The Paducah sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1898-1906, 1903-03-17
Mr.. w, A. Gardner Says he
Owes Nothing.
Has Beaten the City Once on the Cues
tion-The River Front
Property.
WILL COST ABOUT $4,000

Mr.. W. Armour Gardner, United
States commissioner. does not agree
with Mayor Yeiser and some Of the
city officials who seem to desire to
leave the impression with the public
that Mr.. Gardner has attempted to
shirk his share of the costs of street
improvements. He stated this morn
ing that the city has no claim against
him for street improvements, and that
the matter OF claims the contractor
may hold against property on South
Ninth and Tenth streets he has MOTH
ing to do with.
Il seems that the facts in the case
are that very often piece of proper
ty is not worth the amount it would
cost to build improvements in front Of
it. When q street improvement is
made the contractor is awarded esti-
mates by the city and if he cannot
collect these estimates which represent
each abutting property owners share
of the cost, he files suit and has q
right to sell the abutting property IL
the owner does not pay. The owner
may own the property as far back as p
block, or it may be only two feet
Whichever il is, the contractor cannot
sell more than that OF the AUDITING
owner. II the amount brought is not
enough to satisfy the debt the city has
to pay the remainder, and this is what
the city is now complaining about.
Mr.. Gardner says that few times
when his property did not in his opin-
ion justify the cost OF improvements,
he sold a strip Of il and thus protect
cd his own interests, which he had a
right to do. he claims that the same
question now sprung in the council
came up once in circuit court not long
ago, and Judge Husbands decided that
a man has . right to sell as much Of
his property as he chooses, and that
the city cannot go any further than
the law says IL can go in selling abut-
ting property for street Improvement
and that no man can be made to pay
for the improvements in front of pro-
perty he does not own. Mr.. Gardner
therefore claims he has already beaten
the city ON the question ordered tested
last night, and that rs all he has eyer
done was legitimate and legal he ex-
poets to win again.
The city has taken the preliminary
steps to condemn the river front prop
erty adjoining the Armour building on
First street, between Court street and
Broadway, for wharf purposes. The
property which is owned by the Illi-
nois Central, before the Armour build
ing was erected was valued at $25, 900,
if not more, and was assessed at sl7,-
500. 4
That portion Of it the city desires
will probably cost in the neighborhood
Of s12, 900, possibly much more, anda
great many taxpayers are beginning to
wonder where the city will get the
money.
Former Mayor Lang seemed to be
very much amused this morning over
the councils action last night in or
dering the property condemned.
"when l was in Office" he declared,
I'VE passed the ordinance condemning
the ground and had the suit ready to
be fled in court, but at the last some
of these same fellows now in the coun-
Gil, think one was Captain Joe
Fowler, ordered the suit held up, and
it was held up. The Armour build
ing was soon afterwards built, rum
ing the property as wharf, and real
ly can't see now how the remainder OF
II can be of any possible benefit to the
city. II they had let us alone at the
time we had done nearly everything
toward condemning it, the city would
probably be now using it as a wharf"
MARRIAGE IN TENNESSEE.
M -