, 1878-03-08
FRIDAY, MARCH 5. 1873.
THE STREET QUESTION SETTLED
WHO IL the Peoples TRUE FRiLND'

The long course Of systematic per
secution of one of Port Townsend's
reliable and public. spirited citizens
has at last reached the end OF Its ca
reer in the particular channel known
as The "Street CUSTOM" and Will
hereafter he transferred to some
other line Of action.
Some time in February of
last year, this malicious ceiling as
sumcd definite form. A petition with
over 30 signitures was presented to
the Board of City Trustees, asking
that Water Street be opened so that
the residents under the hill beyond
Tibbals' warehouse, could obtain ac-
cess to their homes. Under the pre-
lenses of granting this petition the
CITY Marshal was ordered in about
ten DAYS before March lst, following,
NOT TO remove the distractions as
petitioned for, BUT TO REMOVE THE
FENCES IN Quincy STREET NEXT TO
THE BLOCK OWNED BY DR.. MINOR.
There was no petition before the
Board asking for the removal of these
fences when this order was issued;
this portion of Quincy Street was in
no sense needed and could not with
safety be travelled. No attention
being paid to this order, some time
in June, under advice of Counsellor
Blanchard, the Trustees set the City
Marshal and a posse of men at work
destroying these fences. This was,
however, stopped by legal measures
after about one hundred feet Of fence
had been thrown down.
Docter Minor meanwhile both
publicly and privately affirmed that
he had no desire to defraud the city
of any rights whatever; that should
he obtain legal title to the land in
question, in the courts, whenever
six leading, impartial business men
OF the city should state that it was
needed for street purposes a right of
way would he granted them, but that
the efforts to oust him we're charac-
terized by desire to satisfy malice
rather than benefit the public, and
that he considered the knocking
down of fences and destroying of
gardens i'll no sense demanded by
public welfare. That this offer
evinced spirit Of fairness, we leave
for candid public to determine.
The Doctor went farther than this,
and authorized us to state, which we
did, that he was convinced that the
city's right to the streets should be
established, and strengthened his
views by calling attention to the i'm.
portance of establishing legal title
to the streets at once, while the orig.
inal proprietors of the land were liv-
ing and could remedy any defects
that might exist.
Feeling identified with the inter
ests of the public, we claimed that
the streets of the city ought to be
held sacred for the public use, and
that the city's right must be defend.
ed, in view of which we urged that
if any defects were found to exist in
the title to such property they ought
to be remedied at once. Not con.
tent, however, with the simple and
easy plan suggested to adjust mat
ters and forever settle all difficulty.
the blinded aud fool.hardy instigat-
ors-led on by a lega! adviser whose
object was to attain temporary pop.
ularity and secure pecuniary gain
pushed ahead with the stolid intent
to Eight it out on that line If it took
all summer the "winter of their
discomfort" has now arrived, howev.
err, and after meeting defeat in nu.
merous suits they find themselves
compelled to adopt the common.
sense plan after all, so that they are
now going to work to establish prop
er and legal titles to the public
streets, in the manner prescribed by
US nearly a year ago. Their victim
meanwhile, is as willing to assist in
PROPERLY accomplishing the work as
he was at first, even though he was
selected from among three or four
who were occupying land laid out