Charles Evans Whittaker

“ We come now to the core of the controversy between the parties, namely, whether the license issued by the Commission under the Federal Power Act to the City of Tacoma gave it capacity to act under that federal license in constructing the project and delegated to it federal eminent domain power to take upon the payment of just compensation, the State's fish hatchery-essential to the construction of the project-in the absence of state legislation specifically conferring such authority. ”

“ The Court of Appeals, holding that 'state laws cannot prevent the Federal Power Commission from issuing a license or bar the licensee from acting under the license to build a dam on a navigable stream since the stream is under the dominion of the United States' and that there was ample evidence to sustain the Commission's findings and its order, affirmed. ”

“ The State's Directors of Fisheries and of Game, acting through an Assistant Attorney General of the State, filed an answer and also a cross-complaint (reasserting substantially the same objections that they and the State had made before the Commission, and that had been made in, and rejected by, the Court of Appeals on their petition for review) to which the City demurred. The judge of the Superior Court sustained the Taxpayers' demurrer and dismissed the suit. [12] Tacoma appealed to the Supreme Court of Washington. ”