United States v. 434.00 Acres of Land More or Less, in Camden County, State of Georgia

JOHNSON, Circuit Judge:

The United States government had earlier secured an easement over parcels of land owned by the appellants. Now the government seeks to take these properties in exchange for just compensation. Under our Constitution private property is, in all cases, held subject to the exigencies of the public good. “The constitutional guarantee of just compensation is not a limitation of the power to take, but only a condition of its exercise.” Long Island Water Supply Co. v. Brooklyn, 166 U.S. 685, 689,17 S.Ct. 718, 720, 41 L.Ed. 1165 (1897). The question posed by this case is whether…