Show THE UTAH WESTERN FRANCHISE EARLY in june the utah western It railway allway company presented a petition to the city council asking for a right of way out of the city via fifth west street the petition referred to the committee on streets and that committee informally took the pok position tion so the petitioner was given to understand that it would not recommend the granting of a franchise on any street against the opposition of a majority of the property owners on uch street the petitioner then instituted a canvass among the people concerned in the ownership of property on fifth west street but quickly discovered that there existed marked opposition to the laying of the road upon it IL the principal reason assigned for this opposition was that the peo people pie of the sixteenth ward in order to escape the noise of a railroad alongside of which their present meeting house is situated had chosen a site for a new chapel on fifth west street the petitioner at once abandoned all effort to se ae cure a right of way on that street at about this time a number of Is property owners on north temple street who believed that their lands would be enhanced in value by having a railroad laid near them began to solicit the com pany to use that street for egress from the city some of the property holders on fourth west street from the same motive did the same thing with a view to ascertaining on which street there was the least opposition and the most encouragement a thorough canvass of both was made the result showed that the appo preponderated on north temple street while there was a remarkably mar kably large majority of the property owners on fourth west in favor of having the road laid there north temple street was abandoned by the petitioner and a supplemental petition presented to the city council asking that the franchise be given on fourth west street at a well attended meeting called to discuss the matter held in the sixteenth ward meeting house it was the almost unanimous opinion of those present that the new road should be laid on fourth west street the arguments advanced in favor of this proposition were there are only a few daml families comparatively residing on that street there is already one railroad on it and railroads should be kept close together the one railroad depreciates preci ates property on the street for residence purposes but enhances it for business purposes owing to a concurrence of several causes that part of the city traversed by the northern portion of fourth west street has become a manufacturing and business district and the more railroads that traverse it the more valuable will land there become for factories warehouses etc as these will always seek locations where the best beat railroad facilities exist the greatest good to the greatest number of persons directly interested would be accomplished by laying the new roid road on that street the persons present at this meeting were not opposed to the construction st to or from this city of new railroads they freely admitted that railroads were not only a great public benefit but an indispensable necessity on the other hand each person was opposed to having the road laid past his own residence and all felt that a street s should h be chosen on which the few fewest as t number of persons would be injured in this regard after this meeting the efforts of the railroad company centered in fourth west street aid resulted in producing the following showing prom from north temple to ninth north street between which a franchise is asked is of course nine blocks or eighteen blocks of frontage the owners of about four blocks of frontage are neutral that is have declined for various reasons to sign a petition in favor of having the road laid on that street but have stated they wore were not opposed to it the owners of frontage aggregating nearly twelve blocks have signed the petition for the franchise while the owners of only about two blocks of frontage are opposed according to an actual county which is believed to be correct there are twenty eight fa families re siding on fourth west street b tween north temple and ninth north as nearly as could be well bained eight of these are tempo nuy residents renting from month to month and not owners of property on the street four families owning the homes they live in are arc neu aral six families who own the homes they occupy have petit toneA the city council to grant the arn chloe chise on that street 1 not at to ext CX aeed ten families of the resident F property owners are opposed awk pains have been taken to reach th exact figures and the above are am bep b lieven to fco be correct it thus appears that of the wl rea dent property owners to be W not a majority are opposed to having the new road on that street 4 and d I 1 that only about one ninth of the te tal frontage is opposed to it the views on the question of th franchise of the temporary of the street who were renters cufr not owners of property on it we not ascertained as it was deemed improbable that they were s special sp ectal interested in the matter and u to attach weight either to thel their r fx fagot vot 4 or the few residents of the street W were opposed to the franchise it but as it a petition against was impossible to procure a respect able showing of sig signatures natus OR an went wentha an fourth west streets street they other streets in that quarter city and mustered a about bo ut signe gj to a protest the railroad p people eople tot ng carded these tactics as u unfair n fair buts but ba ing compelled to meet them soon PW PRO TZ cured nearly 6 00 81 signatures agn a tu res in favet te d oatt granted ran of the franchise francel se being 9 fourth west street al all if ftc ro M PM P of t tha sons residing in that portion C the city the MI linw the course adopted by u the road from beiga ity to prevent adel by aid on that street is J r regarded eg 9 illogical MI f unjust the majority as principle pie rf and opposed to the majority rule and the greatest good flood to the greatest number we refrain from making any to grind ments mente we have no axe or broj project ee t to f favor a vor in n connect land id toft we with any railroad in the to abt obtain simply have endeavored this able with the facts connected them pon for rp 0 w ter and we present consideration of all who may be concerned j |