Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1914-02-20
WANTS MORE MONEY FOR HIS
PROPERTY
Edward b. Riley, OF wildwood,
Refuses Award for School
SHE nj Woodsfoyvn

Work all over again. Especially Ora WI
jury in the Salem County Court on
Wednesday decided against the Piles
grove oodstown Board of Education
in its efforts to condemn land on the
Riley tract selected by popular vote for
the school.
The decision of court was favorable
to Edward b. Riley, one of the heirs
of the Riley estate, who refused to ac-
cept the award of a condemnation COM
mission of So, 800 for eight acres Of land.
The jury decided that the condemning
OF the land would involve eleven acres,
and fixed a price OF Sc, 1000 on that basis.
Ii Is a question here now whether the
Board OF Education will buy the Riley
land as the majority of the members
are said to be unfavorable to this site.
In any event, 1t will be necessary TO
hold another town election, as the board
only was authorized by the voters to
appropriate So. 900 for the land for the
new school, which is to cost $50, 900 or
more when completed.
The possibility Of another election
has aroused the hopes OF some of the
leading men OF the town who have
been In favor of buying the old Bacon
academy property from the Society of
Friends. which, with an adjoining prop
erty included, comprising in all about
three acres OF land, can be had for $4,000.
The majority Of parents have stubborn
~ fought against the Bacon site be-
cause they say that If the school be
built there their children would have
to walk too far.
It was at fret proposed by the Board
of Education to buy the Bacon Acad-
envy property without submitting any
other sites to the voters. Mothers Of
school children wayed such an effective
campaign against this proposition that
the Board of Education was unable to
get a majority vote to approve a bond
issue for the new school. -Four special
elections were held without result.
Then the Riley tract, on East avenue,
near the West Jersey and Seashore
Railroad station, was proposed and it
won over the Bacon site at an election
In which 631 votes were cast.
Later the Rileys refused to sell the
land selected by the voters at the price
offered by the Board of Education.
Supreme Court Justice Kalish appoint
ed a commission comprising Clement
McAllister, Frank Borton and A.. ID.
6nelbaker to condemn the land and
they appraised 1t at $500, which a.
mount the owners also refused t9-ae-i
cept.
Educational leaders have watched
with interest the efforts that are being
made here to secure a large school site
to provide Fairgrounds and also sufli-
cient acreage for practical demonstra-
lions Ia agricultural courses. There is
a strong sentiment here for a large site
of at least eight acres.
The Salem Standard says:
Mr.. Riley was the first witness called
and he said hat he had owned the
land about fifteen years and that the
tract sought to condemn was what is
known as the second field on the right
hand side of the Woodstown-Pole Tav-
ern road just across from the railroad
station in Woodstown Borough. The
tenant on the farm atpresent Is Wilbert
Bishop, who has been there for eight
years. The principal revenue of the
farm, he said, was from dairying and
that the field in question had been in
pasture for about forty years and that
by taking 1t from his farm of As acres
1t would greatly interfere with the pro-
fits from the place. He. estimates the
damage to him at $11 900 and said that
about a year ago he had been offered
$1,000 for one acre off lot No. l, which
adjoins the railroad. Mr.. Riley said
that field No. 2 was the heart of
the farm and was not valuable for any
other purpose than pasture, being too
heavy soil for raising truck. He said
at present Mr.. Bishop has twenty-five
head of cattle and when he lived there
he had as high as forty. Back Of fields
No. /, 2 and3, he said, there is a stream
OF water and II field No. lis disposed
of he will have only a lane about six
feet in width for the cattle to travel
over to get to the water.
On cross examination Mr.. Riley said
that the farm was left to him by his
mother, but his father got 1t away
from him and in q lawsuit he recover-
ed 1t and that the consideration In the
deed to him from Attorney Donges
was IS, 900. He also said that the
whole farm lie now assessed at only
So, 500. He also admitted that Bishop
rents So acres instead of 45 and that