The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-07-07


 shore house to Johnson's creek as peti- tioned for by the Miamogue Yacht Club, The Hitchcock Engine Company, and other property owners on lower Seaview avenue was the contention of Judge Carl Foster who appeared be- fore the Board of Aldermen last night in opposition to the petition
 Attorney James A. Marr. who repre- scented l.. B. Powe, the yacht club Handy & Harmon and others appeared in favor of the extension. Relative to the last named concern he said they of Johnson'S creek and with other con- cernS would undoubtedly ask that a draw bridge be built across the creek as it was the natural course of travel if business was to be diverted toward this city. On the other hand it might go toward Stratford. Judge Foster said the draw bridge talk was all moonshine.
 ~ Attorney Marr suggested that before the aldermen voted upon the matter that they ask the city attorney if there was not already a layout whereby Sea- view avenue extended to the harbor. He was of the opinion that there was as A. J. Beardsley, who formerly own ed the property, had caused a map to be filed with the town clerk show ing a layout of a street and had sold lots which were bounded by Seaview avenue. He declared that if there was such a layout all that remained was that the city accept the layout.
 Alderman Gould introduced a resolu tion asking the city attorney for an opinion on the matter.
 Attorney Marr said in part: ''It ap- pears that Mir A. J. Beardslev dedi- cated a street 40 feet wide to the har- Dor from Lehmann's shorehouse. Lot owners there have lots bounded on the south by Seayiew avenue, therefore. if that is so there would still be a highway there. Everyone supposed there was a highway there until Frank Miller secured the property and I un- derstand that he has given deeds as though there was not highway there My clients feel that if the street is left open they are left on a dead end and their land is Appreciated in value. If the street is carried through to the harbor there will be room for nice wharf at the end a place left for a bridge across the creek in the future. Recently the Lake Torpedo Boat Co., in the. night season, by the light of lanterns, built a fence across the street. claiming that it had been a private street in the past, although a highway has been maintained there since 1895, '' Sigmund Loewith said he was a part owner in a piece of property at the end of Seaview avenue and at the time it was purchased he understood that the street was laid out there and was going to be continued. He favor ed the petition. |
 John J. Gaffney spoke for the Miamogue Yacht Club in favor of the petition, saying that the club supposed it's property was located in Seaview avenue.
 Frank I. Hitchcock read a deed which stated that his property was bounded on the south by Seaview ave- nue.
 
 part: "The fence across the street was not built at night for any other reason than it was built by the company's own men and that was, the most op- perfume time for them to do the work. We claim there is no layout in Sea- view avenue. We\claim there is not any street there. There has been a shop building located in the middle of the so-called. street for years. It was built there by Beardsley. Go down there anytime and you can see it. What is before your board tonight is not the question of whether there has been layout there. But the question Is whether or not you will order street through the plant of this com pany. You have that right. But if you do we shall claim damages. If the city attorney. the common council or the city says there is street there we shall go to the courts and ask them to decide if there is or not If the question is to be one of an existing layout it is not for the legislative body of the city to decide, but for a judicial body to pass upon.
 Another feature of this matter which should appeal to you strongly is the coming of this matter at this time when the citizens of this city through the board of trade have put their hands into their pockets in order to get a foreign corporation to locate here It is exceedingly strange that iah ago-which has spent over million dollars in Connecticut in the past ten years: strange, that when this cor poration picks out a. site that wou accommodate it that a petition is pre- sented here to put through a street to destroy it's plant. I am frank to say that the putting through of this street would drive this concern out of bus1- ness. This concern is not experiment. ing It is already planning to build a dry dock that will be 300 feet long. It is building four boats for Russia at the present time. two for Austria and two for the United States. It plans to do all of it's work here in the future with the exception of the build ing. of it's hulls. It is its purpose to do other kinds of ship work and to do general repair work upon all kinds of vessels. It is now employing 500 hands in Russia and 300 in Austria. If this street is cut through it will be impos- sible for them to lay the keels of boats the length the company intends to build. It will be impossible to build a dry dock unless it can have the en- tire breadth of this property which street would cut in two
 ''This company has had offers to To- cate in Maryland and New Jersey, but it preferred to stay here where it came unknown in its infancy. These peti- tioners display great shortedness, for the location of such a plant as the Lake company intends to build will benefit their property. The Lake com pany has not prevented any one from getting to their property for they can reach it by land and water as they have always done. Now if has been said that we do not own all of this property. We have a warranty deed for half of it and a bond for deed for the rest. That is because of the contract it has with the United States government which has not given it the same chance as it has given other boat builders. In order to get the contract for the boat it is now building at New