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n UUN 11 1*0* Wetalb. " Pear no man, and do justice to all men." Vol. I. SEWICKLEY, PA., SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 1904. No. 39 1 i FRANCHISE TURNED DOWN Exciting Meeting of Council—The Club Rep- resented—Several Petitions Presented. ARGUMENTS MADE BEFORE COUNCIL. By a unanimous vote the Sewickley borough council stood by the people last Tuesday evening against the demands of a coterie of franchise jobbers who wanted to secure a valuabe franchise for a mere song. The meeting was one that will live in the memory of those who were present. The council chamber was filled by a large number of the residents of the borough who were there to express their views in regard to the street car ordinance which was pending, or to hear the arguments given for or against the measure. The meeting began at 8 o'clock with President Miller in the chair and all the members present. Burgess Koch was conspicuous by his absence, although several of the speakers addressed President Miller as "Mr. Burgess" by mistake." ■The first order of business was a request made by Mr. J. Sharpe McDonald that he be permitted to preserve two maple trees on his premises where new streets being opened in the Maple Grove plan will intersect. These two trees are 160 feet in height and are beautiful specimens. Mr. McDonald's heart was set on preserving them and council granted him the desired privilege. The engineer in charge of the plan asked to have the company exempted from the laying of lateral sewers to the curb line along the streets of the plan, Gouncil could not see the feasibility of so doing, and refused the request. The important business of the evening then came up—the consideration of the street railway franchise ordinance. Mrs. M. B. Brown, president of the Woman's Glub of the Sewickley Valley; Miss Elizabeth Anderson, secretary, and Mrs. P. P. Knapp, chairman of the civic committee, were present with a petition signed by 200 women of the valley protesting against the passage of the ordinance. Mr. George H. Anderson presented the petition and made a" strong argument against the measure. He made the following points, stated briefly: The petition represents all classes; it appeals to the best interests of the town; an overwhelming public sentiment against it. He gave these objections to the measure: First, that the company is capitalized at only $6,000; second, that the owners of the charter are not residents and have no interest in preserving the esthetic features of the town; third, thatthefranchise is worth from $50,000 to $100, 000. He dwelt on the many attractive features of the place and s.aid that if a trolley system were introduced these would be largely done away with. He placed special emphasis on the fact that the borough, and not a few middlemen, should receive the full benefit of the franchise, were it to be grantel. If $?S,COO or $100,000 were paid for it, the boroug'i would be en ibled to pay its debts, taxes could be lowered and Sewickley would become a model borough. Gharles A. Woods, Esq., then presented seven petiotions signed by over four hundred property owners. He stated that the property valuation in Sewickley, under the new triennial' assessment, was about $4,600,000; deducting the amount owned by women and nonresidents there was a net valuation of about $5,800,000; and that the signatures givenrepresent $2,800,- 000. Mr. Woods advanced some strong arguments against the measure. Mr. George E. Tener replied to the argument that the school children needed the street cars. He gave his experience while a resident of the East End, Pittsburg, and claimed that a very small fraction of the children would be inconvenienced by not having them. Gaptain John B. Reno poured some hot shot into the schemes of the promoters. He said it was the intention to have a through electric line from Pittsburg to Cleveland, and to run through Pullman and freight cars at all hours of the day and night, the effect of which can be better imagined than described. He spoke of the value of such a franchise, saying that in the near future, with the rapid growth of the town, it would be worth three times as much as at present. He instanced the waterworks property which some years ago was consid- sidered dear at $100,000, but is now worth over $300,000. Mr. Reno emphasized the fact that the borough should receive full compensation for any concessions granted. O. S, Richardson, Esq., spoke of the beneficial influence of the womed in civic affairs. He quoted the well known adage, "The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world," or something to that effect. Being a bachelor, Mr. Richardson said he did not speak by the card, but only from observation. He summed his argument up in one question: "Why should we grant it at any price?" and