St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-03-16
HUMPHREY WAS HOT
And Poured Warm Shot Into
the Indian Mound Park
Levy.
Highflown Language That
Greatly Edited the Lis
tening Crowd.
Hinted That a New Deal May
Drop Engineer Rundlett's
Head.
Paul Martin Said to Be Figur-
ing for Chief Jackson's
Berth.


ments made regarding the value of the
land to be taken for Indian Mound park.
The testimony introduced at the several
sessions of the board was dWelt on at
length by parties interested in the sale
of the land, and by those who oppose
the purchasing OF the property at the
valuation fixed by the owners. L. X.
Humphrey, well-known resident Of
the bluff, representing the taxpayers,
said, before making the valuation and
assessment, the board should consider
First-The parties to this trade. The Sc IL
ers come with eager willingness to re-
ceive their benefits, but the buyers are
dragged in in self-defenSe, protesting
that they do not want 70 buy, because
the thing is of no value to them. and
because they are unable TO pay for 1t
now. The first party comes with all the
joyful. willingness of one almost sure OF
Immediate relief from heavy loads,
which were voluntarily assumed in
speculative times, knowing that the
action of the board is not final as to
them, for they can appeal to another
tribunal.
The other party dragged in trembling
under the burden of homes already
mortgaged for years of unpaid take
las witness twenty-five great newspaper
pages of last years delinquent taXes),
with no power to question by appeal the
determination of the amount that shall
be added to the mortgages upon their
homes, for an imaginary benefit which
they never asked for.
Second-The board should consider
the thing bought and its use. The pro-
posed purchase is of plat of ground
upon a high and almost inaccessible
corner of a preclpltOuS bluff, where
storms howl and the winds never die,
Cevlon's ISLE" nor come laden with the
''odors of Edom," but blow over the
great Pigs Eye swamps, bayOus and
river bottoms, and come burdened with
] the fumes of the great distillerieS and
| their hog pens, the stock yards and
| their slaughter houses, the rendering
| honses and their soap kettles; all eX.
qusiteIy delightful for breathing.
Third-The third matter to be cOnSid-
| cred, the territory benefited by this
! park 1t lies in one direction. for to the
! southeast is the fish hatchery swamp
to the south, the Pigs Eye swamp; to
| the southwest, the river, and to the
west the 100 acres of railroad tracks; SO
| the territory liable to be assessed, like a
comets tail, lies all on one side OF this
! park nucleus.
| Nor should the anXeties and neces-
| sites of the sellers fail to receive due
consideration, for they are men OF brain,
nerve and capital, pre-eminently pub
| lic-spirited and patriotic at the present
time. beyond all other occasions; for
! they have carried their real estate hold
] ingS for several years, until fully salts
| fed that it is impossible to unload them
upon any one else at any price, much
less at the crazy speculative prices
which they paid in booming times, and
which they now hope to get from the
victimIZed taxpayers. Their patriotic
appeal is, Help me, Cassius, or L
sink" and they ara exceedingly fearful
that unless the city purchases these
hills and mounds now they will vanish
into thin air and the city lose them for
ever.
In 1.-THE New York stock board there
are lambs; brokers staggering under
the burdens of worthless stuff IN
load upon the lambs. Lambs have al
ways been the prey of wolves; wolves
become ravenous from hunger. or
from wildly. seiZing and holding that
which SpoilS in their dens, and then
they hunt for the lambs.
Now, except so far as this board may
furnish relief, the park patriots have
got the lambs. The late proceedings
of the park board show that the
patriots have trotted out one of their
best circus enthusiasts, which closes all
hope for relief in that direction.
We therefore beg this honorable
board to feed as few and as little of the
lambs to these cunning spectators as
possible, by placing upon the lands
taken their real present wholesale
value. The price which the lands
would bring today, in quantities as
large as these condemnatiOns, is their
zeal present value, and prosperity will
never return to St. Paul until our fic-
titiOuS values of real estate are aban-
doned; and if this dying town has not
sufficient vitality to shake off the count
less hosts Of vuItures and vampires that
are tearing away at her vitals, she must
hunt her shroud, and the quicker we
get away the more we will have to go
with. and the less we will see of her dy
ing agony. | would like to say this loud
enough TO be heard from Pigs Eye bar
to the Como lake struggle, and from
the Phalen steal to the great Smith
bridge.
AT the conclusion of Mr.. Humphreys
effort, which was hugely appreciated
by the spectators, the president of the
board said he was not entirely satisfied
with the testimony in writing, which
had been submitted by the valuation
board of the real estate exchange. This
board had, he said, fixed the value of the
property at $4,000, and he, for one,
would like to examine them with view
of ascertaining how they reached such
conclusions. 1t was decided after some
discussion to adjourn the matter until
next Monday at 10 O'Clock, at which
time the members of the real estate eX-
change valuation board will be request
ed to be present.
b. o. p. Q. III.