The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-12-31

DEMANDS TITLE PROOF
Answer to the injunction Suit Filed in
Springfield Gives Many Reasons
Why Manufacturing Com
pany Loses.
Especial to The Gate City.]

Especial to The Gate City]
SPRINGFIELD, ILL.,, Dec. S0.-That
the Mississippi River Power Company
is not satisfied to remain defendant in
the suit against it of the Mills-Ells
worth company, but is fighting to the
extent of putting the Mills Ellsworth
Company on the defensive, is indicat-
ed By the answer filed by the dam
company in the United States court
here this afternoon.
The company building the big dam
at Keokuk denies in the pleading FLED
that the Mills-Ellsworth company is
the owner of the land described in
their complaint, and says part of it is
owned in fee by the city of Keokuk
and the rest by the power company it
selfand hence that Mills-E Ellsworth
have no harm accruing to them by
the building of the power plant in the
Mississippi river
There is set out suit said to be
pending now in the state court at
Keokuk by which the city claims that
it owns the site of the factory and
asks for decree quoting the fee title
in the municipality.
Says They Own no Land Flooded.
1t is also stated in the answer that
the power company is the owner of
the railroad strip and the wagon road
strip called the Third street road;
that the power company acquired the
former from the Burlington railroad
by a conveyance satisfactory to both
of them; andsthat the wagon road was
conveyed to-, the power company by
the city Of .Keokuk by special ord;
nance in 1909.
The purport of this part of the an
swer is, that Mills Ellsworth do not
own any real estate which will be
flooded. and hence have no rights
whatever in court with such a claim
It is said that the burden of proof of
title is on Ellsworth, in this
phase of the case
Finally. the water power COM
pany pleads that it has long
had Offices and officers in Keo-
kuk where the controversy lies, and
Illinois have no jurisdiction, for which
reason this suit should be thrown out
of court. Also, that this chancery
court lacks right TO hear the case be-
cause there is an adequate remedy at
law for Ellsworth
Overflow Caused by Government.
But ahead of these legal defenses.
there are pages and pages of aver
ments going to the yitals of the mat
ter. The answer is long ore and
gives numerous and divers reasons,
each being held sufficient why Mills
Ellsworth have no chance to win the
suit
An important part claims that the
property described will not be flooded
by the dam proper at all-but that
it will be overflowed by the operation
OF gates the power company was com
PEELED to place there to raise the wa
ter level higher than it desired for its
power purposes, by command of the
United States, in order to improve
navigation
1t is recited that the work at Keo-
kuk is a great conservation of ma
tional resource, which improves navi-
cation in the great artery of com
merce to a great extent And that the
United States is engaged in making
deep water navigation In the Missig-
sippi which has cost millions in the
lower river, while above Keokuk for
many miles the deep water navigation
is produced by the big dam at the be-
hest of the national government.
Federal Government Acts.
Hence, the United States, acting in
the interests of navigation and inter.
state commerce, had a perfect right
to make the law of 1906. taking the
right to condemn land above the dam
but the power company carefully in.
sists that it also has the right 10
condemn under the Iowa law.
After reciting the building of large
lock, drydock and means of operating
them which go to the United States
gates and dam are being built unde,
the supervision of the United State,
and will be operated under the super
vision on Its army engineer officers
hence the dam has all the rights tn,
federal government chooses to give il
which are ample.
Several other answers were filed i
smaller cases of Illinois farmers b,
low the flood line, but there is nothin
new or peculiar in these others.
Ask OsJ
You may cough fomorrnMl Bet