Newport Saloon Owners Sue the Railroad That Remade Their Street
John Koch and Max Weinkauff say the Idaho Washington Northern turned Fourth Street from a business center into a smoky, obstructed nuisance—and they want $10,000.
The troubles of the Idaho Washington Northern Railroad in making its way through Newport are not yet ended. On Wednesday John Koch and Max Weinkauff, owners of the Club building on Fourth Street, formerly occupied by them with a saloon and since the enforcement of local option utilized as a pool room and soft drink establishment, filed formal complaint in U.S. court in Spokane, claiming that the railroad damaged their business to the extent of $10,000 and asking damages for that amount.
In their complaint they allege that before the railroad came to town Fourth Street was the principal business center of the town of Newport, and that they were at that time conducting a lucrative saloon business worth $10,000, taking into consideration the value of the building and lots. They further allege that with the advent of the railroad the business district has been changed around and the value of their business and property has shrunk to $3,000, the smoke, cinders, etc., incident to railroad traffic having played havoc with their business.
Also, that the building is affected by the passage of heavy freight trains, that the street is obstructed for traffic and the business location no longer a desirable one; that the present conditions constitute a common nuisance. The case will be heard before Judge Whitson in the April term of the Federal court.
Down the river the railroad is also experiencing difficulty in securing right of way. Last winter an attempt was made by the company to purchase the old Jordan cement plant at Cement, which property would be crossed by the track of the Metaline extension. Negotiations failed and attempts to purchase a right-of-way through the property have proven futile. The company was therefore compelled to institute condemnation proceedings at Colville against R. J. Danson, a Spokane attorney, in whose name the property now appears of record. The case has been on trial at Colville the past week, and on Monday the jury hearing the case was taken to view the property, returning to Colville that night.
“Before the railroad came to town Fourth Street was the principal business center of the town of Newport.”
The railroad was Newport's economic future, but it also moved the center of town and imposed noise, dust and blocked streets on people who had built businesses along Fourth Street. Modern infrastructure projects—bypasses, rail expansions, highway widenings—still create the same split between general benefit and concentrated harm, and the same resort to court.
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