The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1871-05-19
THE MAYORS VETO.

The Mayor yesterday sent to Councils mes
sage vetoing the ordinance for the erection of
additional market sheds on Glrard avenue,
which presented such clear and forcible rea-
sons why one of our finest avenues should
not be further disfgured by these unsightly
structures that the vetoing of the veto by a
large aiority in each chamber is a matter
for surprise. 1t is no won
der that Philadelphia is sneered
at as an overgrown country town
when such thoroughfare as Girard avenue
is not only allowed to remain in its present
condition, but is further encumbered by the
act of the municipal legislature, in spite of
the earnest protest of the Mayor. The veto
message read yesterday in Councils proved
conclusively that the Girard avenue market
sheds were useless; that they depre-
ciated the value of property; that they
were an injury to the business in
terests of the people having shops on the
street; and that they practically destroyed a
magnificent avenue which might be, as the
Mayor puts it, 'an angular extension of
Broad street, and one of the most beautiful
approaches to the Park that could be devised
Philadelphis, however, has a weakness for
market sheds in the middle of its best Streets
and the only wonder is that an effort has not
been made ere this to have Broad street de-
corated in the same manner that Girard
avenue is. There appears to be superstition
with regard to these sructures-an idea not
only that the provisions sold in them are both
cheaper and better than they would be if OBJ
tanned from some other style of edifces, but
that the safety, prosperity, and everlasting
welfare of the municipality depend upon
their preservation. We all can recollect
the accents of rage and despair with which
the proposition to tear down the Market
street sheds was greeted. 1t is impossible to
compare the clamor of the occasion to any
thing but the wild opposition to the erection
of the public buildings upon Penn Square.
We were assured that If those sacred sheds
were torn down Philadelphians might as we'll
emigrate to some other locality, for without
them the city would undoubtedly 60 straight
to the everlasting bow-wows, property would
be deprecated in value SO much that it would
not be worth paying the taxes upon, articles
of food would be increased several thousand
per cent. in value, and in few years Phila-
delphia would be a home for the bats and
owls, for no living thing of human kind
could possibly exist here after the destruction
of those market. sheds None of the dreadful
consequences SO fearfully predicted have
come to pass, and as Philadelphia has sur
vived the Market street sheds, it is not an
altogether unhoped-for thing that Girard
avenue and other streets may in the course of
ages be freed from their distractions The
action of Councils yesterday, however, does
not offer much encouragement to those who
desire to see the city beautifed andimproved,
and they can only pray devoutly that in the
future a spirit of enlightenment will prevent
our municipal legislators from perpetrating
again such stupid blunder as they did in
passing the Girard avenue market shed ordi-
nance over the Mayors veto.