USA > Pennsylvania > Allegheny County > Pittsburgh > Standard history of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania > Part 83
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17,000
Bonds to be sold for water-works
16,650
Bonds issued
132,000
Total.
$279,30I
Deduct discount on bonds
10,000
Total
$269,30I
Monongahela wharf.
723
HISTORY OF PITTSBURG.
In February, 1851, the finance committee of Pittsburg, consisting of Fred- erick Lorenz, William Day, David D. Bruce, L. Harper, A. Garrison and R. McKnight, reported that the total city debt amounted to $1,149,570, exclusive of the $200,000 subscription to the Ohio and Pennsylvania Railroad. It was estimated by the committee that the proposed levy of five mills for city pur- poses would be barely sufficient, with the strictest economy, to pay the interest on the city debt and to defray the current expenses of the city government. The committee recommended the issue of bonds to the amount of $132,000, of which $III,646.16 would be required to meet outstanding obligations falling due within the current year. Early in 1851 the police force was so greatly increased and strengthened that in a short time the reign of terror was at an end.
By the act of April 15, 1851, the Monongahela front, from Grant Street to the junction of the two rivers, was declared a public wharf or landing. In 1851 Thomas M. Howe, A. W. Loomis and Moses Hampton, commissioners on the part of the Government, selected the lots at the northeast corner of Fifth and Smithfield streets as a site for the Postoffice and Custom-house, for which they agreed to pay $35,000. Later, much dissatisfaction was expressed at the selection, and finally a meeting was called to consider the question of waiting upon the commissioners to secure a change of location. In May, 1851, the City Councils appointed a committee to procure and have cut, with suitable devices, a stone to be placed in Washington's monument at the National Capital.
In the forties a contest arose between the corporation of Allegheny and citizens who were required to pay a license for certain privileges. Mr. E. W. Lynd violated an ordinance requiring him to pay a certain license, where- upon he was apprehended and fined. He retaliated by buying a considerable quantity of the scrip of that city, bringing suit thereon for principal and interest, the interest and discount amounting to about twenty per cent. At that time the city was unable to redeem its property. It was therefore argued that if Alle- gheny was permitted to dishonor its paper Mr. Lynd should not be required to pay a license for certain privileges. In other words, if the city could violate its obligations to Mr. Lynd, he could violate a city ordinance. Much interest was shown in these various suits, and not a little amusement created at the expense of the municipal authorities. However, by June, 1851, the scrip of Allegheny and Pittsburg stood at par with current funds. The building of the railway through Allegheny in 1851 was the signal for vast improvements of the streets of that city, particularly on Federal, Robinson and Main streets.
In August, 1851, Pittsburg six per cent. bonds were worth $87; Pittsburg six per cent. coupon bonds, $97; Allegheny six per cent. bonds, $86.50; Alle- gheny City six per cent. coupon bonds, $86.50; Monongahela Bridge stock stood at par; St. Clair Bridge stock $35, par being $25; Hand Street Bridge stock $43, par being $50; Northern Liberties Bridge stock $30 par being $50; Williamsport Bridge stock $15, par being $25.
In November, 1851, the citizens of Allegheny took steps to organize a gas company and to secure the permission of the councils to occupy the streets. Numerous meetings were held and the movement was established on a per- manent basis. In March, 1852, the Allegheny Gas Company was duly incor- porated, with 4,000 shares of $25 each.
In December, 1851, the citizens of Manchester, in mass meeting assem- bled, passed a resolution in opposition to the action of the burgess and councils of that borough to secure its annexation to the city of Allegheny in the manner and upon the terms which they proposed, and a committee was appointed to petition the Legislature remonstrating against the passage of the law annex-
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HISTORY OF PITTSBURG.
ing the borough upon such terms to Allegheny. This committee consisted of Messrs. Ross, Sampson, Townsend, Louther and Parke.
In 1852 Duquesne Borough was authorized to borrow $5,000, to be used in grading and protecting the bank of the Allegheny River, in cleaning and deepening the harbor, and in collecting a moderate wharfage in front of that borough. In 1850 Allegheny had 132 miles of water-pipe down, and in 1853 over 18 miles. At this time the entire community was intensely interested in the construction of the railways then projected and in the issuance of stock thereto. Many public meetings were held and serious discussions resulted con- cerning the wisdom of affording such liberal assistance to the railway cor- porations. In February, 1854, the new Courthouse was nearly completed, and was already, owing to its size and architectural excellence, the pride of the county.
