The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-10-08
MORE ROOM FOR COMO
WORKHOUSE BOARD TOLD 1T is
A sQUATTER WITHOUT
RIGHTS
MUST GIVE UP THE LAND
President Joseph A. WheeIOck, of
the Park Board, Talks to the
WOrl<hOuse Board, and Says the
Latter Should Yield Many of Its
Farm Acres for the Benefit of
the City.

Latter Should Yield Many of It's
Farm Acres for the Benefit of
the City.
The first step toward securing a por-
tion Of the workhouse grounds for
Como park purposes was taken last
evening, when the members of the
park and workhouse boards met in the
Windsor hotel to talk over a PROPOSE
ton looking to the abandonment by
TIE Workhouse board of a part of the
property now occupied by it at the
park.
The meeting was called at the IN
stance of President Joseph A. Vince
lock, of the park board, who delivered
a speech on the subject and told the
Workhouse board that 1t was a tres
passer on the park property and occu-
pied 1t only by sufference.
You have not q shadow of legal
right to be in Como park" he said to
the workhouse board, 'tbut are there by
courtesy of this board only. The city
council, which allowed the workhouse
board eleven years ago to build the
workhOuse in the park, had no author
tty to do so. The land occupied by
Como park was purchased In 1873, UNI
der law passed the year previous
The same act authorized the council
to lay out a section of the land for
building lots, to be sold to pay interest
on the bonds. Later a legislative
genius, a phenomenal idiot, authorized
the park board to sell lots near the
park for factories, machine shops and
the like, but the city council never
acted upon that law. In 1881 the work.
house board was authorized to get q
tract of land at an expense not to eX-
coed $4,000 to build a Workhouse The
board was composed of economical men
and they saw a chance to get 1t for
nothing. The park land was utterly
neglected, and they thought the
grounds might be utilized for a work.
house and the council gave them per-
mission to take the land they now oc-
cupy. The wOrkhouse has appropriated
forty acres of the park lands. There
is not line or law anywhere au-
thoriZing the Workhouse board to take
the land for such purpose, and it Is
remarkable that no one ever took the
trouble to inquire If the board had
the power to do so. I think you will
agree with me that it was a great mis-
take to expend a large amount Of
money to build a workhouse on land to
which the board had no title
I'm 1881 a law was passed establish
ing q park board and all the parks in
the city were put under It's control
From that time the park board has
had as complete a control over the
WorkhouSe grounds as over any other
portion of the city parks. But we never
attempted to exercise our Jurisdiction
and we have no desire to interfere with
your occupancy Of as much ground as
IS necessary for your purposes, but It
is necessary that the tract of land
south of the street railway line should
be beautified. A million visitors patro-
nized the park this year, and we want
them IN future to carry away with
them q favorable impression of the
park from the South side. The play
grounds there are inaccessible awaiting
the time when we shall be able to i'm
prove their approaches and make them
easy Of access. Our road system is
bound together by a road which passes
through the neglected section used by
the Workhouse board. The principal
avenue Of approach to the park is go
ing to be Lexington avenue. The rail-
ways have agreed to remove their
tracks and the property owners say
they will plant trees along that thor
oUghfare. All the entrances to the park
are necessarily through the workhOuse
grounds. This workhouse tract blocks
the park as a barn might block the ap-
pro2ch to a cathedral. 1t demeans and
defaces it. 1t should have been planted
with trees to clOthe the repulsive nak-
edness of the tract. The first board of
WorlkhouSe commissioners ordered the
superintendent to cut down twenty
acres Of beautiful trees. 1t was an
atrCcious piece of vandalism.
1--WE do not want to interfere with
your occupancy of that land. If you
would substitute gardening for farming
It would be better, for you and for the
inmates Of the workhouse. The value
! Of all your farm produce last year,
after you had taken all you needed for
your own use, was only $500, and 1t
seems a pity that q public benefit
should be interfered with for such a
paltry consideration.
How to delimit your area so as to
give you what you need and enable
US to improve the appearance Of the
park is the problem. We want a road
to connect Lexington avenue with the
let nature get in her work. We want
grass and we want such an entrance to
the park as will be worthy of it.
Il do not want you to look at this
matter merely as wOrkhOuse commits
sioners but as citizens who take q
must eventually be moved, but that
would be an expense which we, as citi-
Zens, could not yet approve. I have an
opinion from Assistant Corporation At
torney Taylor that the park board still
has jurisdiction over the workhouse
grounds
What do you propose to do?" asked
Commissioner Murray. Of the work
house board.
Leave you 171a acres and have you
push your fence back from Lexington
avenue SO we can plant trees there
and make the tract attractive"
I'VE never could get cent to i'm
prove the park" said Mr. Murray, ''un-
til we built the workhouse. The park
was built by workhouse labor"
1--WE simply want you to give up a
tract of land you do not need" said
Park Commissioner Hamm, 80 that
we may beautify it,
There is no intention on the part Of
the board" said Workhouse Commits
siCner Monfort, "to slight the interest
of the city in this affair. We would
gladly move the work house but it
would be great expense. The ques-
ton is whether the ground you propose
to leave to the workhouse is SUI
fcient for it's requirements I suggest
that we all go to the park and work
house and look the grounds over"
All those present agreed to that prop