St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-02-11
ALDERMEN SPEAK OUT
ut the H. & D. Crossings
Matter Is Still I'M
settled.
Another Young Man Gone
Wrong--Fpank A. Young
Under Arrest.
The Soldiers Home Wants
$4,000 for the Next
TWO Years.
Ingersoll and Donnelly Are
Matched for an OpatopieaI
Catch-as-Cateh-C Can.

The II. & D. tracks must go down.
Perhaps that should be qualified. The
aldermen say that the tracks must go
down.
The railroad committee, with Aid.
Flanders. Lackey, Parry, Rand, Peter
son and Gray added for the timebeing,
WTeStled a few catch-as-catch-ca bouts
with the grade crossing matter yeSter-
day afternoon, and apparently won a
fall. The courts may be called Upon to
decide whether it really was fall.
City Attorney Russell was not present
to advise the committee, but City En-
gineer RInker was. There was slight
diversity OF opinion as to what should
be done with tracks. A motion was made
that the committee recommend to the
council the ordering of the lowering OF
the H. q d. tracks from Hiawatha ave-
nue., formerly Fort avenue, to point
west of Hennepin avenue. Then the
discussion began. Aid. Parry was the
only member Of the committee who ia
vored no change. He said that the Sew
enth ward people were divided on the
question. A few wanted the tracks
lowered, few wanted them elevated,
and the majority wanted them left as
they have always been. Aid. Rollins,
who was an Interested spectator. main
tanned that the Seventh Warders were
unanimously in favor of lowering the
tracks. Aid. Lackey said the same for
the Eleventh ward citizens. Flanders
for the Eighth, Rand for the Sixth, Gray
for the Thirteenth, and Peterson for the
Twelfth. The sentiment OF the joint
committee seemed to favor the lowering.
The original motion was so amend
ed as to include the recommends
ton that all the tracks of
the Milwaukee from Hennepin avenue
down the Hastings 81 Dakota to the i'll
tersection with the short line and up to
Washington avenue and Sixth avenue
south, be lowered. In that shape the
motion passed the committee.
Will the Milwaukee road consent to
any such arrangement? Not if the
sentiments. of that company expressed
in the past be any index to future act
ion.
This problem of what to do with the
Hastings & Dakota tracks has been be-
fore the council in one form or another
for nearly three years. During the
early stages of the agitation of the sub
ject General Manager Clark submitted
a proposition for the lowering of those
u 1ChO, GOiJlll5 hPOH WV PUy ihNti
by the city of part of the eX-
pense. That proposition was never
acted upon. Then A. j. Earring
became general manager. Under his
administration, the company has sub
mitted a PROPOSE ion on the raising
of the tracks above grade. The com
pany has reSolutely refused to consider
the subject of lowering them, and main
tainS that 1t will never consent TO put
ting them down. That Is how the mat
ter stands. The courts will doubtless
be forced to settle the matter eventually.
At yesterdays meeting of the COM
mittee City Engineer Rlnker made a
suggestion which met with little favor,
but which seemed to have some basis in
reason. He said if it is intended to i'm
prove the property along the tracks in
question for residence purposes, the
best plan would be to lower the tracks.
On the other hand, if, as seems proba-
bic, that property will be utilized for
business purposes, then the tracks
should be raised above grade. A cut Of
thirteen or fourteen feet would put the
tracks low enough for practical pur-
poses, but would necessitate the build
ing of approaches to bridges. In order
to secure level grade street crossings
IllG III dChO HllOO NtON IL AAObl ChNi-
ty to thirty feet. Should the abuttiDg
property in the course of time be in de-
mand for business purposes, additional
eXcavating will have to be done. The
company will listen to talk of elevating
but not of lowering those tracks.
Should the committees recommends
ton be adopted and enforced it will en-
tail the lowering of the Short line tracks
through South Minneapolis. the demoli-
ton of the Viaduct over Washington
avenue south, the arrangement of that
thOroughfare and the lowering of the
entire Milwaukee yard. AS will be
readily seen, this would mean a vast
outlay of money. The result of such
enforcement would probably be that the
Milwaukee road would run Its line
straight down Second street to the river
and abandon the present line. ltmight
also mean the running of Hastings q
Dakota trains directly through the west
ern portion of the city, without their
coming near the main depot. Passengers
would be compelled to change cars at
the intersection beyond the river. Such
result is not improbable.
On the whole, this problem becomes
difficult of solution the further it is con-
sidered. What adds 10 its Importance
Is Lll0 lOCdJlUu VI IufOOO dClCo VI hllllO-
apolis property south of these tracks.
Something should be done to relieve
that property of the incubus placed
upon it by the existence of the cross
ings. This property is worth fully $4,000
an acre, $40, 100000 in the aggregate. An
assessment of l per cent. it is estimated.
100000. would more than pay the city's
share of the expense attached to getting
rid of the tracks.
Butthe city wants one thing, the rail-
road company another. There seems
no immediate prospect of settlement.