Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1914-09-17
STREETS ORDERED VACATED
City's Final Preliminary Act to
Building Union Station.
w. Shelton Swallow Has Contract mt
S142 ,5OO-Foundations VIII He
Completed This Fnil-Revision
of Figures Necessary.

Burftngton's new union station will
boon be under way. The last remain
Ing obstacle to actually signing the con-
tract for construction. which has been
given to the w. Shelton Swallow COM
pany, was removed Saturday evening,
Mt the city clerks office, when the board
of street commissioners. F. O. Sinclair
Thomas Reeves and George Tutt'e, sign
cd an order vaCatinS certain portions VI
Main and Lake s,'ccts. This is the last
act on the part Of thu city preliminary
10 beginning actual cor struCtou OF IN.
station. 1t is now up to the railroads.
The long delay in beginning operations
which came from various causes was
brought to n focus Saturday afternoon
when the street commissioners desired
light as to whether the station was
really to be built or not, as they deemed
it was necessary to he assured of that
fact before they signed an order giving
UP a portion Of the city's street As is
we'll known. they have gone all through
rho forms prescribed by law which are
necessary when II is found to be desiI-
able for the public good to discontinue
a highway or portion. Tho time limi;
on the notice to parties interested would
have expired to-day. At the meeting
Saturday were the commission, Edmund
c. Mower, attorney for the Rutland
Railroad. and W. Shelton Swallow, the
contractor, whose bid for the construc-
ton OF the station had been accepted
It was shown by Judge Mower that the
railroads had come to an agreement
about property rights, titles, etc, and
that there was no further hindrance to
beginning operations. 1t was advanced
by Mr.. Swallow, however that owing
to the long delay in signing the contract,
certain conditions had changed Prices
we're higher for several reasons, one OF
them being the European war, which
had caused steel to jump up three dol
lars ton Another factor was that It
was an entirely different proposition to
begin the construction at this time of
year with winter coming on than It was
to start building in the spring, and they
would have 4 consult with the railroads
about revision of conditions in the
contract.
The street commissioners wishing to
protect the rights of the city, hesitated
to sign the order vacating portions OF
Lake and Main streets until they had
further light on the subject, and ad-
journment was taken until evening, when
City attorney A. L. Sherman was
present. Mr.. Sherman gave as his opin-
ION that the matter of the contract be-
tween the railroads and M. Swallow
had nothing to do with the street com
mssioners signing the order Vacatinl
the streets the order from the
supreme court to build the station was
mandatory and one of the conditions was
that the streets in question should BE-
vacated by the city. This was one OF
the obligations imposed upon the city
If, after the order was signed. Their,
was any lack of fulfilling conditions or
the part OF the railroads, the city coulC
look to the courts for remedy and pro
lection. t was also a fact that tn,
railroads would not begin the construc-
ton Of a station until the streets had beer
discontinued.
With the opinion of the city attorney
and with the advice of Mayor Burke tht
commissioners then proceeded to sign thc
order and the same was Immediately hlcG
with the city clerk.
As evidence of the good futh of the