The Lamar register., 1909-04-07
A TUNNEL FOR SALE.
DsinE No Longer Needed the Town
Council Tried to Sell II for
Post Holes.

The opposition of some of the al.
dermen to the franchise sought by
the Pennsylvania Railroad company
for a tunnel across Manhattan kin
He'd the recollection of a man who
many years ago was city father in
ais old town, says the New York Sun
1.-THE town was finished long time
sgo," he said. "but when | was
member of its city council We ex-
pected it would attain the altitude
If metropolis. The population was
.bout 5000 and it is now less than
hat by nearly one-half. IT lost its
opportunity to become railway ter
ninal when it refused to vote bonds
70 the first railroad built west of the
Mississippi river.
"A sluggish stream flowed through
nhe center of the place and lost it.
lelf in the Big Muddy. This stream
rad to be crossed in going to and in
soming from the steamboat landing,
and as steamboating was our only
means of transportation everybody
vent to the river when boat ar
lived.
Many a team got stuck il She mud
Of the banks of that creek. It was
the one thing which the taxpayers
we're willing to put up money to rem
sdy. A council was elected pledged
70 bridge the creek.
after an appropriation had been
voted to employ an engineer from
inother city. he planned what was
known as brick culvert. 1t cost
shout $500.
"About the time II was completed
= drouth struck the country and the
creek ran dry. II my recollection IL
aot out of plumb, the bed of that
creek has remained dry ever since.
This condition made the culyert val
ueless.
"Then the citizens - tt e town used
to take days off to "hss the council
that had this wcv, constructed.
When the time came q, elect another
souncil every member @! the "uivert
souncil was relegated tc. private life.
"Then the question came up in the
new board as to what could be done
with the culvert. The question was
debated for months.
"Finally one of the members-be
was afterward elected to congress
from the district-submitted a plan
to get rid of the $1,000 work. He
was a good deal of wit, but his
humor was SO dry that you never
could tell whether he was in earnest
or trying to do something funny.
$1Ie made a speech one night on
the proposition to get rid of the Gull
vert, in which he said that he had
recently visited an Indian tribe in
the northwest which had shown =
disposition to engage in agriculture.
He said the Indians had decided to
build fences around their tepecs, but
they did not know how to dig post
poles for fence posts.
"They had appealed to him to en-
tighten them. He then proposed to
sell them a lot of post hole made
to order. He therefore offered a res
olution to the coun,il to sell the cul-
vert to tire Indians.
".They have money he said, in
support of his resolution, and they
will buy the culvert and move it to
their reservation if you will name a
reasonable amount. | move, he ad-
ded, that a committee he appointed
to fix the sum for which the culvert
may be sold to these Indians. They
want post holes ready made, and this
Is the quickest way out to get rid Of
this incumbrance and eyesore.'
ale was SO earnest in his manner
that the council actually named a
committee to arrange for the sale,
and the ludicrous in the proposition
did not dawn upon the council until
the committee had wrestled with the
question for several weeks. Then
che council passed n resolution de-
elaring that the proposition was 'fu-
tile The question Of disposing of
the culvert was never brought up
again"