proceeded to show some of the results that would' follow. He said that the local option law would likely be repealed; property values would fall fifty per cent.; the floating population from Ambridge and other industrial towns along the valley would drift here, and that drunkenness, debauchery and other vices would prevail. He said that when corporations wanted valuable privileges they often employed syndicates or "straw men" to secure them, and he did not favor the borough granting privileges in that way. Mr. Frank G. Paulson spoke briefly on the question. He said he had lived a good many years in Pittsburg and Allegheny, and came to Sewickley to get away from the saloons and street cars. He spoke of the advantages of Sewickley as a place of residence, and the desirability of keeping it so. Frank G. Osburn, Esq., made a fervid appeal to the borough fathers to keep unsullied the fair name of the town. The speaker took a diametrically opposite view regarding the effect on land values to that expressed by Mr. Richardson. He said that, in his opinion, values would go up, for the reason that three or four times as many people would come to Sewickley as at present. But, he added, the reason is that the land would become valuable because rows of tenement houses would be built thereon. Sewickley would soon become a Sharpsburg, Braddock, McKeesport, Sheraden, McKees Rocks or Schcenville, or like some other one- horse towns around here. Do you want that? Mr. Osburn also (Continued on page 7.) i /■*■!; &
Object Description
Title | Sewickley Herald |
Subject | Sewickley (Pa.)--Newspapers |
Description | A weekly community newspaper in Sewickley, Pennsylvania. Coverage includes September 1903-Most recently available. |
Creator | Trib Total Media, Inc |
Publisher | Trib Total Media, Inc |
Date | 06-11-1904 |
Location Covered | United States; Pennsylvania; Allegheny County; Sewickley |
Type | text |
Digital Format | image/tiff |
Source | Microfilm |
Language | English |
Rights | Licensor grants a royalty-free, non-exclusive, nontransferable and non-sublicensable license to digitize, reproduce, perform, display, transmit and distribute soley to end users. |
Contact | For information on source and images, contact the Sewickley Public Library, Attn: Reference Department, 500 Thorn St. Sewickley PA 15143. Phone: 412-741-6920. Email: sewickley@einetwork.net |
Contributing Institution | Sewickley Public Library |
Sponsorship | This Digital Object is provided in a collection that is included in POWER Library: Pennsylvania Photos and Documents, which is funded by the Office of Commonwealth Libraries of Pennsylvania/Pennsylvania Department of Education. |
Description
Title | 1904-06-11.Page01 |
Creator | Trib Total Media, Inc |
Date | 1904-06-11.Page01.tif |
Type | text |
Digital Format | image/tiff |
Contact | For information on source and images, contact the Sewickley Public Library, Attn: Reference Department, 500 Thorn St. Sewickley PA 15143. Phone: 412-741-6920. Email: sewickley@einetwork.net |
Contributing Institution | Sewickley Public Library |
Sponsorship | This Digital Object is provided in a collection that is included in POWER Library: Pennsylvania Photos and Documents, which is funded by the Office of Commonwealth Libraries of Pennsylvania/Pennsylvania Department of Education. |
Full Text | n UUN 11 1*0* Wetalb. " Pear no man, and do justice to all men." Vol. I. SEWICKLEY, PA., SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 1904. No. 39 1 i FRANCHISE TURNED DOWN Exciting Meeting of Council—The Club Rep- resented—Several Petitions Presented. ARGUMENTS MADE BEFORE COUNCIL. By a unanimous vote the Sewickley borough council stood by the people last Tuesday evening against the demands of a coterie of franchise jobbers who wanted to secure a valuabe franchise for a mere song. The meeting was one that will live in the memory of those who were present. The council chamber was filled by a large number of the residents of the borough who were there to express their views in regard to the street car ordinance which was pending, or to hear the arguments given for or against the measure. The meeting began at 8 o'clock with President Miller in the chair and all the members present. Burgess Koch was conspicuous by his absence, although several of the speakers addressed President Miller as "Mr. Burgess" by mistake." ■The first order of business was a request made by Mr. J. Sharpe McDonald that he be permitted to preserve two maple trees on his premises where new streets being opened in the Maple Grove plan will intersect. These two trees are 160 feet in height and are beautiful specimens. Mr. McDonald's heart was set on preserving them and council granted him the desired privilege. The engineer in charge of the plan asked to have the company exempted from the laying of lateral sewers to the curb