The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1897-12-31
A GRATIFYING RECORD.

County Drain Commissioner Geo. T. Ma
son Closes One Today-Brief Summa-
ry of his Iot Years Work.-Vari-
Gus Matters of Interest Con-
neGted with the Office.
Probably no other Shiawassee county
official ever turned over his office to q
successor with more gratifying record
in every respect than does County Drain
Commissioner Geo. Il. Mason today,
and certainly no one could say with as
much truth as he can that he has made
the Office what it is and brought it into
the high repute it now enjoys A rep
resentative of The OwOssO TINES call
ed on Mr. and Mrs. Mason one day this
week to secure a summary of the work
done by Mr.. Mason during his successive
terms of Office and secured the following
resume of his work. Besides furnishing
the figures for the work done, Mr.. Ma
son discussed in a most interesting way
various phases of the county drainscom-
missioner's work. improvements in
methods of keeping records, changes in
drain laws. court decisions, etc., only
small part of which can be given here.
though if written as he told it, it would
furnish interesting reading to the end.
1886 there was not page of record to
show what had been done. The COM
missioners had gone ahead, drains had
been dug, and if the taxes were paid
they were paid, and if not they went
unpaid, and in short time no one knew
the difference. But there was the sum
of $40, 900 of back drain taxes sent back
by the state for the county to put up.
There was not stick of furniture to 90
with the office, and to tell the truth of
the matter though it is no credit to Shi-
awassee county, there is no furniture
yet, which belongs to the office. Mr.,
Mason went ahead and either purchas-
ed for himself or made desks. cabinets,
etc as he was obliged to have them.
1t was generally regarded as nearly
impossible to lay drain which could
not be knocked out by law, but Mr..
Mason determined to see if it could not
be done. He. believed the matter of rec
ords was one of prime importance,
and at once commenced a system of
records which today fills, with the ex-
ception of part of the last volume,
eight large folio volumes of 480 pages
each
When he first began laying drains the
people-who, as limited above, had got
the impression that it was only necessa-
ry to hire a lawyer in order to defeat
any drain-began to bring suits against
him whenever there was any opposition
whatever to drain. The commission
er, however, had fortified himself with
thorough knowledge of not only the
drain laws but of the Supreme Court
, decisions on the drain law, and first laid
: drains to stand the test of law; then
when they were attacked in court he
, went in and fought for them. His OPP
ponents were generally men who had
J money to hire good lawyers, and Mr..
Mason told the board of supervisors
that he wanted the privilege of hiring
whatever legal talent he considered
necessary in addition to the prosecuting
7 attorney to defend him. If, however,
the drain was defeated through some
, fault of his, he told the board that he
himself would stand the expense of the
case The board consented to this
agreement, and Mr.. Mason never failed
to put through drain which he laid.
After two or three years of unsuccessful
attempts to defeat his drains, the peo
pie began to believe that drains could
: be laid after all when necessary, and
lawsuits became less frequent.
In more recent years, in the case OF
the Chapman drain, the commissioner
was defeated in the Supreme Court but
in reality carried his point by putting
, the drain through. Mr.. Mason had
claimed jurisdiction in the matter be.
cause the assessment district extended
: beyond the city limits, and while rem
dering decision against him the words
, of the Supreme Court do not have a
very confident ring about them. They
are: "As this drain is wholly in the city
of Owosso, we do not think that the com
missioner has jurisdiction" He then ex-
tended the same drain outside of the city
limits and put it through However, il
) any taxpayer should feel disposed to
> whine at the imagined expense to the
, county of this suit, we would suggest
that he find out who paid the costs oi
the suit and then keep still.
. After twelve years, during the most
, of which time there were one or more
/. suits pending against him in either cir
, cult or Supreme Court, and during
. which time he was three times
D in the United States court, such
, a record-only one defeat in court
a and that not q direct one-speaks vol
t umes for the thoroughness with which
1 Mr.. Mason's work was done.
{ No review of the kind would be at al
Y acceptable which did not give some sta
Q tistics relative to the work done, so tn,
Q following table Is given, showing tn,
: number of rods of drain laid and tn,
n amount paid out each year. Durinj
d 1890 and the first six months of 1891
II will be noticed that there is no record
b The office was held during this year ant
J. a half by Andrew Huggins, and durinI
THAT time no drains were laid and pu