The daily Gate City., 1912-02-09

Declares City Has Been Well Man
aged During the Past Two Years
and Latest Ordinance Was
Well Drafted.

AS citizen and tax payer and be- |
ing very much interested in the pres
ent and future welfare of the city Of /
Keokuk have tried to follow the
recent discussion in the papers of the
merits and demerits of the pending
special ordinance No. $685. 1t would
be good deal Of a task for any Gift
zen to examine the various ordinances
and contracts between the city OF
Keokuk, the railroads, and the union
depot for the purpose of determing
the rights of each. have made no ef-
fort to do this Even with the maps
that have been published the average
citizen could not go down to the levee
and determine about trackage, ele-
iyations, crossings and other things
embraced in said ordinance No. 38S.
These are mostly engineering ques-
tions and should be decided by engr-
neers except, Of course, that the
wharfage rights Of the city should be
protected and the tracks properly safe
guarded and in no case should any
irailroaA be permitted to have any
IlSntb " lA0 SASlu6lOu Va LILO llo hIo
of other roads either now or hereaf-
ter entering the city Of Keokuk.
So far as other roads are concerned
! it is usually safe to consider that
each will take care of it's own rights
and will not quietly assent to any or
dinance that would be hurtful to
either its present or future interests.
If have correctly caught the spirit
of what has been published, am
disposed to think that the Wabash
was the road whose interests We're
thought by some to be jeopardized by
the proposed ordinance. have care
fully read what was published in both
of the Keokuk papers on yesterday,
February 8th. Both papers make 1t
clear that Mr.. Miller who is vice pres
Iident and general manager of the
Wabash railroad not only distinctly
Approves the ordinance as now
amended but distinctly went further
and said that the ordinance was ali
right without the amendment. We all
know with what jealousy anyone
looks at rights and privileges given
to another that might be injurious to
his own. II, therefore, Mr.. Miller as
the head guardian of the Wabash
right may not the rest of us consider
that this opinion Is fairly conclusive
of the case? We all know that the
building Of the dam necessitates
changes in trackage and elevation on
1.-THE levee / have read the ordinance
and 1t does not seem to me that any
thing is given away by the city that
is not necessary to the new conditions
and the ordinance removes all dotted
lines and there is sweeping pro-
vision that all of the rights which
have heretofore been granted to any
! or all of said companies between the
north line OF Bank street and the
south line of Concert street are here
lby released to said city of keokuk'
This makes very nice housecleaning
and starts all of said companies with
no rights whatever except those CON
tanned in the pending ordinance, Be
sides all this all expense for grades,
tTdChS, pupliSestioh VI oAuiA1HSCS StS'i
, are to be paid for by the Burlington
and not cent by the city of Keokuk.
,, Ii think it was a nice thing for the
commissioners to obtain the amend
, ment stated in the evening papers in
order to please other citizens, partic
ularly when Mr.. Miller, in behalf o;
!, the Wabash, distinctly states If the re
!, porters are correct that such cnange
! was entirely unnecessary. 1t looks tc
me that the ordinance is Necessary
: one for the water power and the
: railroads and chat y gives nothing te
! the Burlington except what is neces
! sary in view Of the dam and tha,
the rights Of the city are more care