Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar, Hannibal St. v. Missouri River Packet…
“ It is strenuously urged by the counsel for plaintiff in error that the bridge we are considering meets the express requirements of the statute; that the word 'spans,' as used in the statute, means the structures or parts of the bridge which span the river on each side of the pivot-pier, and it is these spans which the statute says shall measure 160 feet in length in the clear on each side of the central or pivot pier of the draw; and that the bridge, having been constructed according to the requirements of the statute, in its own words, is therefore a legal structure ”
