The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-04-01
THE BALLARD FIGHT.
City Wants to Build a Wharf
Across the Log Spur.
PILE DRIVERS BEAT LAWYERS.
The work Done Before Injunction Was
served-Cause of the ouarreI-Cit-
liens Growing Angry.


Lake Shore & Eastern railroad to restrain
the city OF Ballard from driving piles for a
wharf on the Salmon bay tide fats. now
occupied by the Lake Shore roads log
boom, was served too late to prevent the
completion of the work, for all the piles
on the outside of the log spur had been
driven before the injunction was served.
The legal proceedings will, however, oper-
ate to prevent the completion of the
wharf which the city intended building.
The suit will bring up some interesting
points in regard to the conflicting rights
of shore owners and improvers on the tide
fats. Shilshole avenue runs along the
water front from north to south. narrow
strip being left between it and high water
mark. The regular width of the streets
100 feet but just north of the Seattle
Cedar Lumber Company's mill, by an
error in the plat, it widened out
twenty feet to high water mark. The
West Coast improvement Company de-
sired to sell this twenty-foot strip to the
Cedar Lumber Company for an extension
of its mill, and offered to give the city
strip los feet long on the water front at
the foot of Second avenue in exchange.
As the city desired to build wharf for
the use OF steamers which are to carry
freight from Seattle in competition with
the railroads and street cars. it accepted
the offer and passed ordinances accord
ingiy. On Monday the West Coast I'm
provement Company filed supplemental
plat making the change and the deal was
completed. The city then ordered the
construction of wharf SIS feet long and
los feet wide from Shilshole avenue. q.
the foot of Second avenue, out to deep
water. The driving of piles was begun at
5o'ciock on Wednesday morning on the
outer side of the log spur of the Lake
Shore road, and was finished that evening
before the railroad company could get out
its restraining order.
The log spur leaves the main track of
the Lake Shore near the Cedar Lumber
Company's mill and runs at an acute angle
300 feet out on the tide flats. On the outer
side is log boom formed by serni-circle
OF piles, 10 which logs are dumped from
the cars. The trestle on which this track
runs passes right in front of the water
front property just acquired by the city,
and the proposed city wharf cuts across it
at right angles, and ends right in the mid
die of the boom. Thus the construction
and use of the wharf would render the
boom useless and impair the usefulness of
the spur. On the other hand, the existence
OF the spur and boom in front of the citys
water front property cuts off its access to
deep water.
The railroad company claims the prior
right of purchase from the state, as the
improver, whenever the tide lands are
offered for sale, and claims the right of
possession in the meanwhile. The city
claims the right, as the shore owner to
wharf out to deep water, and denies the
right of the railroad. by building across
its water front, to cut off its access to deep
water. These are the points directly in
volved
The Ballard people have been in state
of irritation against the railroad for some
time because it has refused to accept a
franchise from their council and they par
ficularly object to the log spur, as the
noise made by the dumping of logs at
night disturbs their slumbers. When a
franchise was offered to the railroad
company year ago, the con-
ditions were that it should grade
certain proportion of Shilshole avenue,
and remove the log spur. but after some
consideration it was refused. The citizens
still express THAR willingness to grant
franchise, but they insist on the removal
of the spur and some have threatened to
cut out the piles at the short end of it and
thus destroy the connection. Apparently
fearing such movement, the railroad has
for the last day or two kept train of cars
standing across the junction from the
main track.
As the restraining order does not apply
TO the space between the spur and the
snore, the city yesterday proceeded with
the pile-driving on this ground, which is
now filled with slabs from the neighbor-
inc mills