Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1904-07-11
DEMOCRATIC TICKET.
AGAIN, THOSE FIRE LIMITS.

The problem that is now confronting
nine-tenths of the small business men in
Aberdeen is, what are they to do for a
place of business at a rate of rent they
can afford to pay, and the only solution
they can discover lies in a modification
of the present fire limits,
When the present ordinance was adop-
ted, the city council recognised that the
limits were too large, but, as has been
said before, they were compelled to make
them large at the time, to prevent the
city being again filled up with frame
business houses, leaving small fire dis
trict unbuilt. That the council intended
to reduce the limits, is plainly manifest
in Section 11S of the ordinance defining
the limits. That section practically gu r.
antees to the builders of brick and stone
buildings that the ordinance should con.
tinue in force for two years, but, the
same section says that: PROVIDED, how
ever, that nothing herein contained shall
be construed as preventing the city Of
Aberdeen from amending, altering or re-
pealing this ordinance in whole or in part
in so far only as it affects the territory
within said district lying south OF Hume
street and the territory lying west OF l
street, and the territory lying north OF
Wishkah street."
This provision is clear proof that they
considered a fire district covering the
territory lying between F and ], and
Hume and Wishkah streets, a sufficient
fire district for the city at present, and
intended that the or finance should be 30
modified as soon as sufficient building
was done within those limits to insure the
retention of the leading business houses
in the former business district. This has
been accomplished, and, unless it is the
disposition of the council to needlessly
hamper the small tradasmen, the modifi-
cation should be made at once, to enable
those people ITO make their permanent
arrangements during the summer season.
If, as it is held in some quarters, the
council covenanted with the builders of
fire proof buildings that they should have
a monopoly for two years, it may be an
swered that they also covenanted with
the property owners south OF Hume /;
north OF Wishkah, and west of 1 streets,
that their property would only be includ-
ed in the limits for short time, and
that its inclusion at all was for the bene.
fit OF the owners of the brick block dis.
trict primarily, although the general
public was benefited indirectly by the
building Of permanent structur g. The
assertion Of the weakly paper that the
HERALD was advocating the reduction OF
the limits by reason Of its publisher be.
ing interested in some property that
would be affected, is unworthy OF notice
and, if this is the only reason for working
a hardship on large number OF worthy
citizens that can be advanced, the modi-
fication Of that ordinance should be made
at once.
We have as yet been unable to hear
a solitary valid reason for continuing
the present limits, and if any one in.
terested desires to present that side of
the question, the columns Of this paper
will be open to them, with only the pro.
vision that the communication be not
unnecessarily long, and be couched in
respectful language.