The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1912-01-28

That in the authorized Interview re- /
sarding the new franchise granted to
the Burlington Tor relocation Of the /
yards in this city published exclusive, !
iy In Friday evening" Is iesue. OF. The
Gate City, II. w. Green, general man
aser Of j. G. Hubinser Bros plant
here, made number Of misstate-
ment Of facts, and arrived at numer-
GUS erroneous conclusions In the mat
ter, were the charges made Saturday
by Mayor J. #. Elder In answer to
the story which attracted such wide
attention. Supplementing his charges,
the mayor issued five page state
ment in which he gives the facts n,thc
case as the city knows them. His
statement follows:
Prior to 1890, the rights of the rail-
roads and of the city of Keokull to
the property usually known as the
levee, lying between the west line of
Water street and the Mississippi
river, were very indefinite. The Keo-
kuk & Western, the Rock Island. and
the st. Louis, keolluk & North West
ern all had rights more or less over
tapping and more or less doubtful.
Organization Of Depot Co.
In the year 1890, the Keolsuk Union
Depot company was formed by the st.
Louis, Keokull & North Western Rail
way company, the Chicago, Rock Is
land & Pacific Railway company, the
Keokuk & Des Moines Railway COM
pany, the Toledo & Western Railway
company, the Wabash Railroad conf
pany, and the Keokuk & Western
Railroad company. To this company,
SO formed, the city deeds the fee
| simple title to the property lying be-
/ tween Bank and Johnson street, in
GLIDING Exchange street and from the
east line of blocks 2 and 5, easterly
1885 feet; and, at the same time,
decided to the Chicago, Burlington &
Quincy, X. & w. and Rock Island all
of the land lying between that tract
and the Mississippi river. North of
this tract and extending from about
the foot of BIondeau street to point
about Is feet south Of Main street,
was created what is known as the
union yards, with a further track
starting about so feet below Main
street and running next the river
down below the Standard Oil com
panys warehouse and back to the
Mississippi Coal & Ice company's
yards. In front of the union depot
were two tracks and the stub track
known as the union depot yards. Be-
low this were five tracks owned by the
G. B. & @. railroad and below that
five more tracks belonging to the X.
& w. railroad The tracks known as
the union yards and the K. & w,
tracks, have been used by the Wabash
railroad for the purpose of bringing
coal into the city of Keokuk and it is
to the interest of the said railroad
| that the leyee in front of the city be
left in the condition it is in at the
| present time. This is still the condi
ton of the levee yards.
Levee Public Property.
/ The levee is also occupied by a
number of private citizens who hold
large tracts of it for purely nomina
consideration, paid to the city of Keo
xxx. No q; lection has been made tic
this, but the contracts and the con
/ sideraiicn are all absolutely illegal
The supreme court of the United
States in the case of Hiram Barney
VS.. the City of Keokuk, held that the
4 leyee of this city was public property
that it might be used for public, but
not for private use In that case, the
court held specifically that the levee
might be used for railroad tracks, bri
not for a railroad depot and declined
to give an opinion as to whether OF
not it could be used fol-. a steamboat
depot. Every private citizen occupy
ing the levee is doing so contrary to
this decision, which absolutely fixes
the status of the levee.
h BY the new ordinance. which can
not become effective until after it is
accepted by the c. B. & Q. Railroad
company, the Union Depot company
and the C. r. l.. & P. Railroad com
pany, has been published in both The
Daily Gate City and the Constitution
+ Democrat, and ten days allowed 70,
protest; it is provided that the title K
this. property decided by the city tt
the Union Depot comany and to til,
C. b. & @. Railroad company shall b.
returned to the city, the G. 3. & @
Railroad company retaining permits
sion to run two tracks across thi,
tract and the Union Depot compan.
retaining permission to run fly,
| tracks and two stubs across 1t. TIL,