The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1884-11-23
THE CANAL BANK.

1t strikes Us JnaL TIC IildC0Ni Va
railroad company using the canal bank
as a grade for the road bed, Is one that
should be determined partly by the
people and property owners along the
canal, partly by the facts as TO whether
such use will put any cost upon the
CITY corporation, and partly By the
truth as to whether the railway will be
a benefit 10 the city. 1t Is purely
business proposition, and one which the
CITY Council must deal with outside the
field of sentiment, and when 1t comes
ND for determination all phases OF the
question ought to be considered. 1t
must be held in view all the time that
the city owes the railroad nothing
and is under no obligations to
the company; the obligations, II
anv exist, are all on the other
side. Those engaged in building the
road are doing so out of no spirit OF
benevoIence, but solely for the purpose
OF making money for themselves. All
railroads are built upon this principle;
they could be constructed on no other;
if they were charity or benevolent in
stitutions they would be failures If not
nuisances. Then as the proposed road
is purely private concern, the Council
in its wisdom will ascertain first, If the
road is going to be Objectionable or
otherwise TO the people who will necess-
arly from their adjacent location, be
most affected by its operation. The
corporation owns the canal banks, 1t Is
true, but it has no moral right to permit
the infection OF Il nuisance on the res
idents along those banks We do not
know that the residents and property
holders there would object to tie rail
road: on the contrary it is believed that
large majority of them prefer the build
ing of the road in the belief that it will
prove a convenience to them in the mat
tiers of travel and freight transpOrta-
ton. Presuming that the consent Of
the people be obtained, is the road go
ing TO injure the banks III any manner,
Involving cost TO the city? If it is, then
the Council should promptly and en-
phatically deny the prayer of the petit
ton, for the Council itself has neither
the legal nor the moral right to make
private grant of this character that
would involve the expenditure of the
public money. 1t is said that the road
would prove benefit rather than an in
jury to the canal, but saying so is not
proof. rhe matter is one to be deter
mined by competent engineers, who
must take into account the future as
well as the present.
a question which should exercise a
good deal of influence in arriving at the
final determination is, viii the railroad
be material benefit to Salt Lake City =?
Of course it will be convenience, if not
means of economy, TO Mill Creek and
the Cottonwoods, but this city cannot
in making grants take those districts
into &C, cunt. All Salt Lake has the
right 10 do, is to look after its own
interests. Our municipal government
must consult only the welfare of this
city. If the road will help Salt Lake, to
Just the extent that it will benefit this
city should the Council lend it support
or make concessions, and no more. If it
should be deemed that the road would
benefit the city as much as the canal
bank would benefit the road, there
could be no cause for complaint against
the grant.
THE HERALD hopes the Council will
deal with this business intelhgently,
fairly and justly, i'll no spirit of narrow
ness, nor With the view to favorit-
ism. Treat the railroad company
simply as an association of
mer investing money to, make
money, and who have no more idea Of
doing something for nothing than other
railroad companies have. Railroads
will see that they get well paid for all
they do. They are proverbiaIly soul
less," and it is not likely that one will
now be born with more soul than all its
predecessors combined can claim. The
HERALD does not say that it is opposed
to the proposed grant; it confesses to
much affection for the canal, for the
construction of which it labored so
earnestly, and which it believes no in
telligent person will deny has proven
the best investment eyer made by the
corporation; so devoted are we to the
canal that anything which might in any
manner conflict with it's usefulness
would arouse our determined opposi-
ton. We do not know that the railroad
would prove in. the least degree injurious
to the canal, and cannotsay but the road
would benefit the banks. These are mat
tiers to be determined by others. All THE
HERALD asks and all the people ask, is
that the Council will act for the best
good Of the city, and treat with the