St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-08-17
HOT IN THE COLLAR,
Mr.. Lowry's Letter Creates a
Gentle Breeze in the Al
dermanic Body.
Aldermen Declare it an In
suit to Members of the
Committee
Who Worked So ASsiduOuSly
to Make Terms With
Mr.. Lowry.
The Letter Returned and a
Special Joint Council
Meeting Called.

All members of the board of aldermen,
except Aid. Jensen. were in attendance
at the meeting last night. The feature
of the session was the report OF the COM
mlttee on street railway matters. The
conclusions and recommendations sent
to Mr.. Lowry on Saturday last by the
committee were returned with very
terse reply. portion of which made the
aldermanic portion of the committee
righteously indignant. The report of
the special street railway committee
was received, and the following letter
from Mir. Lowry read in reply to the
recommendations submitted by the COM
mittee:
LOwry's Reply.
The proposition contained in my lei
ter of the 9th inst. involved an outlay
of more than $3.50, 900, and was intended
to be more in the interests of the city
than the street railway company. If it
had been accepted the access which
would have been furnished TO the lakes
and park, together with the pavliens
and proposed attractions, would, in my
Judgment, have done more to attract
public attention TO your parks and re-
sorts than anything that has as yet
been accomplished i'll ST. Paul. You
must bear in mind that this offer was
voluntary. as the city has no pow
er to compel the company to
build the proposed extensions,
except on conditions that cannot be full
filled for many years. The concessions
asked from the city are small i'm com
parlSOn with the benefits intended to
be bestowed.
The interests of the city and street
railway company are mutual, and the
company is ready and willing to do its
full share toward the development and
improvement of st. Paul. 1t is, how
ever, unwilling to submit to unneccs-
sary, arbitrary and unlawful burdens
sought to be imposed to subserve pri-
vate ends. Your proposition, while ex-
acting much, offered nothing in return.
II Is therefore respectfully declined.
Regretting the outcome Of the negotia-
tions on account of the positive detri-
ment to the city. and thanking you for
the personal courtesy extended during
our various intefviews, 'aIn,F with re-
spects, THOMAS LOWRY.
President Twin City Rapid Transit
Company.
Nays At,s an insult
Aid. Franklin said the communication
was an insult and a faisehood. Mr..
Lowry should COME out and apologize
as publicly as he had made the state
ment or else snbStantiate the charge
implied. He was in favor of referring
the communications back to Mr!fIl loWfy.
as no such statements should be toler-
ated. Ii Mr.. Lowry knew of any such
thing he should be made to substanti-
ateit.
Aid. Cullen said it seemed to him the
proper move would be to recommend
the matter back and see if some happy
conclusion could not be reached.
Aid. Warren was surprised at the
communication. He had worked hard
on the committee. and was personally
interested in property at Como. He
protested against any such statements
as made by Mr.. Lowry. The people in
his vicinity had a right to demand
had been intimated that he was in favor
of right of way being granted
through the park. 1t was against his
personal interest to have the line run
through the park. Ii the matter was to
be referred back, he wanted to be eX-
cuSed from serving as a member of the
committee.
Aid. Franklin wanted the matter re-
ferred to the council as a committee of
the whole. Evidently MI. Lowry was
of the opinion that lie could put two or
three promises in the slot and pull out
what he wanted. He was in favor of
calling in the legal department. and see
ing and knowing just what rights the
city had.
Return to Lowry.
Aid. Ingersoll wanted matters brought
to more direct issue. He wanted the
city attorney to have ready the legal is
sues of the case. Cars on Grand ave-
nue. and West Seventh street were Or
dered to run more frequently by a recent
resolution. If the council had the au-
thority he would he in favor of ordering
the chief of police to see that the cars
the city attorney decided the order to
run cars OH the lines mentioned more
frequently was under the head of rea-
sohable service, then the company
should be made to do as ordered or suffer
the consequences. He would never vote
for system of transfers which would
be stopped at Z p. m. A large number
of the council were probably able to
reach the park at Como without using
the cars, but the general public could
not. and must have transfers. All that
the city received at the time the con-
tract was made was the transfer sys-
TEN. 1t was contemplated at the time
that the system would allow passengers
to ride from one line to another with
out having to pay two fares. If Mr..
Lowry were building a through line
to Minneapolis he could do it
without running on streets. So
far as park privileges were concerned
it was not detrimental to the city's in
terest. The matter was business
proposition, and Mr.. Lowry was asked
to spend large amount of money for
st. Paul. Concessions must be made,
and, while the committee had worked
hard, they should not be discouraged.
Any imputations placed upon the mem
bers of he committee by the commune
lcation,he thought, amounted to moth
ing. OF at least should not he taken to
heart. He lived on Grand avenue and
wanted cars run more frequently there
just the same as AID. Warren and Frank
lin wanted them run in their districts.
Aid. IngersOll moved that the council
decline to accept the communication
from Mr.. Lowry, and that it be returned
to him with a communication stating
that no letter would be accepted which
reflected upon the personal members of
the council or committee.
The motion was unanimously adopted.
Aid. Franklin moved that a special
joint meeting be called for Thursday
evening, and that the city attorney be
requested to prepare the legal points at
issue. This was also passed.
Aid. Montgomery wanted such por-
ton of the report, with Mr.. LOwrv's
letter eliminated, recommitted to the
committee, and it was so ordered.
AT the suggestion Of Aid. Zlmmer-
man, the clerk was directed to invite
MIR. Lowry to attend the special meet