The Lake County Times

WOLF LAKE ATTRACTS THEIR ATTENTION

Alleged Railroad Land Grab Creates Excitement in South Chicago.

It is understood that Chicago city officials are interesting themselves in Wolf Lake. Lawyers from the corporation counsel's office, together with Alderman Emerson, H. W. Lee and others made an automobile tour of the Wolf Lake region for the purpose of determining the availability of Wolf Lake as a harbor site and also investigating an alleged "land grab" by the Indiana Harbor Belt railroad.

These officials are said to be very much concerned about the fact that the Indiana Harbor Belt railroad has secured a lease from the property owners on the west shore of Wolf Lake of a strip of land for right-of-way purposes. They call it a land grab and have taken the matter up with the city council and with R. R. McCormick of the rivers and lakes' commission. It is said that these officials were surprised to find that the railroad had secured a right-of-way along the shore of the lake, inasmuch as they regarded the waters of Wolf Lake as navigable waters of the United States.

This surprise is said to be due to a lack of knowledge of the facts. The reluctance of the Chicago city council and other bodies to take this matter seriously is also believed to be due to the fact that they have the facts in the case.

The following from the Calumet Record will give an idea of the state of mind into which some of the people of South Chicago have worked themselves.

The party found that the Indiana Harbor Belt railroad had calmly and firmly filled in and appropriated a right-of-way through the center of Wolf Lake from north to south, a distance of some two miles. It was found that practically all of this "grab" was within the city limits. It was with some surprise that the opinion was heard in the city council Monday night (because the lake has been officially regarded as navigable water of the United States) the city has no jurisdiction over Wolf Lake and cannot order the tracks and embankment removed.