Omaha daily bee., 1895-04-14
BEFORE THE COMMISSIONERS
Request for Special Canal Bond Election
Referred to Committee of the Whole.
REMARKS B" CITZcNS ON THE SUBJECT
At Length Determined to Furnish Five
Hundred Bushels of Seed Potatoes
In Aid of Garden Spot Scheme
New Justice of the Peace.

Between the consideration of the Platte
canal scheme and furnishing seed for the
garden spot plan the Board Of County Com
missoners yesterday afternoon found its
hands full.
Delegations representing both projects were
out in force.
A letter urging the calling of a special
bond election, signed by A. p. Wood, w. A.
L. Gibbon. 2. T. Lindsey, w. r. Bennett,
Dan Farrell and others, was read. 1t was
as follows:
We beg leave to inform your honorable
body that the last Legislature passed law
authorizing counties in Nebraska having
not less than 600 inhabitants to construct
own and operate canals for navigation
water power and other purposes, which said
law was approved by the governor OF this
state on the 9th day of April 1895; copy of
said law certified to by the secretary of
state we herewith hand you, and with II
we hand you petitions signed by over $500
of the legal voters of Douglas county, ask
ing you to submit the question of issuing
bonds for such purposes by Douglas county.
We find the sentiment of the cltlz ms to
be practically unanimous in favor of this
measure. Many petitions are yet being cir
culated, but as the people are so very anX-
ious to have this enterprise started at once,
we did not wait for more petitions already
having many more than the law requires.
We trust you Will call the election at once,
as thousands of our laboring people are
without work or SubSlStenCe, ana we DeleNe
that in the building of this great public
work our home laborers will be given the
preference, and but few will have to apply
to the county for aid the coming winter
We believe that the amount of bonds to
be voted should be not less than N,5OO,OOO.
The petition was also read, the reading of
the $500 names appended being, upon the
suggestion of Commissioner Stenberg, dis
pensed with.
The undersigned legal voters OF Douglas
county, Nebraska, hereby petition your hon
orable body to call special election and
submit to the legal voters of Douglas
county, Nebraska, the question Of issuing
bonds in a sum not exceeding 10 per cent of
the assessed valuation of all taxable prop
erty in said county, for the purpose of CON
structing a canal by said Douglas county
from a point on the Platte river, near the
northwest corner Of Douglas county, thence
In northeasterly direction to the Elkhorn
river, thence in a southeasterly direction
on the most practicable route to point
near Omaha, for navigation, water power
and all other purposes except irrigation and
for generating electric and other power and
transmitting the same for light heat power
and other purposes, and to levy taxes to pay
the same and interest thereon, under the
provisions of the laws of Nebraska.
w. A. L. Gibbon, in behalf Of the citizens
delegation, stated that the building Of the
canal was something the taxpayers were
anxious to secure. The commissioners were
not called on to commit themselves TO the
proposition. The taxpayers would settle the
question. The construction Of the canal
would revive industries. IL was urged that
immediate action be taken on the question,
Commissioner Stenberg moved that the pc
tltion be referred 10 the committee Of the
whole subject to the call Of the chairman
and with power to secure legal advice.
WILL GIVE SEED POTATOES,
In reference to the potato donation ques-
tlon, Mayor Bemis, John Laughland, Moritz
Meyer, Rev, Alexander +. Irvine, ~ A.
McGinn and X. Wilson, as a committee rep
resenting the scheme, called on the commits
soners TO renew their request for aid.
The charity committee submitted the iden-
tical report which II offered at Wednesday s
meeting. proposing to vote 500 bushels OF