The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-04-30
Cannot AFFORD A DELAY
START NOW OR NOT
AT ALL
PIER MATTER Is TRIVIAL
President of Company Says 1t Is
Easy to Move Them If Per-
mission Is Quickly
Granted.

w. A. Scott, president OF the Union
Depot company is beginning to be afraid
that the report of Mai Townsend, the
government engineer at Rock Island,
may have the effect of delaying the work
OF commencing the improvements
planned by the company and that is just
what it cannot afford. That the matter
will be easy of solution is not doubted.
but any more vexatious delays will mean
the retarding of the whole work for an
other season. To reporter for the
G o b e Mr.. Scott said yesterday:
We have put up with countless OBJ
3ections for over a year. Every interest
affected has seen chance to grind an
ak, and the Union Depot company has
been made the sufferer. For the most
part we have acceded to the demands
made by the city, the rivermen and the
diamond Joe company. Everything ap-
peared to be arranged and we were only
awaiting the approval of the Washing
ton authorities, when this pier business
is sprung.
In itself this should not constitute a
cause for delay. One or two piers can
easily be removed, and at practically no
cost. I have seen Mayor Smith. and he
tells ME that while the city would be I'M
ooubtedly willing to do the work no ap-
preparation exists for the purpose. If the
consent Of the city could be secured with
out the customary lengthy red-tape
methods characteristic of city legislat. on,
the depot company would agree to do
the work and would do it Immediately.
However Mr.. Mackenzie, the CHI eff en-
gineer at Washington, has been COM
municated with and it is possible that
he will sanction the plans over the rec
concentrations of Maj. Townsend. The
whole objection really amounts to moth
ing, as the proposed fill will not interfere
with navigation any more than the piers
do at present. The river people, natur-
ally, would like to see the piers removed,
as then they would not be compelled to
steer around them.
Our plans for the nll-in will not inter-
fere with the Diamond Joe company's
wharf, either. The places to be filled in
are too shallow to be of any assistance
to them, and, beside, the Bethel boat
stands and has stood, further in the way,
for the past seven years.
1.-The whole thing is a delay of the red
tape order, and unless the depot company
IS enabled to start on the improvements
almost Immediately 1t will be too late.
AS the matter now stands we cannot
accept the city ordinance, and until this
is done the agreement between the COM
pany and the Milwaukee road cannot be
made for the removal Of their freight
house, nor can we open bids for any Of
the improvements.
"Our company has made concessions in
every direction and has made an earnest
effort to secure the improvements, and it
would be too bad If at the last moment
the improvements are rendered fmpossi-
BILE by reason Of this trivial delay.
LAS 1t is, 1t Is hard to see why the
government should tnterpose any OBJ
lection to our plans as we are doing just
what is being done by the federal au-
thorities all the time, viz, narrowing the
channel and deepening the channel.