The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1908-06-11
Council Extends Time for Frost T o
Build Lines on Ashland and
Grand Avenues Monday
COUNCIL IN GREAT WRANGLE
Plan For Extension of Time For the
Completion Of the Road Voted
Down But Property Owners
Force Reconsideration
{From Thursdays DaiIy.)

| ~AAGCI one O1 GuG UICGGT0SG struggles
ever seen on the floor of the Common
Council of Kenosha, the Council just
before one O'Clock this morning passed
resolution which granted to A. G.
Frost and the Kenosha Railway Com
pany an extension Of two years for the
completion of the work of the company
on Ashland and Grand avenues. In the
clearing smoke Of the battle between
the property owners, Frost and the
members of the Council, the net results
of the action may be summed up as
follows:
The railway company secures a two
years extension of time for the com
| pletion of the lines on Ashland and
Grand avenue. The company agrees to
lay single track in Grand avenue from
Jay street to the city limits at once
and pay for the paving of seven feet
on this avenue. The company agrees
to widen the east end Of Grand avenue
to a uniform width Of thirty-six feet
in lieu of rebating to the property own
ers on this part of the street for pave
ment. Mr.. Frost made an agreement
with the property owners on Market
street to pave seven feet of the street
this year if the single track was left
and to waive in writing his rights to
a double track on the street. He agreed
to pave ten feet with the double track
if the paving was left over until next
year and this matter is to be taken up
among the property owners and if pos
sible an agreement reached. It is very
much feared that the agreement, as
lame at it is, will make the paving of
Market street this year an impossibility
as the people on that street seem to
be badly divided. Frost stated that
he would still agree to give the double
track on Market street and the twenty
feet of pavement if the people Of the
street would wait for the company to
secure funds and the dissolution Of the
injunction on Elizabeth street.
The agreements reached seemed to be
satisfactory to the property owners on
Grand avenue. Mr.. Frost seemed to
accept them and the agreement in re-
| gard to Market street was met with
sullen silence on the part Of the proper
| ty owners from that street. The work
of paving Grand avenue under the con
! tract is to go forward at once and the
| Council will at an early meeting pass an
ordinance extending the time of the
franchise as provided by the resolution.
The meeting will 60 down in history
as one Of the most memorable of the
| Common Council of Kenosha It was.
one marked with fierce personal com
bat, Oratorical flights and at times it
| looked as if the climax would be capped
with fstic encounter. It was en-
tirely devoid of parliamentary law and
property owner and alderman united. in
an attack on Frost which the leader
of the railway company stood with be-
coming grace considering the ferceness
of it. The desire of the aldermen to
put themselves on. record as opposed to
Frost seemingly blinded them to the de-
sires of the property owners and after
the property owners Of Grand avenue
had declared themselves by a vote Of
seventeen to one in favor of the ex-
tension the resolution was lost by the
votes of the men whose wards adjoined
the Grand avenue territory.
| 1t was then that the battle which be-
fore had been skirmish, became a
hand to hand conflict Under the reso-
| luton the rights of Frost to pave on
Grand avenue and lay his line there
were to have been extended, but with
| it lost the Grand avenue people were
left to hold the bag as Frost announced
that he was ready to slap his road down
on Ashland avenue before Sunday even
| ing and be in position to hold his
| rights. He also declared that he cared
little whether he forfeited or not on
Grand avenue.
Henry G. Butler was the champion of
Grand avenue and it should be said to
| his credit that he put up terrific fight.
He occupied the floor for more than an
hour during the evening, some of the
time pleading with Frost for more con
| cessions and later pleading with the
aldermen Of his own ward to reconsider
their action and give the people what
they wanted. Frost IS position was
summarized in nut shell and that was
that the company was determined to
hold the franchise on Ashland avenue
at all hazards, that it did not care for
the right on Grand avenue and that it
had just $4,000 ready money to spend
IN Kenosha and that it was up to the
Council to decide where it should be
spent.
He preferred to spend it for laying
tracks on Ashland avenue, but was will
ing to put it into paving and tracks
on Grand avenue. The aldermen from
| the Fourth ward in some manner con
ceived that they could use the Grand
avenue franchise as whip to force
Frost to pave Market street, but Frost
while cool and collected during the en-
tire evening had passed the time when
he made concessions at will and he ap-
peared in the role Of the careful fnan-