St. Paul daily globe., 1884-09-20
Close Of the Seventh Street Improve
meut Hearing.

After a two days hearing before Judge Brill,
the matter of giving judgment against the prop
erty holders objecting to the assessment for the
Seventh street improvement was submitted and
taken under advsement by the court, at o clock
yesterday afternoon.
After the conclusion of the hearing Of testi-
mony, Mr.. Beals, the counsel for the objectors,
made a very able plea, dealing mainly with the
law points in the case, and from his mastery
handling of the case gave his clients strong
hopes that they might win some
concessions from the city. The main
points made by the counsel was the claim that
the act of the legislature had not been conformed
with requiring the laying out of the street from
the west end to the eastern line of the city that
the city charter as interpreted by the supreme
court could not carry on two improvements, a
public and local one, together under q single
assessment while in this several distinct and
separate Improvements were being made, and
parts of Improvements, under one assessment; !;
that seven blocks were left out of the assessment
because located on a gaade no sleeper than that
OF st. Anthony hill, etc.
City Attorney Murray followed in a short and
decisiyely put statement Of the facts in the case,
answering the matter OF laying out of the street
from the west to the eastern boundaries of the
city, by saying that subsequent legislature had
made previous legislation In this particular mop
erative and that Hoffman avenue was exempted
because of its liability for assessment on the
lower Third street improvements He reviewed
in brief the Legislative history in regard to this
improvement and the action taken by the board
of public works, and held that the latter thor
oughly held water under the license granted the
city under its charter. He then asserted that no
six men in this state could have made q fairer
assessment, from their thorough knowledge Of
the property involved, than the board OF pub
liz rit oil IpdO 90 ~ tha citv
singing them out by none and challenging q
word against their well known integrity. Dur-
Ing all this hearing not one breath of attack as
to the integrity of their assessment had been
made.
Mr.. Murray then criticised the testimony of the
witnesses OF the objectors, that they were not
benefited by this improvement and had not even
wanted the work done, by stating that they had
held meeting after meeting in the past on
the blutf to bring il about. AS, but with few
exceptions, none of these witnesses held property
west Of the fill, he did not give the same relia-
bility to their testimony as he would to that of
disinterested parties.
Dayton's bluff, through lack OF enterprise in
the past, had isolated itself from the city like an
island. II these improvements had been made
years ago Dayton's bluff would be to-day what
St. Anthony hill now is.
In answer to the claims OF the objectors that
the property on Dayton bluff had been assessed
for this improvement $50, 900 more than it was
worth, he cited the assessment OF S125 made on
Kate street property in the Sixth ward for grad
ing, not worth 800, which at once brought its
value up to $500.
Lyman C. Dayton presented objections TO the
assessment, as a side show, not being recognized
by either counsel.
Capt. Joseph Berger stated to the GLOBE rep
resentative that the S404 raised by the objectors
TO test this case, had all been subscribed by the
small property owners learning from 81 so to 50
per day wages) on the bluff, residing from a mile
10 half mile from Seventh street proper, and
that Messrs. Wiius, Nettleton and Mayall, the
larger property owners, had not given dollar to
carry on this hearing.