State St. Canal He Calls It

STATE ST, CANAL

HE CALLS IT

Judge Cheever Doesn't Like the Grade

AS FIXED FOR PAVING

Doesn't Like Attempt to Level Grades in a Moderate Sized Town.

I left Ann Arbor on the first of August with State street in a normal condition. I returned the first of September and found State street transformed into an isthmian canal. Some of the wags in our community have been endeavoring to guess what this ditch is made for. Some have supposed that it was dug so as to make a canal for the U. of M. boat races; another guessed that it was made so as to furnish a historical illustration of Amsterdam and Venice for the use of the University faculty. Some have thought that it was made for drainage purposes, but there is nothing to drain except State street and that can be drained to the west on any of the streets crossing it. With a surface water sewer the water can be drained to the south as well as to the north.

A raise in the grade of two or three feet at the S. C. A. building would have avoided the unsightly ditch, preserved the shade trees and the beauty of the street, and made it easy to cross for pedestrians, and more desirable in every respect, but then alas, we would have been deprived of the engineer's "dead level." This huge ditch will greatly injure, if not destroy the shade trees on both sides of the street. It will also be very difficult, especially in the winter season, for pedestrians to cross it. It has also changed one of the finest streets in the city into an unsightly deformity and an ugly eyesore for all time. A dead level is never either beautiful or useful. A team will travel longer without fatigue over moderately hilly roads, than over level roads.

A level country is always ugly and unattractive, and perfectly level streets are the same. People always go to the hills and mountains for beautiful scenery. A large city may sometimes be obliged to level its hills, but a moderately sized town never should. Our city has a wide reputation for beauty, because of its hills and valleys, and its streets that go up hill and down, giving constantly changing views, always restful and pleasant to the traveler.

We shall be obliged to stop paving our streets if we wish to preserve the beautiful characteristics of our city, because it seems impossible to choose city officers, who have the ability and good sense to make our pavements conform to the natural surface of the land.

To overcome some of the difficulties of this huge ditch, some have sugested that we put inclined planes down into State street with a gymnasium cushion at the bottom to catch the citizen when he slides down, then have a ladder on the opposite side for him or her to climb out on the other side. It is also suggested that the city provide a steam derrick at the street crossings, to hoist the loaded wagons up onto the cross streets.

Perhaps our city officials got the separation of grade theory so firmly impressed upon their minds, that they thought they would fix State street so that they would have to make overhead bridges at every cross street, to make it safe beyond any question.

Let them bring back the earth they have carried away and fill up this unsightly drain, and then we will humbly and earnestly pray that they will never do it again.

Very respectfully,

NOAH W. CHEEVER.