The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-08-13
ALDERMEN FAVOR THE OnDI-
NANCE re MAKE SMITH PARK
"A MARKET.
TALKED OVER I'M COMMITTEE.
CITY'S RIGHT ITO uSE TT CAN DE
TESTED IN THE
aso COURTS
IF THE ORDINANCE is PASSED.
Aid. KaldunslSEs Ordinance for a
Market Near Central Park Is
Turned Down.

The ordinance introduced by Aid.
Kenny, designating Smith park as
public market, was discussed at length
at meeting of the committee on
streets of the board of aldermen yes
terday afternoon. The ordinance was
finally laid over until the next meeting
of the committee in order to allow Aid.
Sanborn to look up some authorities.
Aid. Kenny suggested that the ordi-
nance be recommended to pass. claim
ing that this was the easiest way to
settle the question as to whether the
city had the right to use the property
for market purposes. The dedication,
Mr. Kenny said, gave the property to
the city for use as public streets and a
public square, and this, to his mind
was not, as many claimed, for park pur-
poses.
Aid. Bell suggested that the courts
had decided that the property could
only be used by the city as park, and
that it would revert to the heirs if used
for any other purpose by the city. Aid.
Kenny said this was not correct; the
only time the matter was in the district
court was when a resident on Summit
avenue wanted to trade the property
for park on that street. A property
owner on Summit avenue was willing
to trade to the city a plat of land on
Summit avenue, providing the city
would give him the Smith park prop
erty in return Then, Aid. Kenny
stated, the matter was taken into court
and Judge Simons rendered an opinion
ha haif Of
dedicated the land had for some rea-
son, waived their rights as to the land
and that it could only be used for pub
lie purposes and could not be disposed
Of by the city in trade, such as was
contemplated.
The opinion ofrAssistant City Attor-
ney Phillips, which had been presented
at a prior meeting of the committee,
was then read. In effect the opinion
was that the city had no right under
the dedication to use the property for
anything but public park. The as
sistant city attorney held that the
words, pubic square, in the dedication
showed that the words were used to
express public park.
Aid. Sanborn called attention to a
recent decision of Judge Dillon, which
held that the dedication Of property for
the public use meant that it could be
put to any public use except where the
dedication was more expressly stated
The Seventh ward alderman also quot
ed from New Jersey decision in which
the court had held that a piece of
property dedicated for a cemetery
could be used by the city for market
purposes. zsa'~s-'Fr.
Aid. Kenny thought the matter was
io1u no xx1iSp 1IT
considered by the council. 1t would
cost about 100000 to secure a site for
a public market not half as good as the
Smith park site. He advocated the
passage of the ordinance by the coun-
Gil and then those who were opposed to
the plan could go into the courts and
have the thing settled. If the courts
decided that the property could be used
for market purposes the city would
then have as fine a market place as any
city in the country, and if the decision
was the other way there would be
nothing lost except the time of the
corporation attorney and his assistants.
Aid. Sanborn agreed with Aid. Kenny
that the property was not Of much use
as park, and probably never would be
of much good except as a market place.
The question would never be settled
until the courts had passed on it, and
the suggestion to pass the ordinance
and then have an injunction applied for
would be a good way to bring the mat
ter up.
Corporation Attorney Markham
thought the ordinance might not pass
both bodies Of the council, but was in
clined to the opinion that as soon as
the measure had passed the board of
aldermen the question could be taken
into the courts and decision rendered
AS there were a number of authorities
to be looked up the ordinance was laid
over for two weeks, Aid. Sanborn stat
ing that he would submit a report at
the next meeting Of the committee
A delegation of property owners liv-
ing in the vicinity of Central park,
appeared to protest against the passage
of the ordinance of Aid Kaldunski,
designating the streets surrounding the
block bounded by Summit avenue,
Twelfth, Robert and Minnesota streets,
as public market The recommends
ton to report adversely on the ordi-
nance was unanimously adopted.
The resolution directing the city
comptroller to stop paying interest OH
gas lamp posts, the lights Of which
had been put out of service by the use
Of electric lights, was recommended to
pass. The committee decided that this
action would bring the question to a
head and the gas company could, if
II desired, make test case ana Df1ng
the matter into the courts.
A resolution was recommended to
pass, directing the city engineer to
construct a drain on Brown avenue.
Aid Bell stated that this would be of
great benefit to the Hendricks school,
which was not in the best sanitary
condition.
The resolution fixing the salaries of
the head street commissioner at $685.
per month and that of the other five
at SIS per month, was recommended
not to pass. The board of aldermen
at it's last meeting passed a resolution
fixing the salaries of these officials each
month instead of for six months, the
opinion of the aldermen being that
there is no need for six street COM
missioners during the winter months.
FIELD TRIAL DATES