St. Cloud Water-Power & Mill Co. v. Mississippi & Rum River Boom Co.
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St. Cloud Water-Power & Mill Co. v. Mississippi & Rum River Boom Co.
Opinion of the Court
The plaintiff is a corporation under the laws of this state, authorized by various acts of the legislature to construct a dam across the Mississippi river at St. Cloud. The consent of congress to the construction of such dam was given by chapter 231, Acts Cong. 1883-84, (23 U. S. St. at Large, 154.) The act granting such consent contains this proviso: “Provided, further, that the works be constructed so as to provide for the free passage of saw-logs and rafts, and, when necessary, to permit the passage of boats.” There can be no question of the power of the legislature, with the sanction of congress, to authorize the construction of a dam across the river, although it is a navigable stream; nor of the power, especially of congress, to impose upon the right granted such restrictions and conditions, as to the kind of dam and manner of construction, as might be deemed best to protect the interest of those engaged in navigating the river, in floating logs or otherwise. The plaintiff was bound, therefore, if it constructed the dam, to so construct it as to provide for the free passage of saw-logs and rafts. The provision
We understand the proper care and management, and the necessity of having one or two men employed for that purpose, mentioned in the findings, to refer, not to the matter of floating logs down the river generally, but to the necessity created by the presence of the dam, and the slack-water caused by it; in other words, that it is necessary to have one or two competent men in attendance to get the logs past the slack-water, and so avoid jams and the breaking of the booms. The question in the case is, whose duty is it (plaintiff’s or defendant’s) to provide the care and management necessary to protect plaintiff’s property from the danger caused by the effect of the slack-water which the dam creates? We cannot avoid the conclu
Judgment affirmed.
Reference
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- St. Cloud Water-Power & Mill Company v. Mississippi & Rum River Boom Company
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