In March, 1854, the question of consolidating Pittsburg, Allegheny and the surrounding boroughs was discussed with much earnestness by the citizens in numerous public meetings, and various opinions pro and con were presented. This question had for years, from time to time, recurred to perplex the citizens and engender local strife and antagonism. Many important questions were presented at this time, owing to the great improvements that were taking place. Free bridges were demanded, many new streets must be opened, five wards had recently been added to Pittsburg, new boroughs had been created, the railways must be provided with passage through the city, the police system was shockingly defective, the strife of partisans prevented the enactment of much needed municipal legislation, the old canal was tottering on its last legs, violent opposition to taxation to enable the cities and the county to subscribe stock to the railways was developed, the slavery question and the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska bill stirred the political sentiments of this community to fever-heat; numerous plank roads radiating from Pittsburg were in process of construction, the great diouth and the cholera of 1854 were melancholy facts, and now the consolidation of the cities added to the weight which pressed upon the nerves of this community. The bill which had been introduced in the Legislature, and which came up for final passage in the spring of 1854, having for its object the consolidation of Pittsburg, Allegheny and the sur- rounding boroughs, met with too great an opposition, particularly from the bor- oughs, to enable it to pass the Legislature. As a matter of fact, the citizens gen- erally were lukewarm, and therefore the bill failed to become a law.
At this time the liquor license law was passing through an important stage of development here. Many violations of the law were followed by arrests and fines, and the temperance people and the liquor element here arrayed in deter- mined opposition to each other. Conducting a fruit stand and the selling of apples therefrom on Sunday were punishable under the law. Its severity occa- sioned much bitterness and ill-will and finally led to its modification. It should be noted as a remarkable circumstance that whereas the rainfall at Pittsburg in 1852 was 41 inches and in 1853 38 inches, that of 1854 was but 23.263 inches. It was probably the driest year ever experienced by Pittsburg, and the efforts of the temperance people did little to mitigate the distress. Late in 1854 and early in 1855 the boroughs of Birmingham, East Birmingham and South Pitts- burg took steps to secure the incorporation of a company which should supply them with river water.
In February, 1855, the auditing committee of Pittsburg reported that the total funded debt of the city amounted to $1,135,398.92, falling due from 1856 to 1871. About this time it was observed by the local papers that the railway bonds of the city held in the East were quoted, in some instances, as low as sixty-nine cents on the dollar, but that very recently they had risen to about
725
HISTORY OF PITTSBURG.
seventy-five cents on the dollar. At this time the State five per cent. bonds com- manded a higher price in the market than Pittsburg six per cent. bonds. The local papers wondered why this should be true. They asked, "What is the matter? We pay interest promptly." The citizens thus began to awake to the fact that their enormous issues of bonds to build railways, and the liberal terms offered for the payment of interest thereon, were destined, in all probability, to involve this community in a most burdensome taxation, to say nothing of more serious trouble.
By the spring of 1855 the new city market and city hall building was almost finished and ready for occupancy. The water assessment for 1855 amounted to $48,000. The Monongahela wharfage was estimated at $16,000; the Allegheny wharfage at $2,500; proceeds from the Diamond market, $4,500; dividend on gas stock held by the city, $6,640; and total amount required for city expenses, $46,000. In March, 1855, the local newspapers suggested that the property owned by the city in the Sixth Ward, to the amount of nine acres, should be transformed into a small park, or breathing place. Its high location, from which a fine view of the cities, rivers and surrounding country could be obtained, was considered as specially favoring its use as a park, but the city was not yet prepared to adopt a general system of parking. At this time the question of the construction of Nicholson pavements in both cities came before the councils for settlement.
Up to this time neither Pittsburg nor Allegheny had maintained a regular night police force or patrol. The consequence was that criminals conducted their operations under the cover of darkness with little opposition, save what was offered by the owners of property. Riots of various kinds had occurred from time to time in the middle of the night, disturbing the slumbers of the inhabitants and endangering the security of lives and property. It is true that on special occasions a night-watch had been sent out to patrol the principal streets, but no general or permanent attempt had been made to guard the streets of the city during darkness. "Another Fight .- A desperate fight took place on Chestnut Street on last Sunday morning. About 100 persons were engaged in it. It lasted till daybreak. It was the most disgraceful affair of the kind that has taken place in our city for several years. There being no night police, no arrests were made" (v).
