The weekly tribune and the Cape County herald. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1914-1918, 1915-10-01
WILLER MAY HEAR
NO-MAN'SLANDC CASE
Tenant on River Made Farm Asks
Venue Change From
Wilson.

An affidavit yesterday was filed in
| Justice of the Peace Orren Wilson's
court seeking to disqualify him from
hearing the trial of c. W. Whitaker's
suit for malicious destruction of prop
erty against Sam Patrick, tenant of
st. Vincent's College on a tract of ac-
cretive land north of town and just
south of Cape Rock.
| The trial of the case may reopen a
question Of what might be termed
'squatter sovereignty" on land washed
iup against the Missouri shore by the
Mississippi River.
A change of venue by Patrick's at
torney, Lee Bowman, was asked of
Judge Wilson, and the order for the
change will be made tomorrow. 1t is
probable that the case will be tried by
Judge Willer.
The question of sovereignty over the
accretive land in question came up
about a year ago and attracted much
attention from the public and in the
newspapers.
ST. Vincent's College and Mercer d.
Wilson own land on the river below
the Cape Rock The river determined
to make both a present of about 80
acres of perfectly good farmland, by
washing the acreage up against their
shore and building the tract for some
distance out into the river.
About a year ago, the county, under
the impression that the accredited
land belonged to the county, adver-
tised a sale All the while the college
and Mercer Wilson were under the
impression that they simply were so
much land to the good. 1t may have
been another case of the unearned in
crement getting in its work on land
values.
However, Whitaker lived on both
tracts and started to clear it for farm
ing purposes. The college employed
the attorney, Bowman, to bring an
election preceding against Whitaker
who refused to bulge from the college
part of the land.
When he began investigating the
case, he then learned that the county
was going ahead with its sale adver-
tisements, working on the basis that
the river land belonged to the county.
The suit Immediately was changed
to one asking the county to be enjOin-
ed from the sale of the land. The case
was tried on the theory that the land
belonged to St. Vincent's College and
the county sale was enjOined. The
county forthwith backed off and quit
| the contest.
However, the Court had not made
decree of title in the land to the col
lege and to Mercer D. Wilson.
So Whitaker went ahead with his
clearing in preparations for a farm.
He calculated that he had simply found
this farm washed up on the bank of
| the river.
The college next enioined him in the
Court of Common Pleas to stop his
clearing work. The Court issued the
restraining order and the next Whit
aker went back to work. As a cOnse-
quence he spent some time in cOnfine-
ment for contempt of court.
The college then proceeded to place
tenant upon their share of the ac-
cretive land, Sam Patrick and his wife.
The Patricks put in crop of corn and
raised it successfully till the high wa
ter wiped it out a short time ago.
A small shed on the farm was then
ordered taken down by the college.
Patrick was to do the work. He and
his wife started in and Whitaker in
terfered, declaring that the shed was
his property and that it was malicious
destruction of property for the Pat
ricks, even under the order of the col
lege authorities, to tear the building
down.
A struggle took place on the ground
and the result was Whitaker's case
against Patrick for property destruc-
ton. Whitaker claims that the land
and its buildings belong to him-he
found it-and the college claims COM
pIete title to everything also.
A date for the hearing has been
agreed upon by the attorneys in the
case. Tuesday, October 5 probably
will be set for the hearing of the case
when it reaches Judge Willer's court.