Arizona republican., 1919-07-09
SUIT MAY BLOCK MILLION DOLLAR HOTEL IN PHOENIX
Action Brought in Superior Court Says Central School
 Property Must Always Be
 Used for School Purpose

Litigation, supposedly intended to block the million dollar hotel enter prise was instituted in division No. l of the superior court yesterday when a suit was filed by Messrs. Bullard and Jacobs for J. T. Murphy, acting for himself and all other persons similarly situate plaintiff vS. L. D. Dameron, Sims Ely and w. B. Hornberger, as trustees, constituting the board ot trustees of school district No. 1 of Maricopa county, Arizona, George Spellmire, John Doe and Richard Roe.
 The suit is designed to prevent or hold up the transfer of the Central school block which was sold by the school trustees to Babbitt Brothers Of Flagstaff two years ago, the deed for it now being in escrow. The purchas- CTS recently arranged for the transfer of the east half of it to Jordan & Grace representing themselves and a syndi cate proposing the erection of large hotel.
 The suit revives a contention that has been advanced from time to time in the past whenever it was found advisable to dispose of any of the prop erty which had been turned over by the government to a trustee of the town of Phoenix for school or other public purposes.
 Old Law Recited
 There is recited in the complaint the United States law under which any portion of the public domain may be settled upon and occupied as a town site. In the case of the Phoenix town site, the town being unincorporated. l ( JAl, TA-r1, | lap, became the trustee and took sucn steps as were necessary to secure the site. He executed deeds to the lots Tn the townsite and acted for the com munity in the disposition of the prop erty within the site
 The Central school block was known as block 92. August 2, 1875, the trusted conveyed this property to B. F. Patter- son, John Montgomery and George Buck as trustees of the school district The contention of the plaintiff rests on this clause of the indenture:
 'In. trust for school purposes 1T school district No. 1 and not to be used for any other purpose whatever. and upon the further provision ''tC have and to hold all and singular the above mentioned and described prem ises unto the said B. F. Patterson, Johr Montgomery and George Buck, trus tees as aforesaid, and their successor. in office for the purposes and use aforesaid party of the second part anC assigns forever"
 Can't Sell it, is Claim
 Under this deed of trust it is the con
 tention of the plaintiff that the sue ; cessors of the first trustee are pre- , cluded from selling or disposing 0 this property, but that they hold solely for charitable uses and purposes for the benefit of the school distric and for the community and individual | of the district.
 } It is alleged that the present trustee entered into a certain escrow agree
 ment, the terms of which are unknow , to the plaintiff, wherein they trans l ferred or agreed to transfer the titl to Spellmire, and the plaintiff is in l formed and believes that the schot 3 building on this block is about to I torn down and that the use of it fo l school purposes will cease.
 l Accordingly an order is asked for re
 straining the school trustees from car l rying out the agreement with Spell mire and John Doe and Richard Ro
 whoever they may be, from acceptin . or claiming title to this property. S This question has been raised wher . ever in the past the subject of th : transfer of any of three blocks deede f by Alsap for school purposes has bee f discussed. Only one of the blocks ha f ever been so disposed of, the West En
 school block. But the discussion the
 was academic only. for the propert had become entirely unfit. by reaso n Of it's proximity to the railroad, fe a school purposes.