The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1907-06-13
Kenosha Electric Railway Seeks
Land Condemned by c, X.
& M. Electric Company
PLANS A BIG POWER HOUSE
Company Files Petition for condemna-
ton Late Thursday Afternoon and
Hearing is Set for June 22d-A
Big Fight is Expected

A battle royal is on between the Of
ficia1s of the Kenosha Electric Kali
way company and those Of the Chi.
cago, Kenosha and Milwaukee Rail-
way company, as late Thursday af-
ternoon the officials of the Kenosha
Electric Railway company filed pc
tition in the Circuit Court seeking to
condemn lands which are named IN
the list of lands 10 be condemned by
the Chicago. Kenosha and Milwaukee
company. The land in question is
the property now occupied by the
Kenosha Electric Railway company
as its car barns and it is described as
lots IA and IS Of the Holmes and
Nichols addition to Southport, 1t is
located in the Third ward near the
corner Of Elizabeth and West Main
streets and it is considered one of the
most important pieces of land IN con-
nection with the building of a new
through electric railway line.
In the petition for condemnation
the Kenosha Electric Railway com
pany states that it is now operating
an electric railway in the city Of ke-
nosha and that under franchise or
dinances recently passed by the Com
mon Council of Kenosha, tits the pur-
pose Of the company to greatly ex-
tend these railway lines and that in
order to take care of the business I'M
der such extensions it will be neces-
sary for the company to erect large
power houses, car barns, stations and
to have room reserved for yards.
The property in question was for
mer1y owned by David Mcclure, long
since deceased, and there is some
doubt as to the present heirs to the
property. The petition states tkat
the Kenosha Electric Railway COM
pany has been in possession of this
property for the past four years and
that during that time repeated at
tempts have been made to locate the
owners of the property in order that
it might be purchased for the uses of
the company, but that such efforts
nave been without effect.
The piece of property in question
is directly in the line of the proposed
route of the Chicago, Kenosha and
Milwaukee road and it is one of the
pieces of property named in the pc
tition for condemnation recently filed
by this company.
The fact that the Kenosha Elec-
trio Railway Company has been
leasing the property will not, it is
said, have any effect on the actions of
the commissioners to be appointed to
assess the value of the land and the
rights Of the street railway company
will not be considered in the matter.
The Chicago, Kenosha and Milwaukee
is a company regularly Incorporated
under the laws of the State of Wiscon-
sin and it would look as if that COM
pany would fer this reason have the
first claim on the property as the
petition for the through line was
filed several days in advance of the
petition by the local company.
At the present time the Kenosha
Electric Railway Company secures
all of it's power from Highwood where
there is a power station of the Chicago
and Milwaukee road, but with the ex-
tensions of the lines in Kenosha Mr.
Frost has announced that it is his
intention to build a separate power
station to take care of the Kenosha
line. This will be great improve
ment over the present system as at
times the Kenosha cars are forced to
lose their schedule on account Of lack
of power. AS to the plans for a
station and yards as shown in the
petition nothing is known.
1t is generally believed that this
action in seeking to condemn this
piece of land IS simply the opening
gun in the battle between the Frost
forces and those of the Chicago, Ke-
nosha and Milwaukee. The attorneys
for the latter company had expected
the Kenosha company would seek to
condemn this land and for this reason
great haste was taken to get in the
petition of the through line before
the petition of the local company was
flied.
The Commissioners to assess dam
ages and benefits in the petition Of
the through line will be appointed on
June ID, and it is probable that the
attorneys for the company will see to
it that this piece of land is one of the
first to be acted upon and make an eff
fort to reach settlement with the
owners before the Commissioners on
the new petition are named. At any
rate decidedly pretty fight is prom
ised between the two trivial compan-
les.
w. 5. Lamb was called to Medina,
New York Thursday on accnnnt Of