Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1878-07-19
The HarbOr improvement.
CITIZENS MEETING.

The HarbOr Improvement.
CITIZENS MEETING.
As will be seen by the council proceed
ings in another column, resolution was
adopted to hold public meeting on Satur-
day evening, July Goth, for the purpose of
giving our citizens an opportunity to dis
euss in public the advantages of the pro-
posed harbor improvements. The meeting
will probably not take place as the persons
appointed by the Council to issue the call
do not think it necessary to hold a meeting.
The Council left the matter in bad shape
in not appointing COMMITTEES to adver-
tise and make arrangements for the meet
ing.
ESTIMATE OF THE VALUE OF THE LAND SOUGHT
TO BE APPROPRIATED.
We the undersigned have this day at the
request of the Council of the incorporated
village Of Ashtabula, carefully looked ever
and do under all the circumstances, give
as our deliberate Judgment as the value Of
the land sought to be appropriated for the
widening and deepening the channel of the
river at Ashtabula Harbor; the following
amounts to the parties herein below named.
Knowing and considering all the circum-
stances Of each individual case, and hav-
ing before us map or plat of said lands:
We adjudged the S-1OO of an acre of
H. H. Hall at 800; the 26-1OO OF an acre
of 81. Hubbard & Co. at 500; the 14-1OO
of an acre of Fassett & Humphrey at $4OO;
the. 9-100 of an acre of Tomoes Bros. at
1925; the 5-1O0 of an acre of H. Hubbard
Co. at S1.OS; moving store, 5000; and
it is our opinion that these are fair prices
for the above property.
n. W. Brown.
WM. HANCOCK.
JOHN HARMON.
G. A. THAYER.
Ashtabula, July 70 1878.
THE MANNER OF PAYING FOR THE RIGHT OF
WAY, ETC.
Eds. Iel.:-It has been arranged by the
proper authorities. for the voters of this
village to vote next Monday, yes or no,
upon the proposition to place debt of
not more than fifteen thousand dollars up
on all the taxable property in the village,
for the purpose of widening and deepening
a small portion of Ashtabula Harbor.
It is estimated that to do this work
about $4,000 cubic yards of earth must be
removed, and about S2, 500 paid to owners
of river front for damages. Counting the
frontage on both sides of the river as far
as it is navigable there is about three miles
of it. OF this the Lake Shore and Michi-
gan Southern Railroad Company own
about one mile, the Ashtabula, Youngstown
and Pittsburgh Railroad Company about
one mile, and two of the largest Banking
Corporations in the village, and, say
dozen, wealthy men own the other mile.
1t is vigorously claimed by those persons
who ask the people to vote, yes, that the
widening and deepening is absolutely nee
essary for the convenience of commerce at
our Harbor, and the cost of doing it, and
manner of assessing the cost is based upon
this necessity.
Assuming the necessity to exist, it fol-
lows that when the work is done the direct
benefits arising will be to those who are
now inccnvenienced in doing business there
and in proportion to their inconvenience
now, they will be benefited when the i'm
provement is made.
But besides the direct benefit to the cor
poration and men engaged in business
requiring water front, there will be
general benefit coming to the public in
such proportion and degree as their indi-
vidual property depends upon Harbor ad
vantages.
With these facts before our minds it is
plainly to be seen that there are just two
classes of persons related to this proposed
improvement; those who own water front
and those who do not. While it is perfect
ly plain that the class who own river lots
will be benefited more than those who do
not.
As the law stands now, and the notice
to go and vote, it Is proposed to tax those
who do not own river front at the same rate
as those who do-while we admit that tax
es are seldom or never adjusted in exact
proportion to the benefits derived-be-
cause of the impossibility of measuring
contingent benefits, or of classifying un-
equal interests-we confess surprise that
non-river front owners should be asked to
contribute taxes equally with those who
own river front, for the purpose of greatly
increasing the facilities for doing business
for the latter.
In Cleveland, and in other lake cities in
this State where much of this kind Of
work has been done part Of the cost is
assessed upon the abutting property, and
the remainder upon the general tax dupli-
cate. Ashtabula Harbor could have been
fixed by much the same method of taxa
ton, had not the special act under which
the vote next Monday is to be taken, pro-
vided that if three-fifths vote, yes, the tax
is to be placed equally upon all taxable
property in the village. The active friends
of the scheme need not now offer apologies
for this feature of the law, for before 1t
became law an amendment was offered
to it providing for part of the cost to
be assessed upon the abutting anG directly
benefited property, but the friends q OF
the improvement, and of the idea to have
all property in the village taxed alike to
pay for it, opposed the amendment, and at
their request it was voted down. 1t is too
late now to defeat this unjust feature of
the law, but it is not too late to defeat the
operation of it.
The objection urged why property abut-
ting on the river should not pay extra, is,
that it would be too difficult to make spe-
clal assessments according to benefit. The
weakness of this objection when we con-
slider that a great many such assessments
are made in other places for similar work,
can be seen when we place it by the side OF
the fact that under the proposed plan the
appraisement of damages Is a question