In August, 1855, conflicting ordinances concerning the occupation and management of the market-house occasioned great confusion, which led to sev- eral riots and lawsuits. A revision of the ordinances corrected the difficulty.
In December, 1854, the Board of Trade appointed a committee to inquire into the expediency of consolidating the cities and boroughs. They returned a favorable report in April, 1855. In this report it was observed that Allegheny was provided with several commons, which at some future day could be trans- formed into beautiful parks. John M. Cooper delivered the argument of those who opposed the consolidation. The report also exhibited the financial condi- tion of this community. The debt of Pittsburg was stated to be $1, 136,624, and that of Allegheny, in round numbers, about $500,000; and that of Manchester, Duquesne, Lawrenceville, Minersville, Birmingham, etc., about $50,000, or a total funded debt, exclusive of railway obligations, of $1,686,000. The railway indebtedness, amounting to $2,200,000, added to this sum, gave a total indebted- ness for the cities and boroughs of $3,886,000. The committee presented many sound arguments in favor of consolidation, among which were the following: That many small office expenses would be saved; that the entire debt could be refunded at a lower rate of interest under the act of consolidation, and
(v) Allegheny Bulletin, July 17, 1855.
726
HISTORY OF PITTSBURG.
.
ten per cent. be thereby saved; that the segregation of population, wealth and influence would greatly influence credit abroad, etc. Many other similar reasons were presented. However, extreme opposition was offered by many citizens, and in the end the effort to consolidate failed.
In 1855 it became clear to the citizens that, owing to the inability of the railroads to do so, they would be required to pay the interest on the entire rail- road bonds, whereupon the overwhelming knowledge of the extent of the burden of taxation and indebtedness resting upon the community led to the development throughout the county of incipient repudiation. Whether the cities were justi- fied in repudiating their railway indebtedness, it is not the object of this volume to inquire. At first little was said, but a great deal was thought. The idea of deliberately repudiating obligations into which the citizens had entered but a few years before with open eyes was repugnant to the moral sentiments of all, but at a later date many such persons were swept into the movement as people, from time immemorial, have been swept into panic.
The paving law, which required that every owner of city land should pay the expense of improving the streets which passed by his lots, met with strenuous opposition from the citizens of Pittsburg and Allegheny in 1855. A large meet- ing was held in Allegheny on February 11, 1856, for the purpose of petitioning the Legislature for a repeal of the law. The meeting was so large that the town-house could not hold all who assembled, whereupon an adjournment was taken to the new market-house. Allegheny alone, previous to this time, had spent about $200,000 for pavements. The following comparative table shows the improvement in Pittsburg from 1850 to 1856, as shown by the report of the auditing committee :
1850.
1856.
6,227 dwellings.
172 hotels, boarding-houses, etc.
I26 factories, steam engines, etc.
8,622 dwellings. 381 hotels, boarding-houses, etc. 168 factories, steam engines, etc.
6,525
9,17I
In May, 1856, the city advertised for a loan of $84,000, to be used in retiring bonds falling due in that year. The Pittsburg railway debt at this time amounted to $1,800,000. In January, 1857, it was proposed by a portion of the citizens to amend the city charter, extending the term of the mayor from one year to two years. At the close of 1857, 9,681 establishments were supplied with city water, among which were 7,572 dwellings. The length of city water-pipe at this time was 26 2-3 miles. The total receipts from the aqueduct fund at this time reached the sum of $47,073.75. The railway sinking fund amounted to $48,373.71. The receipts from the Diamond Market-house Association were $18,508.49. In 1850 the average daily supply of water was 258,000 cubic feet, and the average daily consumption of coal was 259 bushels. In 1857 the average daily supply of water was 620,500 cubic feet, and the average daily consumption of coal 665 bushels. In 1850 the water revenue amounted to $33,000, and in 1857 to $62,000. At the close of 1857 the mercantile agency of B. Douglas & Co. reported that in two years twenty-eight business failures had resulted in Pittsburg, with an aggregate loss of $1,183,000. One or more of the local newspapers denied this statement, but the report seems to have been based upon substantial facts.
