The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1907-02-22
Faulkner Measure for Re
claiming Shore Land,
Really Bowser's.
LOBBYISTS JUBILANT
Men Who Have Been Striving for
Passage of Bill Return Much
Encouraged.


polls lobbying for the Bowser bill
which permits the rec1aiming and own
ing Of submerged land have returned
to this city delighted over the victory
for a measure that they believe will be
a great boom to the territory border
ing on Lake Michigan.
The bill which was finally passed
is known as the Faulkner bill although
in reality it Is the old Bowser bill
In brief 1t provides that corporations
or individuals may own the sub
merged land adjacent to shore land
and extending from the shore to the
government harbor line upon the pay
ment to the state of $25 per acre.
It will be remembered that the Bow
ser bill provided that the owners OF
shore land might reclaim and own sub
merged lands to the harbor line which
will probably be established by the
government at a water depth of %
feet, but did not provide that the state
should be paid for the land
Where Faulkner Bill Differs.
The Faulkner bill provided that the
owners Of shore land could reclaim the
submerged land but added the compen-
sation feature which required them to
pay for it at the rate Of I'D OF the ap
praised valuation Of the shore lands.
This law was manifestly unjust as
1t would compel the property owner
who happened to have shore land at
Indiana Harbor to pay an enormous
sum for the land he reclaimed while
the man who owned land on the Lake
shore so miles from nowhere could
reclaim 1t for IS per acre 1t placed a
burden and a handicap upon the man
who had spent millions of dollars to
imorove his shore property aud help
ed the man who let his land lie idle
and made no improvements.
The compensation feature was
thought to be a good one but the man
ner of securing the compensation was
very crude. So a compromise was ar
ranged by which all but the enacting
clause of the Faulkner bill was strick-
en- out and Bowsers bill was substitu-
ted with the additional provision that
that state should be paid at the rate
Of s25 per acre for all Of the sub
merged land reclaimed
Method of Procedure.
Should the city of Hammond, for in
stance. desire to reclaim some Of the
submerged land in front Of the Lake
Front park the county surveyor would
De asked TO make q survey or IQe SUBJ
merged land lying between the lake
shore and the government harbor line
A plat of this land would then be
made and the city would pay the state
treasurer for 1t at the rate Of $25 per
acre The treasurers receipt would
then be taken to the office of the secre-
tary of state where q patent for the
land bearing the seal Of the state
would be issued This process VIII
make the applicant for the title Of
this submerged land the owner OF it in
fee simple
Senator Bowser has been highly com
plimented for his generous attitude
towards Senator Faulkner in this
matter. for all Of the senators know
that every important point in the bill
which has been passed IS Bowsers even
though 1t bears Faulkner's name
The Hammond Building Laborers as
sociation which was represented at the
American Federation Of Labor confer
ence at indianapolis, by H. p Smith
did all in its power to prevent the pas
sage of the Bowser bill but the matter
had been thrashed out pretty we'll in
the conference and when a compromise
was made between the Bowser and
Faulkner bin there was no stopping it's
passage.
However, the Federation of Labor
succeeded IN entering a vigorous pro-
test against the passage Of the bill.