The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1883-08-16
CITY GOVERNMENT.
Special Meeting Of the Board Of Mayor
and Aldermen.

A special meeting of the Board Of Mayor and
Aldermen was held yesterday afternoon. In
the absence of Mayor Deering, Chairman Win
slow presided.
Absent, Aldermen Gould and Emery.
The meeting was called to give hearing to
petition from s. q. Dyer and others, praying
that the turn tables OF the Horse Railroad
Company on Spring street, in front of Mr..
Dyer's residence, be removed.
Mr.. Dyer was the first speaker and gave his
reasons for the petition. He said the turning
OF the cars, and especially the changing of
horses from one end of the car to the other,
since the long cars had been put on, drove
clouds Of dust into his windows. 1t also caused
people from the Rolling Mills, Refneries, &C..
to use his fence and steps as a car station while
waiting for cars. Drunken men used his fence
to roost on, and his front yard as bed cham
ber. Then again the tramping Of the horses
around the table had made water, after storms,
collect there and flow down on to his property
Mr. B. B. Farnsworth corroborated what
Mr.. Dyer said, although. as he said, he didn't
suffer as much from the dust as his house was
farther away.
NIL LIZ ID. w ilbOu iCiOAiCu w thO 1aSb Ouoo
the grading was SO bad about the turntable,
and the space was SO limited between it and
the walk, that he considered the position Of
the turntable dangerous. He had twice nearly
escaped bad accidents at that point while driv-
ing home.
Hon. G. f. Libby, counsel for President
Wheeler Of the Railroad Company, said that
he had no doubt that Mr.. Dyer and the other
complainants suffered annoyance from the
turntable.. When the road was located in that
part OF the city-the upper part of Spring
street, was ,hinly populated. Since then
there has been great increase of population
there. The road was properly charter ed and
has certain franchise rights however, and
neither the city or road could alter the loca-
tions of sidings, tables, or rails without the
consent of each other. The gentlemen
westerly end of the street. There was no pas
sengers to carry there. The only way the mat
ter could be managed was by continuing the
track right on on circuit, say through Thom-
as to Pine streets, and thence connecting with
the Congress street line, or through Vaughan
street, connecting with the same line. He
said petition had been drawn up, and Messrs.
Dyer, Farnsworth and Nelson had all signed
it, and it was tfe intention of the company to
see which way the citizens of Ward Seven
City Council refused to give power to extend
the road in the way proposed why then the
present turntable must remain.
Mr.. Dyer didn't think any law would obGge
him to stand nuisance.
Mr.. Libby said it would depend what nuis-
ance was interpreted to mean. The elevated
railroad in New York was nuisance to the
dwellers on Sixth avenue, but it was con-
venience to the great majority of the citizens,
and the property owners on that avenue
couldn't get rid of it. So If the turn table had
been legally established and was a convenience
to great majority OF the citizens, the parties
who claimed it as a nuisance must stand it.
Now, he said, the company want to do what's
right and not inconvenience anyone.
Mr.. Winslow said that when he visited the
turn-table ii seemed to be in good condition.
Mr.. Dyer said that was because the company
had fixed it the day before he saw it.
Mr.. Hawkes. asked how it was that the COM
mittee on streets had several times asked
President Wheeler to meet them and he had
never acknowledged the request
Mr.. Wheeler said because he lived out of
town, and never got the notices till the day
after the proposed meetings.
Mr.. Hawkes. said he supposed Mr.. Wheeler
had good reason, but had thought it strange
he never answered the invitations.
The matter was then laid on the table till
the next lar meeting
A petition of Howes, Hilton & Harris to
keep 100 barrels petroleum in store was re-
ferred to Chief Engineer Fire Department.