Beginning with January, 1858, the new law required that the mayor, treas- tirer and controller of the city should be elected by a general vote on the first Tuesday in January of every second year, beginning in 1858, and that a plurality of votes should elect. It was provided that the mayor should have the power
727
HISTORY OF PITTSBURG.
of an alderman or a justice of the peace, and that two-thirds of the Select Council could remove the above officers' under certain conditions and restrictions. The following statement was prepared by Mr. Lambert, city controller, in April, 1858:
Real estate owned by city .$1,083,486.00
Total personal property 102,853.77
Funded debt.
1,135,879.92
Floating debt. . 33,310.29
Railway bonded debt. 1,800,000.00
The number of shares of railway stock held by the city at this time was as follows:
Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway. 4,800 shares.
Pittsburg and Steubenville Railway. . 11,000 shares.
Allegheny Valley Railway 8,000 shares.
Pittsburg and Connellsville Railway 10,000 shares.
Chartiers Valley Railway 3,000 shares.
Total. . 36,800 shares.
The act of April 16, 1858, authorized the District Court to appoint commis- sioners to establish lines of high and low water on the Monongahela, Alle- gheny and Ohio rivers at Pittsburg. "City Statistics .- It appears from various reports submitted to councils that there are now within the limits of Pittsburg proper 7,620 dwelling-houses which pay water rent; 482 stores with dwellings attached; 390 hotels, taverns and boarding-houses; 957 warehouses, stores and offices; 22 schools and colleges; 48 churches; 32 miscellaneous manufactories; 32 printing-offices and binderies; II livery stables; 42 rectifying distilleries; 19 breweries; 3 tanneries; II brickyards; 6 glassworks; 3 chandleries; 9 cab- inet and chair factories; 8 planing and saw mills; 7 steel spring and shovel fac- tories; 44 engine shops, foundries and boileryards; 4 iron-mills; 8 railroad depots, with the custom-house, courthouse and gas-works. The total number of assessments for 1858 were 9,757, and the amount assessed $62,020.74" (w).
In March, 1859, an important law was passed when the Citizens' Passenger Railway Company of Pittsburg was incorporated. It was authorized to start from the intersection of Market and Fifth streets, thence passing to Liberty, thence across Liberty to Cecil Alley, thence to Penn Avenue, thence to the Greensburg and Pittsburg turnpike road, and thence to the suburbs. The company was incorporated with 2,000 shares of $50 each, among the incorporators being James Verner, Alexander Speer, Richard Hays, William Darlington, Joshua Rhodes, Nathaniel Holmes and others. In 1859 the railway bond cases occu- pied the attention of the courts. The ablest counsel in Pennsylvania were employed and every attempt to defeat the interests and intentions of the bond- holders was made. In the case of several issues of bonds, Judge Grier held that the city had no authority so to issue, but the Supreme Court decided other- wise, and in the end the cities were required to pay these obligations.
(w) Commercial Journal, January, 1859.
ยท
CHAPTER XXVI.
POLITICS-RIVALRY OF THE COLONIES-THE BOUNDARY DISPUTE-ACTIVITY OF VIR- GINIA-DOCTOR CONNOLLY AND LORD DUNMORE-CONFLICT OF CIVIL AUTHORITY- SCHEME TO CAPTURE PITTSBURG-OPPOSITION OF THE PENNSYLVANIANS-RESO- LUTIONS TO SUSTAIN THE COLONIES - ARREST OF TORIES-PROPOSITION OF SPAIN - METHODS OF MR. BRACKENRIDGE - STATE AND NATIONAL CONSTI- TUTIONS CONSIDERED-THIRTEEN COUNCIL FIRES-CELEBRATIONS OF INDE- PENDENCE DAY-FEDERALISTS AND ANTI-FEDERALISTS-EARLY CONTESTS OF THE PARTISANS-WAR WITH FRANCE FEARED-BITTERNESS OF POLI- TICIANS-TRIUMPH OF THE JEFFERSONIANS-ECHO FROM COAL HILL- CHANGES IN POLITICAL NAMES AND PRINCIPLES - PROCEEDINGS DURING THE WAR OF 1812 - ELECTION DISTRICTS - RECEPTION OF PRESIDENT MONROE - CHARACTER, LABORS AND PROMINENCE OF HENRY BALDWIN-THE DELEGATE SYSTEM-ERA OF GOOD FEELING -PROTECTION TO AMERICAN MANUFACTURES - CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS - RECEPTION OF MR. BALDWIN-TARIFF OF 1824.
