Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1917-04-28
MAJORITY WEST FOURTH OWNERS
 WANT PAVEMENT Delay in Undertaking I'm provement Urged by a
 Few at Meeting.
COMMITTEE NAMED
 TO GET ESTIMATES
George List, w. l.. Matthews ana V. 0. Alexander Will Obtain Figures on Cost of Materials, and State
 ments on Aid Offered.

George List, V. 0. Alexander and w. l.. Matthews were named as committee by the owners of property abutting on East Fourth avenue, at meeting last night, to investigate the cost of materials needed ill the inn provement contemplated and to Ob- tain in writing statements from the Iron Mountain railroad, the city council and the county judge the ex- tent of assistance to be given toward the cost, that the property owners may know as nearly as possible the approximate amount each will be cal led upon to invest in the improve ment. AS soon as the committee s ready to report, another meeting of property owners will be held
 The meeting at the chamber of commerce assembly hall last night was called by Adam J. Robinson, w.. l.. Matthews, H. H. Ferguson and Ben Sylvester for the purpose of con- sidering the parking and paving of Fourth avenue under tentative plan formulated by the city officials and engineers of the Iron Mountain, and which provides for railroad, city and county aid to such an extent that it is estimated the cost to the property owners will be about $50 for each 6O-foot lot, the amount to be payable in ten annual installments.
 E. B. Bloom, secretary of the cham Der of commerce, called the meeting to order, explaining he was acting as citizen. He explained the purpose of the call, and conducted the meet ing until Adam J. Robinson had been seated as chairman, and Drew White chosen secretary. MT. White then read the proposal of the Iron 'Moun- tain, as contained in a letter from Alex. Robertson, chief operating of ficer, to Mayor Bloom, under date of March 31, which reads:
 AIrOn Mountains Offer.
 q am advised that it is your desire that the railroad company shall, at it's expense, do: First, the parking | work and construct new curbing in Fourth avenue, so that the 36-foot driveway on each side of the rail- road tracks shall be left between the west line of Main street and the east line of Chestnut street, and that the 18-foot driveway on each side of the l railroad tracks shall be left between l the west line of Chestnut street and the east line of Linden street.
 "At intersections of cross streets with Fourth avenue, the new curb stone to be properly turned in line with the existing curb stones, and ! hnf hn n,ry,h 1 the railroad tracks to be filled with proper material, and such shrubs and plants or grass plots as in the judg- ment of the railroad company are de- sirable, shall be planted and main tained in these spaces.
 Second, The railroad company tC bear the expense of paving the inter sections of cross streets with its tracks, exclusive of the 36-foot and IS foot driveways above mentioned with the same kind of pavement as will be used by the city forming its portion of the work.
 "We are agreeable to doing at our expense the foregoing described work, as outlined above, provided the necessary authority is granted by the ! pleted necessary to insure the re mainder of the work, including tho balance of the paving, being per. formed by the city before we under take our portion of the work, and provided, no additional expense ir connection with the improvement O. Fourth avenue between Main stree and Linden street, Will be assesse' against this carrier or its property and it's acceptance, so to set fortt in an ordinance or ordinances which passed and approved as by law pre- scribed, shall make this valid agree ment of Pine Bluff, Arkansas"
 The mayor recited details of thu proposed improvement plan, how thu street is to be parked, ornamenta
 lights placed and wires put under ground. He declared the conviction that the city and Fourth avenue prop
 erty owners could hardly afford t lose this opportunity for improvin' Fourth avenue; that no thoroughfar in Pine Bluff has been improved un
 der such advantageous circumstance
 to the tax payers of the district as ac
 ceptance of the proposed plan woul
 afford. The mayor said that Dr. j
 F. Simmons, who owns the corne
 properties on the yves. side of Mai
 at Fourth, asserted this was the frs
 time the city had made him such liberal offer, for the improvement c | his property, and he proposed to ac