Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-10-04
WANT A FREE BRIDGE.
The City May Build a New One, or
Buy One of the Old Ones.
ALL THE GOOD SITES TAKEN UP.
The State Legislature to Be Asked for the
Power to Condemn.
AN INVESTIGATING TRIP TO BE MADE

The first meeting of the Free Bridge Com
mittee was held Yesterday afternoon and
the members got down to business. Kirk
@. Bigham, of Common Council. was made
Chairman. MI. Robertson, who claims the
credit for keeping up the free bridge agita-
tion until Councils appropriated money for
it, offered motion that the committee at
once select site between the South Tenth
and Smithfeld street bridges.
Mr. Shannon opposed the motion as too
arbitrary. ITO carry out such a notion"
he said, would mean the practical ruin of
the adjacent bridges as an investment. Few
people would patronize toll bridge when
they could get across the river free by going
up or down a block or two. It is probable
that if the revenues of the bridge were thus
cut off the directors would bring suit against
the city for big damages"
Criticizing the Bridge Companies.
eff the bridge companies had lived up to
the letter of their charters" replied Mr..
Robertson, call the bridges over the Mo-
nongahela would by this time have reverted
to the city. TIE State granted them char
ters conditioned so that when a certain
amount had been earned the property would
revert to 4he city, but the directors knew
how to manage their affairs so that from
year to year they have avoided living up to
this obligation. AS far back as 1872 the
right of the city 10 own the bridges to the
Southside was unquestioned. 1t was about
the time the Southside was taken into the
city. As an inducement to the people over
there free bridges had been promised. A
condemnation act was passed by the Legis-
lature, and under it a committee of IS was
appointed to proceed with thu condemna-
tion of the bridges. There was not then
the popular demand for free bridges
there is to-day and the condemnation COM
mission did nothing To-day only one
member of it is alive, Mr.. B. F. Jones.
The act empowered the members to fill va
cancies by appointment, but two years ago
the only surviving member of the COM
mission refused request from our City
Councils to take any action in the premises.
Thus we are left without any legislation
under which to proceed.
Using the Bridge for a Squeezer.
Gas to Mr.. Shannon's objections they are
not a bar to proceeding in this matter. I
am in favor of building the free bridge just
where it will take away the traffic from the
toll bridges. If they found out we mean to
do that they would be willing to come down
and accept q reasonable figure for their
property"
Mr.. Robertson withdrew his motion, sub
stituting one that the committee 60 over
the whole river front and decide upon a
site for the free bridges between the Smith
field bridge and South Twenty-second
street.
Chief Bigelow, who was present, here
asked what would be done where another
company held a charter for site. ''Vari-
Gus parties hold charters for the best loca-
tions," said he. "One company has
charter to cross from the foot OF Ross street.
Others have charters to cross from South
Ninth and South Twenty-second streets,
the best locations now unoccupied. Sup
posing your committee should select one or
the other of those, how could you take it?''
"Buy the charter" said Mr.. Ford.
eve don't need to buy the charter"
said Mr.. Robertson. 1.-THE city won't need
a charter for bridge and a charter is no
good to anyone else without an ordinance
of councils
Thought the Charters Were Worthless.
Mr. Bigham said he believed charter
worthless if not carried into effect or work
begun under it in two years, and he believed
all existing charters had outlived that time.
he opened u ulSCuSSlOu reldtlVe 10 Luc pur-
chase of one of the present bridges, during
which it was stated the Tenth Street Bridge
Company was waiting in hopes the city
would buy that structure. No considerable
improvements have been made on it since
the free bridge subject was first seriously
talked of three years ago, it is said, and the
company expects to sell out to the city in
stead of putting up modern bridge.
Mr. Bigham explained that the Bridge
Committee had been appointed to investi-
gate, not select sites. It had been in
structed also to investigate the cost of
building a new bridge and to re-
port on the advisability of buy
ing any of the old bridges Mr.
Robertson's motion was modified accord
ing to the instructions and passed, next |
Friday afternoon being selected for the trip
of investigation. A subcommittee COM
posed of Messrs Wilson, Holiday and
Anderson was appointed to confer with the
owners of present bridges and report what
value they placed on their plants and what
basis they would agree to in a sale to the
city. Messr& Robertson, Shannon, Ford
and Bingham were appointed committee
to draft bill for the next Legislature pro-