line along the streets of the plan, Gouncil could not see the feasibility of so doing, and refused the request. The important business of the evening then came up—the consideration of the street railway franchise ordinance. Mrs. M. B. Brown, president of the Woman's Glub of the Sewickley Valley; Miss Elizabeth Anderson, secretary, and Mrs. P. P. Knapp, chairman of the civic committee, were present with a petition signed by 200 women of the valley protesting against the passage of the ordinance. Mr. George H. Anderson presented the petition and made a" strong argument against the measure. He made the following points, stated briefly: The petition represents all classes; it appeals to the best interests of the town; an overwhelming public sentiment against it. He gave these objections to the measure: First, that the company is capitalized at only $6,000; second, that the owners of the charter are not residents and have no interest in preserving the esthetic features of the town; third, thatthefranchise is worth from $50,000 to $100, 000. He dwelt on the many attractive features of the place and s.aid that if a trolley system were introduced these would be largely done away with. He placed special emphasis on the fact that the borough, and not a few middlemen, should receive the full benefit of the franchise, were it to be grantel. If $?S,COO or $100,000 were paid for it, the boroug'i would be en ibled to pay its debts, taxes could be lowered and Sewickley would become a model borough. Gharles A. Woods, Esq., then presented seven petiotions signed by over four hundred property owners. He stated that the property valuation in Sewickley, under the new triennial' assessment, was about $4,600,000; deducting the amount owned by women and nonresidents there was a net valuation of about $5,800,000; and that the signatures givenrepresent $2,800,- 000. Mr. Woods advanced some strong arguments against the measure. Mr. George E. Tener replied to the argument that the school children needed the street cars. He gave his experience while a resident of the East End, Pittsburg, and claimed that a very small fraction of the children would be inconvenienced by not having them. Gaptain John B. Reno poured some hot shot into the schemes of the promoters. He said it was the intention to have a through electric line from Pittsburg to Cleveland, and to run through Pullman and freight cars at all hours of the day and night, the effect of which can be better imagined than described. He spoke of the value of such a franchise, saying that in the near future, with the rapid growth of the town, it would be worth three times as much as at present. He instanced the waterworks property which some years ago was consid- sidered dear at $100,000, but is now worth over $300,000. Mr. Reno emphasized the fact that the borough should receive full compensation for any concessions granted. O. S, Richardson, Esq., spoke of the beneficial influence of the womed in civic affairs. He quoted the well known adage, "The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world," or something to that effect. Being a bachelor, Mr. Richardson said he did not speak by the card, but only from observation. He summed his argument up in one question: "Why should we grant it at any price?" and proceeded to show some of the results that would' follow. He said that the local option law would likely be repealed; property values would fall fifty per cent.; the floating population from Ambridge and other industrial towns along the valley would drift here, and that drunkenness, debauchery and other vices would prevail. He said that when corporations wanted valuable privileges they often employed syndicates or "straw men" to secure them, and he did not favor the borough granting privileges in that way. Mr. Frank G. Paulson spoke briefly on the question. He said he had lived a good many years in Pittsburg and Allegheny, and came to Sewickley to get away from the saloons and street cars. He spoke of the advantages of Sewickley as a place of residence, and the desirability of keeping it so. Frank G. Osburn, Esq., made a fervid appeal to the borough fathers to keep unsullied the fair name of the town. The speaker took a diametrically opposite view regarding the effect on land values to that expressed by Mr. Richardson. He said that, in his opinion, values would go up, for the reason that three or four times as many people would come to Sewickley as at present. But, he added, the reason is that the land would become valuable because rows of tenement houses would be built thereon. Sewickley would soon become a Sharpsburg, Braddock, McKeesport, Sheraden, McKees Rocks or Schcenville, or like some other one- horse towns around here. Do you want that? Mr. Osburn also (Continued on page 7.) i /■*■!; & |
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