Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1906-1908, 1907-04-12
OLD MEYERS SITE
FOR POSTOFF|CE
SHARP COMPETITION TO De
TERMINF THE NATTER.
Government Pays $4,000 For the
Property. Which is llOxll6
Feet-ExpressionS of DiSSdtiS-
faction Heard as d Result OF
Selection.

have been very nice indeed, but 1t
was impossible for the general govern |
ment to accept all of the Watertown
postoffice sites and erect federal
buildings thereon.
The most philosophical way to
accept the situation OF the selection
of the old Meyers estate site at the
corner of Madison and Second streets,
is to rejoice IN the fact that the city
IS TO be possessed with a government
building possibly.
AS might be expected, dissatisfaction
is expressed by quite number of our
citizens and the matter of the selection
of site has been the talk of the
town since yesterday morning
The first intimation of the selection
of a site in Watertown came yesterday
morning In reading the following
special from Washington to the Mil
waukee Sentinel:
The treasury department today made
public the selection of sites for gov
eminent buildings in three Wisconsin
cities, Appleton Platteville and Water
town. There has been sharp com
petition in all three cities and con-
siderable local feeling has been aroused
over the merits of the sites which
were offered. Special agents were
sent out to investigate the merits of
each proposition and the reports o.
these agents have been on the desk
of Assistant Secretary Edwards for
several days. No action has been
taken by Secretary Edwards on the
Waukesha site, although the contro-
versy there was scheduled for settle
ment nearly month ago. The site
for the Appleton building is at
Oneida and Washington streets. The
property is l30x132 feet and owned
by John Conway The price is $40, 900.
At Platteville the government build
ing will be erected on the property
bounded by Court. Pine and Benson
streets Morton EASTMAN is the owner
of the land, which is D0xl32 feet. The
price is SO, 00U. The w. S. Williams
property at the southwest corner of
Second and Madison streets has been
selected for the WATERFOWL building.
The government will pay So, 900 for
this property, which is ll0xll6 feet. -
Since the above news was received
there seems to be complications that
NAV delay the transfer of title for
some time, although the outlook is
favorable that the matter will be
settled soon. There are five parties
interested IN the site selected, four
directly and one indirectly. 1t is
understood that Fred Keck, one of
the owners asks the sum of $3.50 for
his interest in a parcel of land in
cluded in the site in addition to his
interest on the price fixed in the
offer made in the appropriation. 1t
is also understood that Fred Miller
asks the sum of 500 for his interest
in the alley adjacent to the site.
1t is further understood that w. S.
Williams, who is interested in some
of the property taken over, received
telegram from one of the officials in
the postoffice department at Washing
ton asking if ST, $50 would be accepted
as the purchase price for the site and
that he wired back in the affirmative.
Should the property owners insist upon
these claims it will make deficiency
from the amount of the appropriation
that will necessarily have to be made
up from some source. 1t is understood
that the interested property owners
have been active in making canvass
of the property owners adjacent to the
site in an effort TO make up the diff
erence between the amount of the ap-
preparation and the late demands,
made by some of those interested in
the site.
1t is to be hoped that the matter
will be settled soon and all minds
put at rest, for the citizens of Wa
tertown will have to wait long
enough before an appropriation is
made, for the building without any
complications IN the matter of a decis-
ion as to the site.
There has been considerable specu-
lation AS to why the postoffice depart
ment would ask for reduction of 500
from the price agreed upon, and that
given out In the dispatch as was
appropriated. An explanation as
given yesterday is that it was tor
expenses incurred.
1t is further understood that the
deficiency made by reason of demands
by two of the property owners
will be obviated if possible by private
subscriptions from property owners
adjacent to the site selected and who
will be benefited by reason of the
erection of a federal building in
close proximity to their property.