The record-union., 1893-11-18
THE CIPT'O DRAINAGE CANAL.
Report Against 1t by the Commits
sioners of District 535.
They Want Both the City and County
to Take Care of Their Surplus
Water. Etc.

Sacramento City has received another
rap on the knuckles on account OF her
drainage canal, this time from John
Miller, P. r. Beckley and William Holt
tum, the Commissioners recently ap-
pointed to levy the assessment in Recla-
nation District 535. for improving the
leyees and putting in pumping plant to
relieve that district from waters artii-
eially drained upon it.
These gentlemen concluded their labors
Q couple of weeks ago, and have now
made their report to Colonel James Nc
Nasser, E. r. Edwards and John Cox,
the newly elected Trustees of the district.
In connection with their report proper
they have made a supplemental one on
the subject of the injury inflicted on the
low lands in the district by city and
county drainage, in which they say:
CITY DRAINAGE CANAL.
pursuant to appointment of the Board
of Supervisors of Sacramento County, we
have completed our labors as Commits
sioners for levying the assessment of
$4,000 for the reclamation of the lands
included within the boundaries of your
district. Incident thereto we have inves-
tigated your proposed plan OF reclama-
ton, the strengthening of your levees
and the establishing Of pumping plant
of sufficient capacity to reclaim the lands
located therein from ordinary seepage
waters and rainfall.
1--WE desire to ex press to you our ap-
proval of the proposed plan, but In doing
30 desire to call your attention still closer
TO the absolute necessity of the abolish
ment of the Sacramento City Drainage ~
io1 ho tx1f for hp
diversion Of the county road drainage TO
an outfall beyond your district, where its
effects will not be detrimental in any
particular to the lands adjacent to said
outfall, and where it will be brought en-
tirely beyond the confines Of your dis
trict.
''The drainage canal is, in our opinion,
detrimental to all the lands contiguous
thereto, and can in no way serve the pur
pose for which it was constructed. More
damage, in our opinion, is occasioned by
reason of this canal than the benefits ac-
crued therefrom. 1t can never success
fully serve the purpose of disposing of
the sewage of Sacramento City, and the
sooner it is entirely obliterated, from be-
ginning to end. the better it will be, in
our opinion, for all the land lying ada
cent thereto.
Sacramento City should, by all means,
either assist you in establishing your
entirely from the said canal and take care
of and properly dispose of its sewage and
drainage waters.
A HINT TO THE COUNTY.
''It is equally incumbent, in our opin-
ion, upon the county of Sacramento to
make reparation to your district for the
damage inflicted and still continuing to
be inflicted.
Year after year this county has been
nj, Z toIl
constructing bitches to drain them. From
Folsom to Freeport these roads are
drained from one road TO the other, till
the water is eventually thrown into the
boundaries Of your district, flooding the
pocket so called. This should be rec
titled, and the county was never in bet
ter position to accomplish this result
than it is to-day.
"The levee constructed on your south
boundary, and known as the old railroad
grade, should be preserved. The earth
hauled away should be replaced and the
whole left intact to still further protect
your district from tloodwaters from the
south, and at the same time still further
protect Sacramento City,"
WORK ON THE LEvEEs.
The new Trustees of the district are
pushing along the work on the hereto
fore less substantial portions of the levee
south of the city, and expect to have it
completed within another week or two.
Negotiations are under way for pump
ing plant, and the Trustees say it will be
in operation in time to place the low
lands in condition for cult vation the
coming year.
THE RECENT ELECTION.
The attorneys who are looking after the
legal matters for the district and under
whose advice the Trustees act furnish
41,af f,ll fofA
recent election for Trustees, giving the
cause of the difficulties which led to the
contest in the courts as TO who were
legally chosen to manage the affairs of the
district:
'"rhe result of the recent suit brought
by the people, upon the relation of Geo.
Peters against j. q. Hite, who claimed
the office of Trustee, and which was tried
before Judge a. 2. Catlin, shows that
Hite never had been legally Trustee.
The total number OF legal votes cast
at the election was 1,S30,3l7, which were
voted as follows: James McNasser, 1885,
us; Z. r. Edwards, 459, ,345; John Cox,
As, 5,343; j. G. Hite, 44S91l.
This vote differs materially from the
returns of the Board of Election, which
included 90. .450 votes divided equally be-
tween Cox and Hite, allowed by the
board, but which were thrown out by the
court as being illegal These illegal votes
d1S up VI 1-gOOO d1lOHSQ ny lU6
board to II. w. Harkness above the num-
Der he was legally entitled to, 700 10 J.
L. Reynolds, 8, ,450 to f. Aschenauer, and
10000 voted by o. o. Lovdal in excess of
the number allowed by the board, but
which were counted by them.
''The returns ofthe board also included
1000 votes divided equally between Nc
Nasser and Edwards, cast by J.. Calisto in
excess of the votes ne was entitled 10.
The board threw out Z, $50 votes given by
J. 8. Sebastio to McNasser and Edwards,
and refused to count them. These votes
were allowed and counted by the court.
ITO get the correct vote, therefore, u, 725
votes had to be deducted from the total
number counted by the board for both
Cox and Hite, and 3. 3.175 votes had to be
added to the total number returned as
given to both McNa asser and Edwards.
This would give the vote as already
stated, instead of the vote returned by
the board, which was: McNasser, 463, ,543;
Edwards, 456, ,170; Cox. 4S3, ,06S; Hite, 49,
636''
The officers of the board for the ensuing
term are: President, James McNasser;
Secretary, E. r. Edwards. The attor-
neys for the district are Armstrong,
Bruner 81 Platnauer, who also represented
the plaintiff in the action referred to.
The defendant was represented by w. NJ.
Sims and Albert NJ. johnson.
The district embraces many thousand