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Show Till! EIGHTH WAItll HOIJARK. Dy tlie action of tlio county court yesterday tho adoption, of thoKlghth ward sipiare for the use of the joint public building comes one step nearer consummation. With the exception of a handful of citizens the consensus of public opinion points to that property as the proper site for the new structure. Tut: 'I'm r.s does not oppose it. Tho scheme to impose the square upon the people only for tho moment iu order to further real estate speculations in (mother directum being exposed and therefore defeated, the chief objection to its selection is removed, if only Mr. l'i Ktiti) will desist from obstructing thu work through litigation. We would ask thu councilman to look upon the subject in the light of reason ami roin-moil roin-moil sense. He is desirous to preserve the block fur park purposes; and yet his action is best calculated to frustrate this very purpose Washington square is not a park now and without the expenditure ex-penditure of a great deal of money, which wo have not at present to spare, it ran never be mado one, and lyiug as i ' it docs iu the heart of the city, is it good policy, or is it tho part of public, spirit, to preserve it as a cow pasture? Under tho conditions proposed to erect the joint building it will bocome incumbent on the city and county to convert tho square immediately into a I pari;, thus meeting Mr. Pickakd's views at once. And cveu be cannot arguo that the rearing of a handsome Blriicluro thereon will mar its beauty or dutracL.from its nppearance. Quite tho eonl rary is thu case, as the example of New York, or to go nearer home, of Denver, will attest. Whatever may bn the legal objections I to the dale of the old Fort block and we maintain, subject to tho pending decision de-cision of the court that none exist there cannot bo any to the proposed disposition disposi-tion of the Kighth ward square, because be-cause tlio ownership therein remains in the people in any event, nnd practically practi-cally for the same object with a useful addition. Ono other vital point not heretofore urged in this connection deserves the most carelul consideration. The city is "hard up." There is no question about that. To put up the joint building on the old sito would involve an expenditure of fully J 100,000. To be sura, the estimated cost is only $:ino,000, but experience shows that once begun thcro is always a formidably discrepancy between the estimated and actual cost of a large public building, or, for that matter, of any large building. Now. where is this money to come from? For Salt Lake City to raise its part of the $100,000 to build on the old sito it will require a levy of an extra tax of at least two mills on the property holders. This is a hardship not lightly to be placed upon them under existing circumstances. To put tho building up on the Eighth ward square means, to begin with, a saving of no less than 25 per cent for the reason that, not being exposed as tho other would be, on all sides to danger from lire, it need not be made absolutely abso-lutely lire proof except in such parts as contain the records, etc. Then tho present site can be sold for $ I !.'.", 000, If not more. Now .'5,000 added to the amount thus realized from such a sale, would bear the city's part of the cost of the new building. We believe in this suggestion lies tho best solution of the vexed question. It is calculated to do justice to nil interests inter-ests alike, and as The Times is desirous above nil things to see tho building go up without further delay, it submits this as the best and last alternative. If there is the least disposition on the part of those charged with this duty to waive minor ohjoctions for the sake of the general good, we shall see within a month a hundred busy hands lay the foundation to this monument of our enterprise en-terprise and patriotism. Why uot? |