the line. By the line run by Mr.. Bau-
er strip of land heretofore on the
Allegany side of the line, which aver
aged about 1000 feet for 10! miles, and
consisted of about g. miles of coal
land was thrown on the Garrett coun-
ty side of the line. When Garrett
county attempted to collect the taxes
on the land in dispute the Consolida-
ton Coal Company, through Allie
gany county, which county was made
a party to the injunction proceedings,
secured an Injunction to prevent Gar
rett county from collecting the $40
= 900 taxes. The claim was made that
there was vast difference between
the lines run by Chisholm and Bauer,
that the line run by Chisholm was on
ly trial line and that he intended to
make and return another line.
Chief Judge Boyd, in his opinion
stated that the case was filed by the
Consolidation Coal Company, but the
principal question argued was the
poper location of the boundary lines
between the two counties. He stated
that while the Chisholm plat could not
be found, there must have been one
filed. as in his return Chisholm stated:
Il have carefully run and located the
lines of the aforesaid new county of
Garrett, and herewith append a plat
of the same according to their proper
courses and distances" The point
was raised that Chisholm did not run
the line to the highest point on Say
age mountain was crossed by the
Mason and Dixon line, as directed by
the act authorizing him to run the
line. The court held that Chisholm
ran the line to what he then, with
the best means at his command (even
the Mason and Dixon line being then
in dispute). thought to be the top of
= the mountain on that line, and that
the line so run by Chisholm was rati-
fled by a vote of the people of the
new county, that all laws relating
to- Garrett county up to the time of
the suit for taxes, were passed with
that line in view as the boundary
line, that all acts of the county were
done with the same line in view, that
it had stood undisputed from 1872 to
19as, and that the vote on the ques-
= of separating from Allegany
county was taken and decided "ac-
cording to the said Chisholm line.
Judge Boyd stated that the taking
of the census, the returns of the cleo
ton, ETC., were all made with the
Chisholm line as the boundary line.
He also stated that it was known
that County Surveyor Green of Gar
rett county had run the line later and
; that his line came out within two feet
of where Chisholm had planted the
stake at the end of his line. After re-
viewing the case at some lengthJudge