The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-12-19
NONE So POOR AS
To Do REVERENCE
TO SHOCKOE CREEK
Renders City Liable to Suits.
Menace to Health. Injuries
Business and Should b.
Filled, All Say.
Great Boulevard to Replace 4
is Suggestion Made by Boll@
ing and Received With
Enthusiasm. Engineers ID
First Meeting.

I lrSt NieetIng.
The city Of Richmond Is liable =
suit from private parties because % d
the nuisance due to the condition 0k II
shockoe creek under presidents set tn u
other cities. according to the state
ment made b. Murray McC;uirc beforo a
the Richmond Society of Engineers, ~
hich held It's first annual meeting lii n
the Business Meas club last night, sS@sS
The attorney declared that the city IA
might be Indicted and lined, IL charges
were brought by the proper parfeA,
and cited many instances in other parts d
Of the country in which municipal gOv~ u
, ornments had been forced TO pay heavi~s
iy because Of conditions such as exiSxEa
in the Shockoe section of Richmond.
Suggests Boulevard.
A proposal made by City EnginsAk
Boiling to wall in tine creek ard "a \
build & boulevard down its entfr~a
length after covering 1t was received
with applause by these at the meet h
ing Tine engineer showed the many &
advantages u hlch such II work would 81
give the city. He declared that Il
would open highway from the BoHie-ss s.
ward. through a great nanufacturin4
and jobbing district. which would u n
Strengthening the creek, to Broad streeG u
down 20 Main and thence ON to thu
Mayo bridge and to South Richmonk IA
He estimated THAT such a work would
require about two years for coni nlefian9
and would cost In the neighborhoods u6sa
s1.35a 600.
A. NJ. smith. speaking for the BusI~ d
ness Mems club, advised bond isauM
for the carrying out OF 1ha work nd 81
the earliest possible time, and sa N 81
that he knew the business Mems club
would be glad TO aid In every poss.nie
way. The topic is one Of the iivNat d
now before the Richmond public. waA
the assertion Of the speaker, ana ere
Of his fondcst dreams was to see fnA q
section opened for manufacturing and u
fobbing sites and later the hut3diug "a
Of a central freight and passenger 4
depot Mr. Smith thought that the ter.
rtory would allow the erection of no
such business houses In II and the ems
ployment OF some $4,000 people az
result
Rig Halfway station.
A freight and passenger depot sit
uated here would have many advan-a
tages, prominent among them being the
saving in drayage between the stations 4
and the FIRMS business houses. He sug-8s
gested also that this section would u
an ideal location for the erection az II
the armor plate plant should this city u
( secure II. Mr.. Smith called attentiOx
To the manner in which places Of for
mer similar character were heRuti1ta6
and kept in certain Northern sections n
and suggested that slight expenditures
would DO the same for the ShockoQAa
district, after the building OF the pros
posed boulevard. 81
Speaking from the standpoint o4ss
health. DR.. f. G. Levy. chief health
officer. reasserted that the creek waaS
tk,.
was no menace equal TO that Of an open n
sewer running through city. His re-
marks brought those present MANY
laughs especially when he concludes
/ with the statement that he desired .ta
see the Shocking creek In very nauch
more Strengthened circumstances.''
William T. Reed, vice. president DUH
the chamber Of commerce. who spuk0
on the Manufacturers Point n4
View, said that the waling in and
covering IF the creek was all ii1SA5
portant To the manufacturers OK Thru
city, and that ne and the chamhAI
OF commerce were willing to nd "a
whenever the movement was startHdSA
He also advised bond Issue for the
work and hoped to see a freight and a
passenger station erected there.
Should Get Tt.
with all Of the societies interestaA@
in this work asserting theft rendfnn1kS
to aid the engineers there should hG8
little trouble In getting the impruv6
mens made. and to my mind the thinl2
to do is TO start the work immAd1
ately." MIR. Reed said in conclusion. N
"We have not to consider only thN4
advantages which the improvements 04sA
the Shockoe creek district will brinnsa
to us but we must think of the RicAs4
mond Of the future. we must coa1
slider first what the city Of 800, e04A&
inhabitants would experience witA
such a condition existing" declared M
s. Crump, speaking on The CltixenA
Point Of View" Mr.. Cruup thOuQk4S
the matter one Of the most important
things now before the citizens ~ Nj
Richmond, and advocated the butl4S
ing OF the boulevard as suggested H1S5
the city engineer and agreed with tA0H
health officer that the prevailing cox&
ditions were the worst possible fr03
the viewpoint Of the citizens.
Colonel G.. +. Fl. Burgwin stated fA
nothing had made so great an ape
to him within recent times as the IN
gestton 20 build a boulevard over
Shockoe creek. He remarked t4M
there Is no one street In Richn403
running through the city, exf
north. south, east or west, whacH
not handicapped, by physical co1
tions, for hauling and that A ho&
ward as suggested would be the
possible thing for the city. 8
Like Tennyson's Book. ss
The statement made by MU3
Mcclure. that II the city fathar4
not take some action In stoppinGa
nuisance If the creek the cour4n
do So attracted more than p~
attention. He stated that he N
scented Arm. affected by tho m
which fer three years, had heen
inc efforts tn have the city coER&&
evil Tha first effort along t71&{
WAS male by Colonel CutaA&
1879. ana stili the creek flows
eording % the speaker the 11
Of the rraek liz both 4 pftx&f
pubic nuisance. anu thu <ltXY