Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-07

railroad company has which acquires
its permanent right to use by condem-
nauon proceedings, so long as that
right Is not challenged by the state
Inc answer sets up that under an act
of our legislature in 1885 commission
ers established the county seat Of
Rock island county on land bought by
. them from the government OF the
United States and that in such work
the premises involved were designated I
! on the plat made as public square;
that the county commissioners OF said I.
/ Rock Island county bought and plated |
/ 4 county seat and designated the /
square involved public square: that
IN 1885 the county built on said square
court house costing $4,000 and in |
1888 erected a new court house at |
cost Of $3.50 600 and that from 1897
down to and at the present time said /
block has been and is used exclusively +
/ as court house ground: that in 1857 /
+ the county erected a Jail on said block /
at cost of $4,000 which has been /
/ maintained as such up to the present +
+ time and that in 1895 the said county +
/ At an expense of $4,000 erected a /
heating plant upon said block for the /
/ COunty's use, that the said county has .
/ built sidewalks around said block with /
/ proper cross walks. set out trees and /
Shrubbery and permitted the erection /
/ Of a soldiers monument and that ever /
since 1885 continuously and up to the /
[ present time said block has been used /
( exclusively and uninterruptedly by |
/ the county for county seat purposes /
and that the county has expended upon |
said block or public square approx |
mately or nearly $3.50 900 and that the /
/ improvem now proposed. TO en- |
I join which this suit was commenced, /
amount to over $4,000
Does 1t Owe Fee.
/ Il do not think that the county can /
I be said 10 own the fee in the public |
( square or TO have such an interest |
! there in that the Legislature as the |
/ sovereign power OF the state, cannot |
I determine or abolish it, but until the /
. sovereign power so acts and deter |
mines and while the county holds the |
. permanent right to use, the county |
has such an interest in the block that |
. II has a right to use such block in any |
way that is fairly incident to county |
+ seat purposes. so long as the county /
+ does not infringe any law that prop |
. cTIy restraints or prohibits acts that
the legislature may regulate under its /
! police powers.
II hold that the plating set up in
the answer and the use of the block
{ for over so years by the county as
county seat grounds and the custom
that has prevailed for all those years, !
shows d dedication of a permanent
right to use said block for county seat
/ purposes and for all purposes incident
to county seat uses. / further hold
that the building of a Jail is OF neces-
sity an incident to county seat uses
and purposes.
This incidental right to a Derma-
nent use, as long as il is not chal-
Ienged by the sovereign power of the
state is TO the county a constitutional
j right as fully as it would be if pos,
i sessed by an individual, who owned
the fee.
4 IF the legislature can state arbj-
tTarily that a cOuntyt whose right to
use ground for county seat purposes
il has never sought to otherwise
abTidge, cannot build a jail on its'
county square, then it can just as well
say that the county cannot build a
court house upon county grounds I'M
less it be upon the sole ground that
the legislature can say that Jail upon
a county seat grounds is a nuisance.
Can it be cOntended that the repair
OF the old Jail could be legislated
against because such old jail which
had stood for rs years, was within 200
feet Of q SCHOOL, If d Jail can be legiS-|
lated against upon the sole ground
that it stands within 200 feet Of
school then why cannot the present
Jail be abated by the same means, or
why not a condition arise where a
city large enough to cover or embrace
a whole county, no jail whatever could
be built in the county. 1t seems to
me from the answer that the cOunty's
right in the block public square is
fully settled by custom and otherwise,
as a permanent right TO use and con
troll and that such right, as long as il
is recognized by the sovereign power,
entities the county to assert its con-
stitutional rights.
Jail Not Nuisance.
The next question is can the cree
ton Of the jail be prohibited by the
legislature in the exercise of its pc
/ lice powers
There can be no claim made that
a Jail is d nuisance per Sc; nor IS
there any claim made that the pro-
posed structure will be in any way I'M
/ sanitary or in any way menace to
health. or that it will tend to impair
the comfort safety or welfare of so
ciety. Il is alleged merely that it will
| be q iaiI That averment does not
/ carry with it the charge that it Will
disturb the comfort safety or welfare
( Of society If a naked averment as
/ made here in the legislation OF June,
1915. amounts to anything, then why
/ is not the same true if the jail is built
within 400 feet of a school? What
significance can the exact number of
feet make? Is not the sole and only
+ matter 10 consider this: Will any jail,
/ wherever built, interfere with the
| comfort safety or welfare OF any per
sons. school, church or society? II
| so. then it is subject 70 police regu-
| IatiOn.
The authorities are agreed that the
police power possessed by the legis-
| r-.-.-. r.Intn a11nh things nnlE as