St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-07-16
A VIGOROUS KICK.
The Fifth Ward Mass Meeting
Expresses Its Views.

Expresses Its Views.
The property owners in the vicinity
of the proposed Ridgewood park are still
earnest i'll their protest against acquir-
ing that evidence of prosperity at the
present time. A goodly number of
them were before the board of public
works last week and made a vigorous
protest against the assessment for the
park, but being promised no relief in
terms, the people meditated vigorous
protest before the park board at its
meeting at 8 o'clock D. m. Monday.
To accentuate the feeling in the matter
mass meeting was called for last night
IN the Fifth ward. No hall being
found large enough for the meeting it
was held i'll lot adjoining Engine
House No. 10 on Randolph street
There were several hundred people
present, among them a number of prom
inent men in the city who would be af-
fected by the Improvement. The unan-
imous sentiment vigorously expressed
was that the meeting was opposed to
the proposed park at the present time.
A number of speeches were made, in
which it was stated that the property
owners to a man, excepting those who
have land for sale for the proposed park,
are opposed to the movement FOR the
park.
w. G. Thorpe presided at the meet
ing, and made businesSllke speech, In
which he said that the times are too
hard to think of park at the present,
even if it was desirable project at any
time.
Col. j. Ii. Davidson spoke for nearly
an hour, reviewing the condition of the
country and city, and in urging reasons
why the park should not be established
at present if at all. He was frequently
applauded, and many CALCULATIONS came
from the crowd to the effect that it was
mud hole or bog at most, and that
nobody wants it except those who pro-
pose to sell the land to the city.
Walter Holcomb made afspeech in
which he declared that the proposed
measure would be an outrage on the
property owners, who would be CON-
PEELED to raise S62, 500. or so per cent of
the cost of the park. He asked the
people who don't want to have the ex-
pense of the park saddled upon them to
go before the park board Monday even
ing to make known their protest. A
number of men shouted that they would
be there with Roman candles to make
known their opposition.
Other speeches were made by S. P.
Crosby, j. NJ. O'Grady, o. Bergstrom,
Charles Philips, William Brown, John
Ellis and MIR. Godfrey, the man who
made fight against park scheme in
the courts few years ago aud defeated
the measure.
Col. Davidson and Walter Holcomb
were Invited to appear with the citizens
as spokesman before the park board
Monday evening. The committee on
protest was instructed to ask that the
park board meeting be held Ill the coun-
Gil chamber or some room capable of
holding an audience of 500 people.
The following preamble and resolu-
and adopted with hurrah, not voice
dissenting:
Whereas, The board of park COM
misSioners of st. Paul have passed
resolution selecting for a park blocks
IL, Ii, IA, Is and 16 and lots 1 and 2 of
block Is, of Ridgewood Park addition to
st. Paul, to be known as '.Ridgewood
park" and the preliminary steps have
been taken by said park board and the
matter Is now pending before the board
OF public works, by whom the consider
alton announced to be paid for said
property is S62, 500, of which $4,000 is to
be paid out of the park fund and S52,-
500 is to be assessed on property. and
Whereas, About tnree-fourths of the
district to be assessed is in the Fifth
ward and the owners thereof, almost
without exception, are laboring men
who are without means to Sunnort thair
families save as they earn it from day to
day, and
Whereas. The present depressed con-