St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-10-25
ON WITH THE DAN,
UNITED STATES OFFICERS RE-.
CEIVE INSTRUCTIONS FROM
WASHINGTON
TO CONDEMN THE LAND
AT MEEKER ISLAND. wHERY
THE PROPOSED LOCK WILL
BE BUILT.
ATTORNEY sTRISGER BUsy
Preparing the Actions Against
Those Who own the Prop
erty.

The United States officers in ST -ParJ
have just received instructions from
washington to proceed with the pre-
hmlnary work connected with the
proposed dam and lock at Meeker
island. The fact that a number of
property owners objected to giving
up their land appeared as a STUN
bling block, but the government has
decided to step over that, as it were,
and proceed with the ARRANGEMENTS.
condemnation proceedings are to
be begun in the United States district
court to acquire the land needed
on the east bank of the river at the
point where the lock and dam are to
be built. The site selected is al that
part ef the river where the Ram
sey county line would cross it if ex-
tended. When constructed, as has
previously been stated, the upper
one-third Of the lock will be in Hem
nepin county and the lower two
thirds in Ramsey county. The lock
itself will be on the east (or ST. PauD
side of the river, and the dam will
extend across to the Hennepin coun-
ty side. Somerville will be the near
est street to the lock on the Ram
sey county side of the river.
In the condemnation proceedings
1t will be necessary to include a strip
of Summit avenue 100 feet wide, ex-
tending to Glendale street, one block
below Somerville. 1t will be neces-
sary to secure this strip to make a
roadway from the lock to the level
ground above. All Of the land need
ed on the west bank of the river has
been secured, but there is consid-
erable on the east bank that has
not been decided to Uncle Sam, and
will not be until condemned for pub
lie purposes.
The lock which it is proposed to
build will be something over 500
feet in length and so feet wide. It
will be designed to accommodate the
largest steamer that plies on the
Mississippi above ST. Louis, and will
correspond with the locks on the
Des Moines canal. A second lock is
contemplated in the general scheme
OF letting river craft ascend the
river to Minneapolis. This will be
located near Minnehaha falls, and
below that point it is proposed to
dredge the river and clear it of OBJ
structions. But for the present the
government engineers will devote
themselves to the building of the
lock first mentioned. This one, with
the dam, will cost 100000, and three
years will be required to build it.
One hundred thousand dollars is
now available, and out of this will
come whatever money the court shalt
award to owners of property to be
condemned.
Condemnation suits will be con-
Quoted by United States District At
torney Stringer or his assistants.
The papers will be filed as soon as
they can be prepared. Commission
ers to appraise the land to be con-
demned will, of course, be appoint
ed by the court. The engineers ex-
pect that all legal complications will
be settled in time to allow them to
begin work for the foundation OF the
lock early next spring. As the work
can only be carried on during the
summer, building of the founda-
tions will hardly be finished next
year. In '97 the walls of the lock
will probably be finished; and then
the dam will be built. Thus it is very
likely that the twentieth century
will have dawned before congress,
which aDDrODriateS and the enoin-
eers, who build, will have improved
the Mississippi above St.Paul to such
an extent that Minneapolis can well
come palatial river steamer to her
1aUaa