Los Angeles herald., 1909-07-11
VIEW SHOWING INNER sAsl N AT WILMINGTON HARBoR

and can be recovered at any time by
the state or through the intervention
of the federal government, if necessary
without reference to the date of sale
or any other condition.
Several acts, amendatory or other
wise, have been passed by the state of
California relating to the sale of tide
lands since 1857, but the constitutional
fact remains that the states right of
the sale of swamp or submerged lands
is confine- to salt or fresh water
marshes bordering upon non-navigable
sloughs or blind inlets, which must be
reclaimed for strictly agricultural pur-
poses by the purchaser thereof, and
then only when such reclamation is
| without injury to the paramount pub
i lie rights of navigation.
"The citys right to grant the use
of certain streets for railroad purposes
above the low water mark is an un-
questioned right with which the state
has no concern, but it's power between
the low water mark and the pierhead
line is limited to just such power as
the state possessed under the constitu-
ton, and no more. The water front
of Oakland was not granted to the city
of Oakland by the legislature for the
exclusive use and benefit of its people,
but with view to its proper develop
ment and the ultimate benefit of the
ptOple VI TIE SldlG 10 hlOlll IL bClOAbo'
Ownership Is General
1.-The harbor areas of the state-un-
like parks or other public properties
do not belong to localities, but to the
state as a whole, just as much so as
the capitol buildings of Sacramento.
The city council of Oakland, in my
opinion, has no more right to lease
the public water front to a private
,ssaff ion n
proach to deep water, in the face of d
constitutional provision to the con-
trary, than the city council of Sacra-
mento would have to lease the capitol
building simply because ii happened
to be located within the limits of that
city. The right of a state cannot be
invalidated by the acts of a city, re-
gardless of it's charter provisions. No
grant or franchise of a city can
operate against the constitution of the
state The state, as the creator of the
city. is the sovereign power, and it's
limitations must be respected in all
acts of the inferior body, otherwise
they are invalid and of no effect The
city of Oakland could no more suspend
the state authority over the APP
proaches to navigable bodies of water
than it could suspend the law against
forgery or arson. Every city has the
right to commit commercial suicide If
it sees fit to do so by trading off Its
opportunities, but no city has the right
to deed or grant the states property
to the undertaken in payment of its
funeral expenses.
Must Pay Penalty
Even the statute of limitations does
not operate against the state in its
right or effort to recover lands OBJ
tained by either fraud or unconstitu-
tional means. This applies to defend
ant cities as we'll as it does to individ-
uals. The constitution of the state IS
a public notice, and all acts of the leg
islature in order to be valid or effec-
tive must be in conformity Herewith.
All city charters are granted by the
state and in no case is there a power
vested greater than that of the state
itself Those who buy lands from the
state, the sale of which is prohibited
not only by the constitution of the
state but by the terms of the federal
grant to the state, must pay the pen
atty of forfeiture just as the individual
does who ignores the record of deeds.
The public protects itself against pos
sible official treachery or plunder by
the constitution, just as the private
owner of property protects himself by
resort to the public records of deeds.
This is not only the established policy
of. the United States, but all other ma
tions as WELL Any other policy would