The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1910-08-23

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independently design trespass against
the plaintiffs rights.
The bill in New York recited that
the plaintiff was the owner of all
rights of navigation in the air in GER
tain described belts or bands surround
ing the city of New York. dividing it
into portions. and gridironing the con-
tinent; that the defendants had in the
past habitually trespassed on these by
flying over them in airshipS: that the
passage to or from the city OF New
York over the sea. the river or other
route was impossible save by such
trespass, and therefore injunction was
asked prohibiting the defendants, their
servants and all other persons from
departing from or coming to the said
city of New York through the air own
ed by the plaintiff or from navigating
any aerial craft across, over or through
the real property of the plaintiff where
sOever situated.
Finley Shayne's name led the list of
defendants. followed by that of the
AeroStatic Power company and page
after page of names of people owning
aerial craft, and airships everywhere
We're hemmed in by the real proper
ty' of the plaintiff. like whalers frozen
in the ice. The real property was
that wonderful spiders net of grants,
and the plaintiff was the Universal
Nitrates and Air Products company.
Craighead's opium dream was explain
ed. The relation between the twin
companies was disclosed. Two perfect
ly well known legal principles were
here united in an audacious attempt to
monopolize the air. the rights attach
ing to ownership of land and that of
injunction to prevent trespass or nui
sance.
Public and press were struck with
amaZement. The unthinking laughed
at the unheard of and preposterous
claim to private control of the atmos
phere. Lawyers began porting over
cases dealing with rights in and over
land. with growing dubiety as to the
outcome of the case of the Universal
Nitrates and Air Products company
versus Shayne ct al
When the ease came on to be heard
the laugh had disappeared. the very
army of lawyers appearing for the de
PENDANT rendering it serious matter
Craighead sat in court with Filley. his
hair rumpled. his crooked nose high !
in a suit of legal black. drawing moro
attention than did Carson. whose face
bleached of the gulf beach tan. he'd !
assumed the pallor of the sehOlar |
While vast responsibilities had been |
imparting 10 him an atmosphere of dis
tinction. He sat scanning the people
Of the defense-Shayne. Silberberg and |
other great financial figures.
While the pleadings and affidavits |
We're read Graighead sketched the
bailiffs. shutfied his feet and drummed |
on the table until the court tapped for
silence
I'VE will hear from the plaintiff,
said Justice McFadden. land as the
facts seem practically undisputed"-
But. your HONOR protested the
counsel for the defendants. I'VE GER
tainly do not admit
''For present purposes" replied the
justice, 1.-The showing seems ample that
plaintiff owns certain rights in lands
so distributed that the defendants
must pass over them in going from
place to place; that the defendants
have habitually done so and that the
situation constitutes a threat that this
will be repeated. The defendants by
claiming the right to pass these lines
confess this for present purposes. We
will therefore hear from plaintiffs
counsel on the law
Mr. Filley gathered up his papers.
but. with a professional sounding "May
it please the COURT that dumfounded
Flley and drew from the justice re-
quest for the gentleman's name, Craig
head rose
"Craighead." said he in response to
the courts query. II will offer few
remarks on the law and then yield to
my learned colleague. who will lay be-
fore your honors the feeble attempts of
the courts to crystalline it in prece-
dents. The law is fully as plain as the
nose on the face of the most Roman Of
your honors AS to it's righteousness.
it is as moral as landownership. That
it has not heretofore been applied has
been owing to the stupidity of the
legal profession. to the asininity of
landowners and to the fact that the
law is so plain. for that which is all
around ever remains undetected, like
the pressure of the atmosphere or the
picture with trees and clouds repre-
senting faces or animals. And as when
once the cat in the landscape is seen
the landscape fades. and one can see
nothing but the cat. so in this case
when the law is once made plain your
honors will be able to see nothing else.
We are taking the liberty Of unsealing
the blind eyes of the courts.'
Mr. Filley was outraged at the eff
frontery of this unlicensed actor in
thus taking the scene, but to make
disturbance now would be worse than
to let him go on, and Mr.. Filley sat
down frowning and hoping that Craig
heads offense might escape discovery.
"'Cujus ad solum, ejus est usque ad
coolur,1 - wont IN CroiUhoad stiS tho