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Show CONFISCATION. The city council on Tuesday night completed com-pleted the work of confiscation of the property prop-erty of the Rio Grande railroad on Fourth-West Fourth-West street. It was as shameful an exhibition exhibi-tion of slavery as was ever seen. It was the most direct exhibition of the power of the Mormon Church in temporal matters that has been made here during the past ten years. Briefly stated, the facts are these: The old first railroad from this city obtained its right of way along Third West street, and we presume the necessary depot grounds, Hby direct grant from the city. The Rio Grande Western came ten years later asking I nothing but a right of way along Fifth West, lit bought a line of seven blocks of land and later purchased more, making in all some hundred acres. It bought and paid for it. The Short Line acquired the old line; last year the Rio Grande Western was merged by purchase with the Rio Grande. Some four or five years ago the Rio Grande Wes-tern Wes-tern purchased the franchise and road of John W. Young which gave it the right of way along Fourth West. It changed the gauge, and at great cost graded the street up to the line fixed by the City Engineer. Then an agreement was made between the Oregon Short Line and Rio Grande Western to build a union depot on Fourth West and an ordinance was granted for such depot. Then the construction company the real owner of the Rio Grande Western pur-chased pur-chased all the land that could be purchased in that vicinity, paying $70,000 for it. Then the Oregon Short line withdrew from the union depot agreement without giving any weason except that it was not able to pro-Hceed, pro-Hceed, and the ordinance was revoked. When Mr. Gould bought the Rio Grande Western he also purchased this land on Fourth West, continuing the project for building a great pepot which had never been relinquishsd by Bhc Ri ) Grande Western. This was the situation when a few weeks ago an ordinance was suddenly sprung upon the council giving she Short Line a right of way along Fourth wVest street, directly between the track of Khe Rio Grande and the land of that com pany purchased expressly for a site for a great depot. The way it was received by the council showed in a moment that the Mormon members mem-bers had received instructions. The proposition prop-osition was so outrageous that the- Commercial Commer-cial Club took the matter up and after a full hearing passed resolutions protesting against the injustice of the proposition. Those resolutions reso-lutions were thrust aside by the council with contempt. There was still a fighting chance for the Rio Grande and justice until the return here of Senator Kearns, when, in a single day, as it were, every Gentile member with one or two exceptions was whipped into line and the shameful ordinance was passed. The mayor, like an honest man, refused to concur con-cur in the measure, and on Tuesday night it was passed over his veto. The result shows how splendidly fixed in the saddle is the church once more, and second, that when the last senatorship was purchased there was, beside the money paid, a close alliance formed uniting the Mormon church and the Kearns machine into one grand political combine. The Rio Grande, to show its good faith, offered to file a bond of $100,000 that it would proceed to build a depot to cost at least $200,000. There is no plea of necessity possible pos-sible on the part of the Short Line for it can, by a little curve through its own land, secure full right of way out and into the city on Fourth West. The purpose is simply to make worthless the land which cost $70,000 and to defeat the building of a depot in that part of the city. There is but one recourse left that is the courts. It is to be sincerely hoped that the Rio Grande will test matters and have the fact determined whether confiscation is to be the rule here in the future or not. |