[no source, April 3, 1941]
Justice for TNT
Victims
The unpaid
landowners in St. Charles County who surrendered their property to the
government to make possible the erection of a TNT plant are in angry mood, and
no one should blame them. They have been left “holding the bag” and they don’t
relish it. Consider the steps:
As an
emergency defense project, the government decided to build an explosives
manufacturing plant in the Weldon Springs area in St. Charles County. The
residents’ first objection is that they weren’t consulted, were not permitted a
voice in the matter. They were first aware of the proposed building when a
Kansas City real estate agent appeared in their midst and announced he was
there to appraise their property for immediate sale to the War Department.
Their second objection was that an “outsider” from Kansas City had been sent in
to make the appraisals when there were several agents in St. Charles better
equipped because of their acquaintance with property values in the area.
The
“outsider” went ahead with his appraisals, which were unusually high. One
explanation of the excessive figures is that the agent was paid a 5 per cent
commission on every sale made to the government. Many sales were made under
protest, as numerous properties had been in single families for generations.
Cemetery removal was another item. But after much palaver and signing of
contracts the area was acquired in toto by the War Department and promises to
pay given. So the residents sought new home sites. Most of them purchased other
farms, others small business properties. Some gave down payment. Others showed
their bill of sale to the government and employed it as earnest on new
property. In all, 250 landowners pulled up stakes—and awaited their checks from
Washington.
But not all
the checks arrived. Some 120 landowners were paid in full or in part, but 149
are still “holding the bag.” The War Department suddenly decided the appraisals
were too high, repudiated in effect all previous agreements and has now
resorted to condemnation proceedings. All of which leaves the landowners with
nothing to show for their transfer and the prospect of eventually selling to
the government at a reduced figure via the condemnation route. And many of them
are about to lose their down payments elsewhere because they cannot complete
the sales.
It’s pretty
dreary business all around in which sympathy goes to the St. Charles County
folks who didn’t want a TNT plant in the first place. The War Department’s
belated discovery that it had contracted to pay an excessive price for various
properties does not nullify the fact that the landowners dealt with one of its
appointed agents. The matter has been discussed in Congress and something may
be done. It certainly should be.
==========
[St. Charles Cosmos/St. Charles Monitor, April 7, 1941]
SIXTH TNT LAND SUIT
FILED IN FEDERAL COURT
Amount Deposited By
Government Same as Price of Option
Sunday’s
Post-Dispatch published the following: “Suit to condemn a lot measuring 200 by
66 feet in the plant site in St. Charles County was filed against Othaniel E.
Bacon, the owner, in United States District Court yesterday by District
Attorney Harry C. Blanton.
“The lot is
in Howell, at the intersection of State Highway D and a county road. The suit
was the sixth filed since the War Department decided to condemn 146 parcels of
the land rather than pay the prices agreed to by R. Newton McDowell, purchasing
agent. Deposited with the court was a Government check for $2000, the price
which the War Department deemed fair for the Bacon tract.”
The
property was optioned for $2,000, the exact amount of the deposit.
==========
[St. Charles Daily Banner-News, April 8, 1941]
$186,999 PAID TO
COURT IN LAND SUITS
Suits Against 75
Tracts In TNT Area Will Be Filed On Average Of 12 A Day.
The
government yesterday paid into the registry of the Federal Court here $186,999
and filed declarations of taking against approximately 3350 acres of land for
the site of the TNT plant near Weldon Springs, Mo. The average price per acre
was about $55.
Separate
suits are being filed against each of the 75 tracts included in the
declarations of taking and title to the land will not pass the government until
the separate actions are brought by the United States District Attorney, Harry
C. Blanton.
Five of the
separate declarations were filed yesterday and others will be filed on an
average of about a dozen a day, Blanton said.
The owners,
the acreage and the amount paid into court in the petitions yesterday are:
Emily
Estelle Blize, two acres, $780; Fred G. and Hilda Mound, 68 acres, $2480;
Carrie Hamm, as trustee for Eleanor Marie Hamm, a minor, 20 acres, $300;
Charles B. and Susie M. Portwood, 49.45 acres, $1900; Anne C. and Gittrell
Friedley, lot in Hamburg, $300.
The
declarations of taking were signed by Secretary of War Stimson and set out the
land was necessary for national defense, and the amount paid into court was
considered the reasonable value of the property. Owners may contest the offer
of the government by filing objections, but title passes with the filing of a
declaration of taking.
