St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-10-18
PATRIOTS AND PRICES
Both Loom Up Together When
Lands Are Offered for Park
Purposes.
Chamber of Commerce Coun-
SelOpS Lay Down Law to
the Board.
The Forrestals' Schedules
Show Assets in Excess OF
Liabilities.
An Appeal Taken by the Con-
tractors in Broadway
Bridge Trouble.

the rule at Yesterdays meeting of the
board of park commissioners. The in
terest taken in the board and its proceed
ure since the supreme court decided its
inability to condemn property for parks
has increased amazingly. The fact that
the board still retains power to acquire
land by purchase has not been lost sight
of in the shuttle, and about every other
owner of real estate inside the city linn
its imagines that his is precisely the
piece of property best suited for park
purposes. The fact develops,in connec-
ton with the prices placed on the vari-
Gus plots by their owners. that outlying
lots are not to be picked up for
a song, despite the wall from
dealers that prices are away down
to zero. In fact, the moment
an owner discovers that his land could
by any possible perspective become
available for park site, there accom-
increase in its market value in his eSti-
nation. The board of park commits
sioners has any number of propositions
before it for consideration. A cOmmu-
nlcation from S. NJ. Magoffin offers all
DaWSon'S Encouragement of block 81.
tanning & Ofivier'S addition. consist
ing of twelve 40x160-foot lots, timbered,
said to command good view of the
city, for S13,500. w. P. Curtis offers
fnrty-three acres adjoining the site of
Hlawatha park for 81, 500 per acre. The
property offered by Mr. Christensen,
part of Hornsly's subdivision of Lot No.
Z. BldwelPs addition Gin the Sixth ward,
Is at considerably higher price than
IL fnr IN,
1887. when the park now gen.
orally discussed was condemned.
1t is undoubtedly at higher price than
can now be obtained for the property in
open market. An offer by Robert Nc
Menemy consists of thirty lots in Nc
Menemy's Subdivision A, fronting on
Mississippi street $50 feet and running
600 feet to McMenemy street. lying be-
tween Magnolia and Cook streets. The
price asked is $4,000. Other PROPOSE
tons were received from owners in va
rious parts of the city.
Following the reading of the various
proposals, President Stevens invited
the report of the chamber of commerce
committee on the subject. Judge Clark,
as chairman of the committee, adj
dressed the board. He said it was a
well-known and established fact that no
power now lay with the board to
designate what lands could be. pur-
chased or condemned for park purposes.
The courts had decided that no power
except that of purchaSe-the right to
purchase any property that individuals
might have to sell at their own price
was now vested in the body. He
thought then. and the committee thought
with him, that no action whatever
should be taken In the matter of land
purchase for parks until after the next
session of the legislature, when the
exact position and powers of the board
would be established. There was no
clamor just at this time for immediate
action in the purchase of park lands,
and he regarded it as an. unsafe thing
for the board to commit itself to any
pollcy'of purchase at present.
Capt. Berkey said that the matter
was one to be gone into only after ma
ture consideration and with great care.
u, for One." he said. firmly believe
that the commission will be able to
acquire lands as cheaply six months
hence as to-day. l have property my
self which is worth less to-day than 1T
was six months ago. | believe in parks
and want to see our system perfected,
bur favor a safe method of procedure
and am opposed to the purchase of land
by the board in its present uncertain
position"
Capt. Castle did not want to be re-
garded as an obstructiOniSt. There
was. however, in his opinion, no eS-
Gaping the logic of the situation. The
board had no power of condemnation,
and was entirely in the hands of people
who had property to sell at their own
prices.
Mr.. Lindeke introduced the idea that
the board might have succeeded in pur-
. chasing desirable piece of property,
except. perhaps one corner, which was
wanted to make the whole symmetrical.
The fact that the board would have no
power to condemn such corner, but
would be compelled to purchase it at
any price asked by the owner, was in his
opinion sufficient reason for deferrng
action until the needed legislation had
been secured.
The committee was unit in opposi-
ton to immediate consideration of pro-
posals. Ii. S. Fairchild thought there
was nothing to prevent the board from
receiving all the proposals it could get,
and considering them. Col. Davidson
went Oh record as opposed to the delay
proposed by the chamber of commerce
committee. He thought that the ques-
ton OF parks was an important one to
~. L siui anu ohouiu NC pIoCteucu VIII
without delay.
L. d. Merwin said that the talk about
the boards being shOrn of all power was
misleading and incorrect. 1t had actu-
ally been shorn only of its power of
condemnation. 1t was only justice to
the many people whose property had
been affected by condemnation that the
matter should be gone into at once. A
resolution instructing the superintend-
ent and landscape artist to prepare plats
of the properties offered for sale was
laid over until the next meeting, on the
representation by members of the
board that plats had already been pre-
pared of great part of the property
offered. The board then adjourned
until Friday next.