St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-10-30
THE COMO. BOULEVARD.

The summer is past, the harvest is
gathered, and yet that Como boulevard
is not made. 1t was confidently ex-
peet ed, when the legislature passed
the act last April authorizing the issue
of bonds for the purpose of improving
Lake Como and its shores, that the long
talked-of boulevard would be completed
before the summer was over. 1t is
therefore matter of great disappoint-
ment that the work is not only IncOm-
plete, but. so far as appearances lndl-
cate, there hasn't even been Begin
ming; and it will be necessary for the
park commissioners to furnish the pub
lie with some reasonable explanation of
their DELAY in this matter. The only
attempt at an explanation that has been
made is that the property owners have
not complied with the provisions of the
act in conveying to the city in fee the
land comprising the shores of said lake
Of width TO be approved by the park
commissioners. This is true; and yet,
With possibly two. exceptions, the
property owners have expressed their
Willingness to comply with this provis-
ion of the law, and have been ready at
any time TO make the conveyance
whenever the park commissioners shall
ask for it. The two exceptions referred
%, however, seem to have been the
stumbling block which the park COM
missioners permitted to Obstruct their
progress; and yet we are Of opinion that
upon fair statement of the case the
public will decide that this stumbling
block exists solely because of the I'M
reasonableness of the demands made by
she commissioners. 1t is surely so i'll one
ease, and possibly so in the other. One
gentleman is of opinion that the dam
ages to his property will be so much
greater than the benefits, he is justified
in asking some compensation. That is
matter, however, for the commission
ers, and the individual owner to settle
among themselves. The other case is
different and to our mind the commits
siOnerS are unreasonable in their de-
mands. In order to keep the boulevard
On a stretch of high ground at
the upper end of the lake the
commissioners have asked MIR. TALL
aADGE to donate to them eight
acres out of an eleven-aere tract
that he owns in this locality. The
owner has signified his willingness to
give, without consideration, roadway
through his premises of $50 feet width,
or whatever width the commissioners
may desire for boulevard purposes. but
he thinks it unreasonable to be re-
quired to donate the whole of the
eight acres when they are not
needed for the boulevard. The pub
lie will readily agree with Mr.. TALL
MADGE on this proposition and will
fail to see how the park commissioners
could advance such an absurd preteXt
for delaying the improvement that the
public had right to expect. If the
eight acres in the TAI.E.MADGE lot are
needed for park purposes. then there
will be no difficulty in acquiring them,
because the owner has expressed his
willingness to sell the property to the
city at about 30 per cent of its market
value. We have made this statement of
facts. as we know them to exist, for the
purpose of signifying to the park COM
miSsioners that the people of st. Paul
are not satisfied with their diIatory
movements and are not prepared to re-
ceive any halfway excuses in extenua-
ton of their hardness. The city is
sadly in need of such improvements
as had been contemplated at Como, and
when provision had been made for APP
propriating the public money toward
getting these improvements, it does
seem that the park commissioners
should have strained point to secure
their completion, and not have been
straining points to delay the work. 1t
is too late to mend matters this season,
but we do hope that with the opening
of spring the commissioners will be
prepared to begin work on the Como
boulevard. and will make it their bust
ness to avoid further DELAYS.