Omaha daily bee., 1902-02-06
CONSIDERS GREAT WESTERN
City csulsil in Conmjttss Of Whsls Hears
CitisnP pIoNst
FARMERS FEAR THE NEW LINE
GrenviIle Dodge and Others Urge the
COuncilmen TO Safeguard
the Interests of
the City.

-
The city council met yesterday afternoon
as a committee Of the whole to conEider
the ordinances introduced ia the interest
OF the Great Western railroad. The rail-
road WAS represented by lis local attorney,
Colonel c. @. Saunders. and J. P. Green
shields Of the real estate firm OF Green
shields a Everest, It's egent in acquiring its
right Of way through the city. A large
number OF interested property owners and
business men were In attendance, several
OF whom addressed the committee, urging
that their interests be protected and the
railroad forced to settle all damages before
being granted any favors by the city. The
committee adjourned to 4 O'Clock this aft
ernoon without taking any action.
The general contention Of the property
owners. especially those In the Third ward,
whose holdings viii be affected by the adj
vent OF the Great Western, was that the
railway company should be required to pay
them damages for the depreciation which
their property will suffer by reason Of the
proximity Of the railroad tracks. They
also vigorously protested against the city
v~acating any portion OF Ninth avenue or
South Eighth street. and against permitting
the railroad to place its tracks fifty feet
from the thoroughfare en- South avenue.
GrenviIIe Dodge for the City.
GrenviIle Dodge addressed the committee
and urged the aldermen to safeguard the
interests Of the city before passing any
ordinance granting tavors to the new rail-
road. He said that no road had ever come
into Council Bluffs which had asked so
much as the Great Western did. No road,
he said, passed through more valuable res
idence property in the city than the Great
Western did and no road had more grade
crossings in the city limits than this rail-
road proposed to have. He suggested that
the railroad be limited to two tracks on
Woodbury. avenue and Tostevin street.
South avenue, which the Great Western
proposed to parallel. he asserted, was the
most travelled thoroughfare leading into the
city and within the corporate limits. He
expressed the opinion that for the safety
Of farmers driving into tow along South
avenue the railroad should not be permitted
to build its tracks within q less distance
than 100 feet from the highway and not
within fifty. as proposed. He hoped that
the city wouid insist that the railroad
maintain iagmen at all the grade crossings
and he incidentally mentioned that he con-
sidered It an outrage that no guards or
gates were provided at the Main street rail-
road crossings, as we're provided by the
Northwestern on Broadway. He suggested
that the Great Western be required to park
with shrubbery between the. highway on
South avenue and It's tracks.
He referred to the liberal spirit displayed
by the Illinois Central in its dealings with
property owners on entering this city, and
saw no reason why the Great Western
could not follow it's example. He believed
the Great Western was asking for too much
and that before It be granted any favors Il
should be required to settle with all those
property owners, the value OF whose hold
ings would be deprecated by the proximity
Of its tracks.
Fears Farmers May BE Driven Away.
Oscar Brown. druggist on Main street.
who was chairman Of the meeting held re-
Gently by property owners Of the Third
ward. followed Mr.. Dodge. He asked that
the city protect the rights OF the property
owners affected by the entrance Of the
road into the city before passing any ordl-
nances. He was Of the opinion that the
proximity OF the tracks to South avenue
would drive farmers to seek 8 market else
where and that Main street merchants
would lose much of the trade which they
had heretofore enjoyed. The farmers, he
said. were considerably worked up over the
matter and MANY of them had announced
their intention Of marketing at Silver City,
instead of Council BLUFFS.
Several other property owners in the
Third ward and business men on Main
street made remarks much to the same ef-
feet.
Colonel Saunders for the Road.
Colonel @. q. Saunders, local attorney for
1 the Great Weatarn aald the Hraat Waakar0
had paid for every foot OF it's right-ot-wsy
through the city and had probably paid rs
per cent higher price for the property than
could be secured by the owners on the open
market. He said the location Of the freight
depot and terminal buildings In this city
YOU'D add materially to the population and
there would be q demand for homes by the
employees OF the road within the vicinity OF
its tracks and depots. Council BUNS, he
stated. would not lose anything by being
liberal toward the new road, but instead
would be a direct gamer.
Regarding the location OF the passenger
depot he said his company had hoped to
build II on the west side Of Main street and
Ninth avenue. but had found II impossible
owing to the ~Burlington's spur track to tbs
implement district. The depot would be
erected on Ninth, avenue. east Of Main
street.. on the property now occupied ny the
Atlantic house and Trinity Methodist
church. The entrance would face on the
avenue. with the tracks south Of the depo;
and south OF the avenue. =
a protest signed by a number OF property
owners on Ninth avenue against the city
v~aoating any portion Of that th~oroughfAFs
to the Great Western was presented and
filed.
The ordinance granting the Groneweg a
S~ehoentgen company permission to erect
an elevated sidewalk platform on the wesi
side Of its building on Ninth street was re-
ferred to the city attorney to incorporate
certain amendments.
Tho committee will meet again this after
noon at I o'clock to further consider thu
Great Western ordinances.
Mrs. r. G. Hatcher sues for Divorce
? Cruel and inhuman treatment Is Ii,
/ charge upon which Mrs. Anna Hatcher
bases her suit, brought In the district eour
| yesterday for divorce from r. G. Hatcher
! whom abe married July -. 1881. Mrs
4. Hatcher sets out in her petition that FOL
the last four years she has been an invalid
= snd In frail health and that In eOnssqueno,
her nerves have been highly sensitive. sh'
alleges that while III In bed her HUSBAND