Morning journal and courier., 1888-02-01
THEHEARInG OoNT1NuRn.

draw Their Objections if Fully Rec- omPensed For Damages-The Com mHttee to Look over 1he Ground EO- Day.
 The hearing by the city officials on wheth-
 CT Hill, Lafayette and Liberty streets shall be | closed at The request of the New England l railroad officials was continued last night in rooms il and d2 City Hall.
 Colonel W. H. Stevenson, who is president
 of the New England road, was the first to ap- | pear and was the last one to urge the closing
 of these streets. A bridge, he said, never ought to be allowed at Liberty street. On humanitarian principles first object. On
 business principles we can't go ahead with the plans we contemplate if this bridge is
 built. We have intended to show you in 8 business-like way what we propose to do. Go to Long wharf and you will find at times
 @ hundred teams on each side of that cross- ing of the Consolidated road. Any truoknan 1 will tell you that he would rather carry freight for less than to cross railroad track.
 There is danger there. We propose to erect
 8 warehouse there. If any merchant orders
 a quantity of flour or anything else from l the West he can keep his wares in | our house and save the expense of | carting it from the depot and back again when he wants to ship any of it. He
 can keep his four or whatever it may be in our warehouse when it arrives here, and 1 when the merchant sells any he can send his order to us and the stuff will be shipped
 without any expense of carting. The mer- chants can therefore compete with every | other city in the country. I and MT. Bald
 win have driven to Belle dock and never
 had my hair stand up but that once, when | we crossed the Consolidated railroads cross- l ing at Long wharf and came very near being
 struck by a switch engine. We propose 1 to put the entrance of the Housatonic and 1 the New England system on such B basis ! that man can drive up to this platform one thousand feet long and unload his freight 1 or deliver his passengers and not be obliged | to go amongst multitude of tracks and put 1 himself in danger. We have no desire to do anything against the people of New Haven. ! We depend on them and we must of necessity i work with them. If you can show us bet I ter way to place our freight house we will ] abide by your decision. Experience has l shown us that we have incorporated in that paper (pointing to the map what we consider | is the right thing. If we have made @ mis- \ take we have made it honestly and we are willing that you shall correct us Compe- tent engineers say that the only place for the machine shops is at the foot of Liberty street and that is the reason why we ask that it. be closed. On humanitarian principles, how many people have been killed by bridges that ought not to exist We are trying to carry out our contract. If we can't get the inter ests we.desire it may be necessary for us to put up our warehouse on the other side of West river. We want to meet you in fair, square, business-like way. We want to make connections east and west by July 1. We want to spend our money, not yours, for the
 benefit of the city. If you will allow us we will. We are willing to do anything that
 this committee, in it's honesty, thinks best
 If Liberty street is bridged it will greatly in-
 terfere with our future plans. We are going
 to build all these buildings just as soon as we
 are given the right to go ahead.
 Charles Fleischner was opposed to closing
 Liberty and Lafayette streets. If Colonel
 Stevenson, he said, were to go about the
 erection of these buildings right away he
 might withdraw some of his objections. But
 don't think he intends to do it. I want to
 refute the statements made that all this op-
 position is in favor of the Consolidated road
 There is no reason why Liberty street cannot
 be bridged. It extends from one end of the city nearly to the other and is one of the main thoroughfares into Congress avenue. No more danger would arise to trainmen if it were bridged for the Cedar street bridge is close by and the same precautions could be taken. There would be no more danger here than at the Cedar street bridge. The railroad company should recompense the people who
  at Silver street you cut off all the trade to Congress avenue ot Christopher, Minor, Port sea, Carlisle, Liberty and Silver streets. have the interests of the city as much at heart as the Chamber of Commerce, although I don't belong to it. don't want to see this section injured for the benefit of others. There isn't place in the country where there is such network of railroad crossings as at Long Wharf, and yet I ask Colonel Steven son if he can point out an accident that has occurred there in the last twenty years. The reason of the action by the legislature on the Meadow street crossing was because of the penuriousness of the Derby company. They didn't pay to keep their crossings properly tended. I den't think these improvements will take place in the next twenty-five years. As long as we have no assurance that they are to make these im- provements at once we will fight the project to the bitter end. the road will do as it agrees and the opposi- tion may withdraw. Property there has de- preciated since this scheme came up. The Chamber of Commerce has been enjoying fifty years sleep with an annual banquet | thrown in, and yet they probably want these streets closed. If I were fully recompensed | might withdraw my opposition.
 J. J. Kennedy, deputy internal revenue \ collector, lives at T Lafayette street, and | was opposed to the streets being closed. I Thought Liberty street could be bridged. | The railroad comes into the city on paper but | he was satisfied it would get what it wanted ! The matter of compensation should be left to | three fair minded men. He was willing to | sell his property now for what he paid for it. |
 Andrew Morehead of Prince street didn't | think the location of the terminus of the | New England system would make things sell I one cent cheaper. The road would keep I rates up. think Liberty street should be | bridged and gates put on Lafayette street. l The road doesn't say what it is going to do. | The closing of these streets may help my trade. but it won't help my neighbors. It will injure everyone who owns property on Congress avenue between Cedar and Com merce.
 Louis L. Rosenberg, who owns 8 store on Congress avenue, said the closing of the streets would injure trade on Congress ave- nue between Lafayette and Hill. Those merchants get all the trade of people who would be completely shut out if the streets were closed and they would trade elsewhere.
 Andrew w. Murtagh, of Hill street, thought it an outrage to allow the railroad company to close up those streets One of his objec- tions was that he would have to go block i further to get to the Church of the Sacred Heart, of which he is 8 member. He owns on Hill street and thought it would | depreciate it's worth. He didn't think the committee ought to vote to have the streets | closed, but expected it would. He would be satisfied if all the streets were closed if he were fully recompensed. ''But remember, gentlemen" :" he said, "my inconvenience is going block further to church."
 Nathan Cohn ot Hill street, who keeps a store on Congress avenue, spoke at some length against Starbuck and the railroad l company, but he would be satisfied if he was paid what damage was done him.
 Thomas Mccullough, of Silver street, thought there would be little opposition if the people in that neighborhood were com pensated. He thought some of the men who were so public-spirited should pay part of the damages. Liberty street should be bridged gates put at Lafayette street and Hill street closed.
 Richard Fischell, who keeps dry goods store at 160 Congress avenue, said it would njure his trade if the streets were closed. Liberty street, he thought, should be bridged | md gates put at Lafayette street.
 George E. Mitchell, of 146 Liberty street. wanted that street bridged A. Bretzfelder, epresenting the estate of A. and H. ,. Bretzfelder, which has property on Y |