St. Paul daily globe., 1892-02-21

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of a court house at st. Anthony.
Col. A. Allen and DR.. J. H. Murphy,
now of st. Paul, who then resided at
st. Anthony. were in the deal. DR..
David Day, who was then register of
office on the north side of Third street,
in the block west of the Merchants
hotel. in discussing the situation one
afternoon with me, we came to the con-
clusion, as John Brisbin said, that st.
Anthony was too small, and that the
game had to be broken up. After leav-
Ing the doctors office. passing up Third
street | met Louis Robert, one of the
original owners of st. Paul-and whose
history propose to write hereafter
and said to him: ''Louis, do you want
the county seat to go to st. Anthony?'
What was his reply? do you
think I am insane9 1t must be kept
In st; Paul if it takes every
we're doing at st. Anthony. He said,
"We head them fellows off (Robert was
a county cOmmiSSioner.) l will go and
see w. H. Randall ST., Vetal Guerin
and Charles Bazille. and we will be at
your Office tonight. We will fix those
fellows; they are not so smart as they
think they are" l sent for Joseph La
Bonne (he was another county commits
Sioner.) After supper they were all
there at my Office. From dark to near
midnight we discussed the situation.
Before we adjourned Vetal Guerin
agreed to deed to the county of Ramsey.
as a free gift, block 20 of st. Paul proper,
upon which to erect court house.
Louis Robert. turning to me, said, 1.-The
county commissioners meet tomorrow; :;
you have the deed ready in the morn
ing and we will fool these fellows"
Early in the morning the deed was
drafted aud executed. When the county
commissioners met, and the location of
the county seat and the erection of a
court house was discuSsed,I / handed Dr..
David Day the Guerin deed conveying
the property now occupied by the court
house and city hall. When the deed
was read, Louis Robert said: ''That
fixes the natter and turning around
to La BOnne, "You stand by me and
vote with me'' the county board then
consisted of three members). Certain
ly." said La B0nne, Il vote with you
every time, Louis" Robert moved to
accept the deed and that the county
commissioners proceed to
Erect a Court House
on said block at cost of $1,000, and
=
deeds in those days was clerk of the
board of county commissioners be in
structed to prepare plans. Dr. Day.
forty years ago, was more modest than
he is now, and said: stMr. Robert, | am
not an architect (and 1t may be possible,
under the building ordinance, he was
not sanitary engineeD. Icannot draw
plans for court house." "What for,
doctor. did we elect you for" said Rob-
ert, ''if you draw no plansm The doc
tor took in the siuation and SAID the
plans would be ready the next morning.
After the board adjourned, the doctor
the corner of Fifth and Jackson streets.
and procured ream of print paper and
the next morning had plan of a court
house drafted. in which he combined
more styles of architecture than any
man who ever lived. as it turned out
afterwards. for which he received $40.
Robert and LaBOnne examined the
draft and approved of same. Bids for
the contract were duly advertised for,
ard the contract awarded to Joseph
Daniels, now one of the leading attOr-
neyS and claim agents in Washington
city. Shortly after the bonds were
issued in payment of the contract, two
of the county commissioners signing
them with "hiS Y mark" Daniels
negotiated the same to Frank Steele.
who in turn turned them over to man
by the name of Taylor. who held a
mortgage upon all the water power at
st. Anthony and abutting property for
$4,000. and who honestly believed that
She property would
Never Satisfy the Mortgage.
Taylor took the bonds to Boston.
where they were placed upon the mar
ket. In day or two afterwards they
were known in Boston as the Ramsey
county cross bonds, for which there was
DO demand. Taylor was Indignant: the
bonds were returned to st. Paul. and
the two county commissioners who
signed with a cross were about as much
out of humor as Taylor. 1--WE make
new bonds," said one of the county com
missioners, ''we show them fellows
down in Boston how we write and sign
our Names" Two days after the bonds
came back from Boston new ones were
issued with proper signatures. and they
were sold at par. My impression is DR..
David Day could tell how it was done.
Vetal Geurin, who gave to the city of
St. Paul the court house square and to
churches and other institutions proper
ty which is today rated at millions of
dollars, died poor. To the credit of the
city in 1874. by the unanimous consent
of the people of Ramsey county, the