The White Pine news. [volume] (Ely, Nev.) 1906-1910, 1907-11-04

ELY, WHITE PIN
unincorporated towns was about TO be
urged, this defendant, to avoid the
necessity CT meeting the question III
the future, caused an Act to be in
! troduced into the Legislature of the
State of Nevada, which convened in
January, 1907, which Act had for its
purpose the validating and confirm
ing of said ordinance and franchise,
as well as all other similar franchises
heretofore grained by boards of
county commissioners to foreign
corporations.
The members of the Assembly from
White Pine County refused to give
said measure their support, and the
Act was defeated. One of said men,
bers of said Assembly to-wit: A. J.
Fesler has, since the adjournment
of said Legislature, personally COM
menced an action against this de-
fendant to recover the sum of eleven
thousand dollars damages accruing to
him as a property owner on Garden
Street by reason of the operation of
defendants trains along said street,
and has also commenced another suit
for two thousand dollars damages ar
Using out of the same cause to another
lot owned by said Fesler. Both of
said actions are now pending and
undetermined In addition to this,
defendant has been threatened with
numerous other suits by other prop
erty owners along Garden Street
Defendant further alleges that
wnen its railroad is in active COM
mission transl orting ores to the smell
ter of the Steptoe Valley Smelling and
Mining. Company at McGill. Nevada
which it is anticipated will be on or
about January l, 190S-it will be
compelled to operate heavy ore trains
approximately ten each day. and. this
number will be increased to twenty
whenever the smelter plant is fully
equipped.
by reason of the attack upon its
franchises over Garden Street, the
demands of property owners for dam
ages for Operating trains over that
route, together with the Inconvenience
and discOmfOrts of the inhabitants
arising from the operation of num-
erous and heavy ore trains, this de-
defendent was impelled to seek an
other route through said town. 1t
has therefore established upon prop
erty wholly owned by it and purch-
ased for that purpose another line at
the Northern side of the town along
the side of a range of hills, which
line may be referred to herein as the
ore line" and over which it is in
tended to operate ore trains and other
freight trains carrying freight whose
destination may be the mines, or
points West of the city of Ely. Said
line neither follows nor crosses any
dedicated or used street in said city
of Ely, and the franchise and other
difficulties arising out of conditions
on Garden Street do not exist.
The two lines above described are
those referred to by plaintiff in para
graph of said complaint.
VI.
AS to matters and things set forth
in paragraph of said complaint de-
fendant AYERS that prior to the COM
pletion of that portion of its line
from Ely to the mines West of it,
large volume of freight was dis
charged at or near the city of Ely,
the ultimate destination of which was
West of said town. Since the con-
struction of said road to the mines,
by far the larger volume of freight
carried by said road is discharged
either at McGill, where the smelter
is under construction, or at the mines
and in the future these two points
will be necessarily far more import
ant as originating and receiving
points for freight than the city of Ely,
Iofo 1an 1v,,t tte, !, 10 sol
city is now an important patron of
said road and large volume of
freight is consigned to its residents
and business men.
VII.
Answering the matters and things
set forth in paragraph Z of plaintiff S
complaint, defendant AYERS that long
prior to the incorporation of the city
of Ely, to-wit: in the month of July,
1906, the subject of the selection and
maintenance of freight depot and
yards to accommodate Ely and vicinity
was taken up for consideration and
action by its engineers. The only
available land which was level, or at
all suitable for this purpose, was sit
llated on the western side of Steptoe
Valley near the foot of the sloping
ground beyond the mouth of Robin
son Canyon near place for many
years known as and called George
town. Before this land (Which was
at that time the property of the New
ada Consolidated Copper Company
and so continued up to December
1906) was purchased by the Ely
Townsite Company, arrangements
were made for the segregation at this
point of such land as said Nevada
Northern Railway might require for
freight depot and yards. The tract
above described was subsequently con-
veyed to it and is now rapidly being
improved with switches, side-tracks,
engine house and other facilities for
handling freight. 1t has also con-
structed and now maintains COM
modious freight depot and ware
houses for the storage of undelivered
freight. This depot is situated six
teen hundred and fifty feet East of
the eastern corporate line of the city
of Ely. 1t is one and siX-tenths
miles and no farther from the COM
mercial center of the city of ELY and
one and two-tenths miles and no far
ther from the present passenger de-
pot in said town. The tracns in said
freight yards extend to point within
the eastern boundary of the town
There is no level area within the COR
pOrate limits of the city of Ely sunici-
ent to enable defendant to establish
and maintain freight depot and other
freight facilities necessary for hand
ling the large volume of freight con-
signed to Ely. The total area of level
and available land in said city of Ely