State ex rel. Thomas Furnace Co. v. City of Milwaukee

This case can best be considered by taking it up at first from three several viewpoints; that is to say, from the viewpoint of the United States government, its relations to the subject under consideration and the requirements of its laws and regulations; second, the same as to the state; third, the same as to the city of Milwaukee.

Under the commerce clause of the United States constitution the federal government has a certain control over navigation and its incidents, including improvements of navigable rivers and bridges spanning the same. This is paramount to but not exclusive of state…