Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1911-12-15
The SWant0Wn Fill

N4t~ therein. thus make the same
available for commercial purposes.
which bad been Of comparatively
small value To the owners. as wei, aS
an eye-Sarc to the city. The under
taking appeared TO be a laudable one,
and was generally encouraged aud
approved 0y the well-disposed citi-
Zens of Olympia, though the legal
warrant therefor was doubtful. The
undertaking was promoted and car
ried forward under plea and pretense
Of sanitation for the promotion o.
the public health. but as a matter OF
fact as business enterprise discon-
nected with sanitation as stated and
which formulated the assessment
procedure.
These tide fats, with the ebb and
how OF the tide over the same twice
in twenty-four hours. with the nat
ural and regular flow OF the waters of
Moxlie creek emptying into the bay,
were not unsanitary in any sense.
However, this fill with the stagnant
water remaining and accommodating
thereon, is liable to soon become
very unsanitary and a menace to
the public health, unless some prac-
ticable method shall be provided to
correct the blunders that have al
ready been made before the next dry
season shall set in. 1t will be seen
later whether the city authorities are
equal to the emergency.
Again, the overflow oil waters from
off the fill has damaged adjacent
property and is likely to do addition
al injury. The owners undoubtedly
will not suffer their holdings to be
menaced and injured in this respect.
without seeking redress from some
quarter. Actions have already been
instituted against the city by reason
of such damage, and more are likely
to follow. Whatever damage shall
be recovered will become a burden
upon all taxpayers Of Olympia.
Moreover, Henry Mallory has a
suit pending against the city TO COM
pei the levy of an assessment upon
about one-third of the city's area to
meet the expense Of the construction
of the sewer (mis-named in this fill.
The expenses and costs in connec-
ton with this litigation will be
heavy. The STANDARD predicts the
city, which means oil the taxpayers
within its boundaries. or property
owners in the so-called sewer dis
trict, will be called upon TO pay for
that abortive project and the in
creasing costs. With q 46-mill levy
for 1911. have not our taxpayers SUI
ficient burdens to meet? When the
real estate market is at standstill,
especially with regard to city prop
erty at this time. our people arc
daily becoming more anxious 10 know
when their troubles will end.
The STANDARD fully appreciates
the remark of Hazard Stevens, when
he last visited this city, to the effe It
that no community can prosper by
impoverishing its own citizens. A.
ter q man has become a property
owner, the Council may cinch him
with an assessment, that will prac-
tically amount to confiscation, but
that body cannotas yet compel per-
son to buy real estate in our midst
with o near prospect of the cinch.
Under existing laws o municipal
body possesses the power to cancel a
mans title TO his property to pay an
assessment lien, with very little cere-
mony.
No box waterway, orconduit. ought
to have been attempted ct the very
outset with which TO conduct the
waters OF Nozzle creek to tide water.
The ground is too fat. An open
waterway with sloping banks, bridged
at street intersections. with head
gates to protect the property above
from being overlooked by tide-wa-
ters, would have been practicable
and an expense Of only few thou
sand dollars at most would have
sufficed to await future develop
ments in the growth of the city.
1t might be cheaper in the long
run to tear out this box miscarriage
and proceed to construct the open
waterway, as suggested. In our
opinion. in the present shape on ex-
listing levels. this abortion will coz
tinually accumulate within its di-
mansions silt. sand and dirt, which
will retard the outflow from the
creek as we'll as the inflow OF tide
water and then troubles galore will
ensue.
1t is said good engineers who
viewed the situation originally pro-
nounced the project feasible, though
the indications at the time pointed
contrawise. The end. however, is
not yet, but it does not require much
Of prophet to foretell that our tax
payers will be out many thousands
of dollars with attendant heartaches
and nerve tension before the finish
shall appear. 1t may be that in the
meantime our citizens will demand
two or three commission forms of
city government 10 help them out of