St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-05-17
The Crossings Compromise
Not Likely to Come
Very Soon.
Colonels Clough and Springer
Have a Friendly
Debate
Before the Council Committee
on Railroads and Spec
tatOrS.

crossing on the North side came up
again yesterday afternoon, when the
st. Louis compromise proposition was
brought to the notice of the council
committee on railroads. There was IA
large audience of interested spectators
from the Board of Trade Jobbers asso-
citation and North side committees.
Col. w. P. Clough armed with a couple
of very neat models of how the bridge
at Washington avenue would look If
the city's plan were adopted, and how
it would look if the ManitOba's plan
were adopted, and needless to say the
latter was the much prettier and appa-
rently better working bridge.
The committee was called to order by
Aid. Warren, who read the st. Louis
proposition, and on the suggestion Of
City Attorney Russell, Col. Springer.
the solicitor of the st. Louis road, was
invited to explain it. Col. Springer
said the proposition was. so plain it
needed no explanation. 1t carried out
that the city instead of the railroad was
to build and care for the approaches.
Col. ClOugh then took up the gauntlet
FOR THE MANITOBA,
and made long talk. illustrating his
models to show. first, that the city plan
would be ruinOus to the interests of the
Manitoba, and if carried out would CON-
pei it to remove its tracks and freight
houses to the East side: and, second,
that the ManitOna proposals were the
best for the st. Louis road, the best for
the public and, consequently, the best
for the Manitoba.
He began by saying: sit is amis-
taken proposition to suppose that the
city will gain anything by this 5000
expenditure which this proposition sup
poses the city will make. 1t will not
gain anything in time. These grounds
are the only grounds the Manitoba has
for local freight depots. The st. Louis
has not a spark of right. and cannot get.
with the consent of the Manitoba, a
the south line of the grounds one inch.
If it tried to lower that track a litlga-
ton would be begun which would never
end until the last court had been APP
pealed to. The st. Louis has APP
pealed to the United States supreme
court against the decree ordering,
the south excavation, and the Manitoba
has the same right to an appeal against
the order lowering its tracks on the
north. If the one appeal stands the
other will be made. and the Manitoba
will never consent to that canal being
dug on its south line. If the track is
lowered according to that decree it will
make useless our freight grounds, on
which one-half of the freight received
or shipped in Minneapolis is handled.l
We have only one other piece of ground
in the city available for freight depots,
and that is on the eastern end of the
bridge, in front of the Exposition build
ing, and if we are compelled to lose any
material portion of our west side
and go over there. l don't think the
public wants that. can show you in
moment how the city plan would mean
our destruction.
THE CITY PROPOSITION
is that all our teams to the freight house
shall go upon the Washington avenue
bridge. turn off the side at the middle
of it and go down a slope of fourteen
feet to our yards. That would be de-
structive to our property"
1.-The Manitoba company proposes to
remove the ST. Louis track to our via
duet, and give it either exclusive use of
one track or the joint use of double
track, and to build the bridge over one
half of Washington avenue, leaving a
wide approach to the freight house. The
judges of the district court decided that
ours was the best plan. but they could
not compel the st. Louis road to accept
good thing for it. Curiously enough
the court held that while it had power
to order the tracks sunk, it could not
move them laterally an inch.
Col. ClOugh explained at greater
length the nature of the Manitoba's
proposition, and enlarged on
THE AWFUL EFF ECIS
of the city's proposition to the Mani
toba interests and twited the st. Louis
load on its anxiety to get bonus from
the city.
Aid. johnson inquired VIII ether. if
the Manitoba could get its proposition
adopted, and the st. Louis track moved,
it would make any opposition to the
city building the approaches to the st.
Louis, and Col. Cl0ugh gallantly recog-
niZing the fact that the st. Louis was
in the hands of receiver, said they
would not. All he wanted the council
to understand was that the
Manitoba had just SO much
ground to do certain things and they
must be done its way, IN other words,
the Manitoba could not deviate from the
proposition the court had held was the
incest one of the lot.
Judge Springer-Well. as long as
water runs and grass grows it will
never be agreed to.
Col. Clough-That's long time.
Judge Springer then took the floor
and explained how the st. Louis came
by its rights. that he considered were
now assailed. 1t was through on
tract with company to which the
Manitoba was the successor. The
Manitoba bad come along in 1885 and
tried to move the st. Louis back just as
they were doing now.
YES" Col. Clough interrupted; '.for
the purpose of making this very i'm
prOvement."
Judge Springer-The purpose was
not disclosed then; but we thought YOU
meant to confscate, and so we got a
perpetual injunction to restrain you