The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1889-01-26
VOLUME XIII
THE MESSAGE.
Mayor Fast Delivers an Exhaus-
tive Review
OF THE CONDITION OF THE TOWN,
And Makes Numerous Timely Recon-
mendatiOns.

" tHo CoWWoH COuHCW " tte tOWf
of MorgdntoWn:
1t occurs to me that, although il
is an innovation on former custom
it may not be out of place, with the
beginning of the new year, to submit
to you a general review of the man
ner in which the affairs of this mu-
nicipality have been administered
thus far during the current year, to-
gether with some opinions and rec
concentrations as to the policy to be
pursued by you for the remainder of
your term of office.
1t is hoped that the matters of
public information herein contained
may be of some interest to the citi-
zens and taxpayers of the town, who
have neither the time nor the incli-
nation to peruse your journal to find
out what has been done. This is
the only apology have to make for
the submission of this paper
Acting upon the recognized prin-
ciple that an improvement which is
only temporary in its character is,
ordinarily, in the long run, waste
of public money, your general i'm
provements have been undertaken
with reference to their permanence,
and not only q present but a pros
pective use and enjoyment by the
public. In your efforts to accom-
plish these results it has been your
aim to make it necessar y to acquire
as little private property for public
uses as is consistent with perma-
nence and public utility. In only
two instances has it been necessary
to pay actual damages for rights Of
way, out of eleven cases where it was
necessary to take private property
for the use of the streets. This
speaks well for the generosity and
public spirit of our citizens.
SIDEWALKS.
One of the first matters to claim
your attention was the crying de-
mand for more and better sidewalks
throughout the town and especially
along those streets leading to the
University. Orders were made for
about fifty new pavements, twenty
of which have been laid down. More
would have been put down but for
the inability Of our manufacturers
to supply the brick, Arrangements
have been made for continuing this
work with the beginning of good
weather in the spring. But all of
these walks cannot be put down I'M
til more brick can be made, although
you will have about $4,000 brick to
begin work with in the spring. The
work Of laying pavements was car
ried on with as much celebrity as cir
would permit. But on
account of the rainy season continu-
ing through the best time for work,
September and October, progress in
your Improvements was very much
delayed. One clamorous demand
has been met-the connection of
High and Front streets with the
University grounds by good and sub
stantial sidewalks.
AS there remain about thirty side
walks ordered which have not been
constructed, it would be useless now
to order more without increased IA
cilities for producing brick. But
there is one other sidewalk of great
public utility which, it occurs to me,
ought to receive your immediate at.
tention; that is walk from Decker's
creek bridge to High street | be-
lieve the property owners on the low
er side of this street are disposed to
consider favorably u proposition to
widen this street. Its present width
is only twenty feet, which makes it
very narrow after taking off enough
for sidewalk. An addition of six
feet from the lower side would over
come this difficulty. i hope at an
early day to be able to lay before
you a proposition by which this
street may be made wider and the
sidewalk laid down.
THE SURVEY.
In the first attempts to lay off
side walks and to establish grades
the difficulty of ascertaining the
true line on which to establish
sidewalk was encountered. In order
to simplify this work in the future
as well as to establish the center
lines of the streets in conformity to
the original survey, as far as it is
possible to do so at the present time,
(most of the old monuments having
disappeared), Professor Walter /.
Webb, the Corporation Engineer,
was directed to make complete sur
vey Of the whole town and to pre-
pare map of the same showing not
only the lines and the streets of the
town as they ought to be, but as they
are; and he was also directed to
mark the center lines of the streets
at all intersections by suitable and
permanent monuments driven or
planted in the center of the squares
flush with the bed of the street.
This work, partly completed by Pro-
fessor Webb, has been turned over
to Prof t. M. Jackson for compile
ton. When finished it will be
very easy task to ascertain the exact
line on which to lay a pavement,
build fence or erect building.
The survey of Engineer Webb
demonstrated that there is a slight
angle in Spruce and High streets at
Bumbo lane which carries them about
three feet to the east of continuous
straight centre line at their intersec-
ton with Wiley streets. This vari-
alton may beaccounted for in q num-
Der of ways. But the fact that a
variation of third of degree ac-
counts for the difference, and that
the old instruments, in use at the
time the town was laid out, only in
dictated half of a degree, is possibly,
sufficient reason why the variation
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