Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1898-07-24
Interesting POINTS
Developed BY the Recent Visit Of Army
Engineers.
Tho City Is Entitled to Make Large
Fills. Inside the Harbor Lines,
South Of the Creek, and Great
Benefits Might Result Therefrom.
The River Marks.

The late session in this city Of the
Board of officers of the Engineer De-
partment Of the United States, relative
to the desire of the Pennsylvania Rail-
road Company to further encroach upon
the river harbor lines, developed few
interesting facts which have not here
tofore appeared in print. For il
stance
1t is ascertained that south Of the
present station of the Pennsylvania
road to the creek, and below the creek
for long distance, the harbOr lines as
fixed by the engineers are far OUTSIDE
the present bank of the river. South
of the creek, for several hundred feet,
fill of sixty or seventy feet In Wldth
could be made, without interference by
the government, and it has been sug-
gested that Council should take ofhclal
recognition of this fact, and offer the
territory thus available to the Pennsyl-
vania road as an inducement Tor tneW
to abandon the present freight station,
which blocks the foot of Fourteenth
street, and remove to a new site below
&he creek, in return for which the city
might grant the Company double
track, privilege along Water street, and
permission to take the dip out OF the
track at the foot of Twelfth street. On
the part of the city, and for the bet
terment Of the river interests, In view
of the fact that slack-water naviga-
ton will soon obtain here, through the
efforts of the government, it is sug-
gested that the city should open Four
teenth street to the river, and grade
and pave the wharf from the present
paved portion south to the south line
of Fourteenth street, thus making one
of the best wharves along the river,
large enough for all time to come,
materially improving the appearance
Of the river front of the city, and at
the same time benefiting the Railroad
Company in substantial manner.
These matters were informally dis
cussed while the government engineers
were here, and 1t is likely that an en-
ergetic reference Of the points to Coun-
Gil by the Mayor in a. special message,
and the reference Of the matter to
standing or special committee, would
result in something definite.
Another matter brought out was that
further south, ip the neighborhood of
Thirty ninth street. there is a similar
strip, where the harbor lines run some
thing like one hundred and fifty feet
west of the present river bank, for
a distance Of five OF six hundred feet
1t is suggested that Council make this
place public dump, fill it in, and upon
the several acres of ground thus &C
quired eventually locate a public park.
1t is likely that if this is not done the
land will be gradually filled in and COB
! bled by a railroad company or some
body else. and the Council Committee
on Real Estate should promptly look
into the rights of the city in the
premises and the practicability Of do
Ing something to protect the interests
of the city.
A third matter of some little mo-
ment was a decision, Informally given,
by the government officers, that the
wharf marks, as attempted to be cor
rected by the City Engineer year ago,
were correct, and that they have been
incorrect for some years and
that the Engineer was right
The matter was thoroughly ex-
planned by Engineer White not only
tc the Engineers, but to the visiting
rivermen as we'll, and it was agreed
that marks which had but line inches
t. The foot in some instances and if.
teen inches in others. based at the
same time upon a false zero, were
wrong and misleading and should NJ
longer be perpetuated. City Engineer
White will send correct profile to
the office of the engineers, and from it
they will correct errors which have
been perpetuated in the records for
many years.