WATER-FRONT DECISION BENEFITS THE STATE (Continued From Page One.) of land! through the Southern Pacife's property adjacent to the freight- slip on the Oakland creek. APPROPRIATED NO MAN'S LAND. The Southern Pacifie's whole title to Its water front holdings is based upon the purchase from Carpentier, who owned the land. It was sold and resold until the Southern Pacific came Into lawful possession, but when it came. to adjusting the conflicting and varying Tow-tide lines, and finally to complying with the established bulkhead line, the Southern Pacifio deftly. appropriated what seemed to be "No man's but which now appears to belong to the city of Oakland. According to an omelal of the Southern the long pier, commonly called "Long cost the company a little more than $750.000 to build. At the end of that long pier, where coal Ships, and other ocean vessels land, there de a depth of forty-two feet of water, no great a depth, in fact, that were the water to recede the height of the piers would seem alarming and their construction flimsy and Insecure. The 'Oakland Just to the southward of "Long whart." cost $1.750,000 as it stands to-day, without conaldering the 'recent additions along the south edge and near the outer end. This long mole la practically a solid rock and earth peninsula. section of both the long wharf and the mole crosses what virtually strip of Oakland city property, lying between the old low-tide line and the new bulkhead line. But Attorney Foulds very emphatically declared yesterday that the decision of the • Circuit Court of Appeals *does not affect our wharves at all." WANTED GOAT ISLAND. More than thirty years ago the Southern Pacific sought to acquire Gout island and extend its mole to that large area of solid land. The plan to level. oft the island and make great flat space for freight terminal yards and the necessity of hauling all traina bacle three or tour miles to the present freight yards In West Oakland. such public sentiment was aroused at the time by one of the San Francisco papers, however, that the plan was thwarted. The cry then was that the Southern Pacino was actually planning to form city on Goat Island to rival. San Francisco. Years ago, in attempting to define its water front and tide line holdings, the Southern Pacino, drove a fence of piles along the side of the north trainins wall and then across to the outer end of the Oakland mole. The city of Oakland promptly pulled up those piles and contacated them, having them moved to the corporation yard. Just how much property is embraced In the Intra-tide limits that has been claimed by the Southern Pacino is not readily determinable by the company. all the old records were destroyed in the are, but the tract of tide land northward of the base of. the north training wall embraces 114, acres. It Is not so much what the Southern Pacife really had that belonged to Oakland what the grasping COTporation has been prevented from grabbing to the exclusion of all other transcontinental rivals. Under the recent decision there no great obstacle to the Santa Fe's constructing an Oakland mole of Its own, either Immediately to the northward of the proposed Western Paciflo mole or else Just northward of the Southern Pacific' Oakland mole. But no Santa Fe officials competent to discuss this prospect were left in San Francisco yesterday, -both Assistant Presldent Payson and W. A. Bissell being in the southern part of the State, following up the Interstate Commerce Commission's investigation.