Marietta daily leader. (Marietta, Ohio) 1895-1906, 1899-11-25
The Butler Street Right Of
Wav.

run through any street or in any dlrec-
tion so It will give them the chance to
improve and to take advantage of in
creased facilities for business which
new tracks would afford. Those, how
ever who have buildings already con-
structed in the neighborhood of the
proposed tracks are as rule opposed
to granting the roads any further
rights for fear it will injure their
property.
There is no doubt but what the bus
iness of this city has SO increased that
the present trackage is entirely made
quate to accommodate It, Any one
who has waited at Front street for an
engine to switch and break UP trains
and place ene cars on the sidlngs and
take cars off the sidings, will realize
that something must be wrong. The
tralnmen do not obstruct street traf-
fc for the fun of the thing, nor would
they defy the law and ordlnancesin the
manner they have been doing now for
more than a year past, just to show
the people of Marietta that they had
no fear of the law. Far from it.
l-.ere is a necessity that compels
them to do it, They are our fellow
citizens and are simply trying to do
the business of the city, delivering
building material, merchandise, etc.,
all of which is vitality necessary to the
city's progress and growth. Shall we
stop this or shall we give increased
facilities to these common carriers in
delivering and taking away our bur-
dens. If the railroads will take and
fill to grade large part of the low
ground bordering on Goose Run, as
they have done and propose to do,
what better can we do than to let them
have rights of way along and across
such streets as may be needed. 1t is
almost worthless now and very few lot
owners will ever fill their lots to grade
Some have filled the fronts of their
lots but it has only been such lots as
border the high ground, the vast ex-
panse of low swampy ground east Of
Front and south of Goose Run on out
to the corporation line lies as low to-
day as it did when the first pioneers
landed here. Does any one doubt but
what it will continue untitled indefln-
ately unless the railroads reclaim it at
a cost about equal to the land after 1t
is duly filled to grade? No one would
for a moment think of injuring the
College property or that of any indi-
vidual by advocating the grant Of ad-
dl,ional rights of way to the railroad.
1t is question whether this grant
w.l linjure any property along the line
VIII it not rather improve all the
property if a fill thirty feet wide is
made thus bringing the road to grade
from Fourth to Fifth streets?
Especially would this be true if the
City Council would at the same time
contract with the road to fill Butler
the full width and to the property line
on both sides. If this should be done
it would not be long before the lot
owners would begin to put buildings
along the street, catching onto the
fill at the street line, and thus adding
large amounts to the tax duplicate in
The shape of new buildings. Then
when the next years land appraise-
ment comes around these lots to which
the street fill has been made will be
placed on the duplicate at greatly in
creased valuation, all simply because
the street has been brought to grade
and made available for building pur-
poses.
If every street from Front on out to
the Pike could be filled to grade
it would be worth all it would
cos in the great stimulus
4. would give to building along
those streets. The lot owners would
then have some encouragement to fill
their own lots. whereas, now they
have no reason for building or making
fills with nothing in front to build to.
The City Council can nave nothing
uut the best interests of the city in
view in handling this matter. If they
can get the railroads to take another
route and thus please everybody and
accommodate the growing business of
the cityit would be beaconsummatlon de-
youtly to be wished. No doubt they
will give this grant their best consid-
GRAFTON and in the end decide for what
they consider the best interests of all
concerned.
Whatever ordinance is drawn and
adopted should provide that the rail-
road company shall plank between the
tracks so that the street when filled to
grade can be used by teams in driving
over and across the tracks any where
and everywhere, same as though no
tracks were there. Then a proviso
should be included as to cars standing
and engines ringing or whistllng so as
to annoy the residents in the neigh
borhood. If switching and breaking
of trains on the tracks can be regulat-
ed and confined to certain hours that
might prove some objections, but it is
difficult to see how any such llmlta-
ton would be practicable.
The history of the low ground and
the railroads ought to be satisfactory
to the citizens of Marietta. When T.
d. Dale took hold of the Old T. & o.
g. Ex., the "open-air" depot was the