The morning news., 1899-10-19
THE BAY STREET FRANCHISE.
COUNCIL WILL GIVE 1T PROMPT
CONSIDERATION.

fnG n VI AZ
to BE Held in the Military Parade
Ground-CoI. MeIdrim Must Remove
EncrOachments on Third and
Fourth streets-AIdermhn DixOn's
Theater ordinance Introduced.
Alderman Haas Electric Inspector
Ordinance AdODted-OIher Matters
Passed Upon by Council.
The two rival petitions Of the Central OF
| Georgia Railway Company and the Geor
gia and Alabama Railway for the right
to lay tracks on Bay street and on such
| other streets as may be necessary TO
| reach Bay street from their respective
| terminals were referred by Council last
night 10 the Committee of the Whole, with
the understanding that the petitions shall
| be given consideration at an early date.
/ Mayor Myers remarked that it was his
understanding that the aldermen desired
/ that the matter should be given prompt
consideration. THIS seemed to be the un-
derstanding of the board, though no date
| was fixed for the hearing. The matter
| will probably be taken up early next week
/ when the representatives, of both roads
/ and also the property owners and business
men interested will be invited to con-
ference.
/ "A feature of this matter, which is de-
! cidedly favorable TO the Central is the pc
tition received by Council last night,
signed by thirty of the business firms on
| Bay street, west announcing that the pc
/ titiOners considered the route outlined by
! the Central and designated on the plat
accompanying it's petition as the best con-
nection that could be made for affording
the desired facilities, for the reason that
THE route gives a direct connection with
the Ocean Steamship Company, by which
a large proportion of the freight used by
US is brought to Savannah, and will give
a shorter more expeditions and more con-
venieut route than any other and viii in
| terfere less with the street car tracks now
! on Bay street"
The petition is strong argument in
favor of the Central for the reason that
/ the signatures to the petition include near
| ly every important business house on Bay
street west Of the exchange.
The Pythian Fair.
The Knights of Pythias Hall Association
! was granted permission to use portion of
the parade ground for its Street Fair and
! Carnival to be held here Nov. "A to p. The
! DellllOl IOT lllS privilege SET IOIIn III z .ON-
/ ing terms the objects and purposes of the
carnival and the many varied attractions
! which it proposes to offer from its interna-
! tional congress of dancing girls to sacred
donkeys. Ii was distinctly specified that
no dance or exhibition bordering on the
| vulgar or the obscene would be permitted
| and that no liquor is to be sold or gambling
device allowed in the booths set apart 70:
| business purposes. The space which the
association proposes to use is to be 200X
GO feet. The petition was accompanied
| by a letter signed by the commanding Off
GERS Of the white military commands,
stating that they were agreeable 10 this
use of the parade ground.
The petition was granted without objec-
tion after some discussion, the work to be
under the supervision OF the Street and
Lane Committee and the association TO
restore the grounds TO their original condi-
ton.
Col. MeIdrim's StoOps.
The Committee on Streets and Lanes re
ported adversely upon The petition of Col
z. w. Meldrim, requesting that the stcops
of twenty houses owned by him on West
Third and West Fourth streets, and en-
croaching on the sidewalks he not dis
turbed because of the fact that the en-
croachmeuts were due TO an error as to
the width Of the street and were in linz
with similar encroachments constructed by
The petitioner some years before Ihus
| harmonizng with the general appearance
of the street. Col. Meldrim stated that he
had donaled the and for these two streets.
with the understanding that they were 10
be ffty-1ve feet wide, but that in some
way the ordinance had made Fourth
street fifty feet and Third street ffty-live
feet wide He requested that in view of
the peculiar circumstances namely, his
ownership and donation, so as 10 have a
harmonious plan of construction, that
. | Council would allow the stcops 10 rem am
as at present.
The Committee on Streets and Lanes
took issue with Col. Meldrim as 10 The
facts in the case in the report submit
ted by the chairman, Alderman Dixon. The
report states that section 1910 of Mac
DonelFs code the purpose of which is to
prevent encroachments south of Anderson
street, has been rigidly enforced by the
committee, that no exceptions nave beer
made and that the committee thought il
? highly improper that exceptions should be
made in the present case, as the encroach
rlcnts are on two entire blocks of The
sidewalks and consist in all of twenty
stoops.
AS 10 the facts of the case the repor
says: THE reasons assigned by the peti
toner for allowing this encrOachment have
no foundation in fact While there may
7 have been no intention to violate the or
dinance and the mistake is doubtless Al
honest one, yet the ordinance has beer
= violated in the clearest manner to such al
extent as TO entirely take from the public
al least one-haf of tho sidewalks for twS
blocks and we do not think &his ough
10 be done. The other reason urged, name
! ly. that the streets were donated to tht
= city by the petitioner is entirely incorrect
The city bought these streets at cost o
S2.0o0 and the former owner has already
2 made his deed TO the city in considera tioT
a of this money. For these reasons we re
port adversely to this petition"
The committees report was tadopteC
without discussion.
Wants Tracks Put in Shape.
e A petition was received from Genera
q | Manager Lotion of the Savannah, Thun
- derbolt ana Isle of Hope Railroad. statins
i that the house drainage contractors haC
: failed 10 place the tracks of the compan,
Y on East Broad street in the same condi
T. ton as before, after completing their worl
s there last spring, and requesting that tn