The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-03-14
INITIATING CONGRESS.


There has been abundant and just
criticism of congress for it's failure to
attend to its plain business duties and
its apparent inability to settle the sim
plest questions affecting the rights Of
the people. This defect is not peculiar
| to the national legislature, but runs
through all the bodies that pretend to
represent the people. Not to speak of
it's appearance in the state legislature,
we have our own city council debating
week after week and month after
month three practical questions of
great local Importance, whose business
aspect is SO clear that it seems as il
half an hour ought to be sufficient to
settle them all.
The first is the proposition Of the
Milwaukee road to the city relating
to its occupancy of portion of the
public levee. The G b has already
stated the question at length and has
seen no reason to revise it's opinion.
The property is totally unavailable at
present for any other use, and would
not bring in any revenue worth men
tioning. The proposal Of the road,
which acknowledges the title Of the
city and grants other concessions, be-
sides settling a large amount of ltiga-
ton of long standing, is clearly advan-
tageous to us from business point Of
view. Yet the council has been hest
tating over this plan for long time,
and still postpones action from meet
| ing to meeting, although no objection
that seems valid has been brought for
ward.
The second Of these business ques-
tons is the matter of street railway
connections with the union depot. Old
men were youths when this question
was first agitated Never has there
been any difference Of opinion such as
to call for serious delay. All of our
own people are convinced that the hi
atus between the traversed lines of the
street railway company and the depot
is a great inconvenience. Our business
houses know that it costs them a large
trade annually. There are few news
papers in the state which have not
commented upon the inconvenience of
getting to st. Paul by reason Of the
failure to connect the electric with the
steam railway system. Everybody
knows, likewise, that what we want is
not railway facilities as far as Fourth
street or Third street, or some other
| point still farther removed from the
union depot, but a line right down to
the building itself. Property holders,
who would otherwise object, have said
that they would withdraw any opposi-
ton if a completely satisfactory sys-
| tenn were adopted. It does seem simple
enough at a glance to run a line down
Sibley street to the depot, having it
connect with all the other systems in
the city by running around the loop.
and thus, at the smallest expense to
the street railway company and the
! least inconvenience to business, to give
our people and our patrons exactly
what they want Yet the city council
has been mulling over this question
| for months without reaching any con-
! clusion.
The third subject of indecison is the
| question of the Selby avenue hill, in
Guiding more adequate communication
with Merriam Park. Here again, ev-
cry phase of the matter has been de-
bated for years. If anything can be
considered settled, it is that the passage
of street cars up and down the SeIby
avenue incline will never be made
safe until the grade is reduced by tun-
neling, or, what amounts to the same
thing, by sinking the central portion
Of the street far enough to obtain an
easy ascent from the foot of the hill
to Nina avenue or beyond. No safety
device and no scheme for running cleo
tries up Third street hill will ever take
| the place of this. They are only make
shifts. If the times are not such that
the company can make this improve
ment at present, there is a perfectly
simple and inexpensive way Of provid-
ing through and quick service to Mer-
riam Park. There are but five blocks.
we believe, between the present ter
minus of the Rondo street line on Mil
ton street and the line on Selby ave-
nue.. This gap could be closed at small
cost and then. instead Of connecting
with the cable line, the Merriam Park
cars could go over the Rondo street
line through without change to Mil
ton, and thence out Selby over the
present route There could not be more
than two or three minutes difference.
If so much, between the present time
schedule to Merriam Park and one over
this route. Again, a clear business
| Judgment would seem to suggest this