The British colonies in America were independent of each other, and the rights of each were secured by charter from the English king. It was afterward found that the boundaries conflicted, and particularly was this true of the Pennsylvania and Virginia colonies. Not only were the boundaries between the several colonies indefinite and uncertain, but their western limits and extent were little thought of and unknown. It was at first supposed that the charter extended the domains of each colony westward to the Pacific Ocean, but after the French gained possession of the Mississippi Valley such claims were rendered invalid and were not afterward seriously considered. The Penns claimed the right to much of what is now Western Pennsylvania, while the Virginia colony, under color of the indefinite description of its western limits, likewise claimed by priority the same territory under royal grant. The boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland was uncertain, and at an early day was under dispute. The rights, therefore, to lands west of the Laurel Hills and perhaps, as some claimed, to lands west of the Alleghany Mountains, were subject to future arbitrament by the arts of diplomacy or the strategy of war. As certainly as the territory should become filled with settlers, the question of ownership was bound to come up for final disposal.
In this doubtful and interesting state of intercolonial affairs, Virginia showed greater energy and better judgment and led in all movements to attach this territory to its domain. George Washington was sent from Virginia in 1753 to prepare the way for the accession of this soil, not merely to the English Government as against the French Government, but to the Virginia colony as against the Pennsylvania colony. It was a political stroke of vast importance in which Virginia took the initiative and Pennsylvania lagged behind. The forces under Captain William Trent, which built the first stockade at the "Point" in February, 1754, were sent out by the Governor of Virginia primarily in the interests of Great Britain and secondarily in the interest of the Virginia colony. It was thus early not merely a struggle for the soil between the French and the English, but was a political contention between the colonies of Pennsylvania and Virginia The provinces, while united against France, were divided among
728
729
HISTORY OF PITTSBURG.
themselves over the extent and boundaries of their landed possessions, particu- larly on the west. Washington was sent as a military representative of the Virginia colony as well as of Great Britain, with troops to reinforce Captain Trent. He was too late to accomplish the result intended, as the French had already secured the "Point," and, therefore, the country west of the Laurel Hills, if not all of the country west of the Alleghany Mountains. The expedition of General Braddock to regain possession of the "Point" was more of a political movement of the Virginians than of the Pennsylvanians, though primarily a movement of the English against the French. The expedition of General Forbes was composed largely of Virginians, who were commanded by Colonel Wash- ington.
There was a striking contrast between the governors of Pennsylvania and Virginia in their conduct concerning the western lands. The Governor of Virginia invariably anticipated and preceded the Governor of Pennsylvania in all attempts to win the territory for the English; and did so for the express purpose of securing such lands for the benefit of the Virginia colony. The Virginians were well representcd here during the construction of Fort Pitt and thereafter to a large degree dominated affairs at the "Point." Previous to 1768, when the territory was secured by cession from the Indians, severe measures were not adopted by either colony, because neither could act in. extremity until the termination of the Indians' claim. No sooner had the Indians' title been extinguished than both Pennsylvania and Virginia claimed the soil and set up civil governments to maintain their alleged rights. Both were acting under color of right, and it will not answer to assert that the steps taken by the Governor of Virginia were unjust and tyrannical. He, as well as his successor, was the mouthpiece and the agent of his colony, and must be given credit for his energy and intelligence and the breadth of judgment he displayed later in selecting a man so sagacious as Dr. John Connolly to carry into effect the designs of the Virginia Assembly. To claim that the avarice of Lord Dunmore was responsible for the rivalry cxisting between Pennsylvania and Virginia over the country west of the mountains, is to overlook the claims of Virginia to the soil before the appointment of that Governor, in 1771. When he assumed the office he likewise assumed the policies of his colony and the responsibilities connected with the administration of its public affairs. One of these duties was to secure the accession of as much of the Western country as could possibly be gained under the terms of the Colonial charter or of that of the Ohio Company. That Lord Dunmore expected to reserve a large slice of this territory as a reward for his services or as a result of his intrigues, has nothing to do with the rival claims of the two colonies or the rights of the Penns or of the Ohio Company. He was as much the agent of the Virginia colony as Dr. Connolly was his agent. There is not a line in existence to prove that Lord Dunmore had any other object in view than to secure the acquisition of the country west of the Laurel Ridge to the Virginia possessions, and incidentally. perhaps, his own aggrandizement and official promotion. He was in all respects loyal to his sovereign, faithful to the interests of Virginia, as represented bv the Ohio Company, and more than able to cope with the lethargic Pennsyl- vanians.
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