Evening journal., 1901-10-09
WATER BOARD
WILL FIGHT
To Oppose The Opinion Given
by Attorneys
yRVERAI nUpgTIAEg INVnI Vpn
SEVERAL QUESTIONS INVOLVED
Claimed BY The Commissioners That
The Decision Will Greatly Re-
taFd Future WOrk

That the Board Of Water Commits
sioners win n9t sit idly by and accept
the opinion given by the attorneys inl
the Weldin farm purchase as final, ISL
an assured fact The case VIII be tested
in the courts William S. IIles aayingl
been retained as attorney
Prior to yesterdays meeting OF thel
water board. the commissioners andl
Chief Engineer Bond met in private
session, and for an hour were in earnestl
discussion OF the situation. At thlsl
meeting II is said that it was decided
10 iillat tine opinion of Attorneys II. H. !
Ward. Robert G. Hartman and City So-l
licitor David J. Reinhardt, and TO thor
oughly test the legality of their deci-
clsion.
Although the commissioners refuse to
make public their plans ait 4jae present
time, it is conceded that an outline of
their side OF the question was formed.
and that legal talent win be engaged
to carry the subject into the courts forI
a final settlement Just when this will
be done is net known.
DEPARTMENT HAMPERED
Another question involved i'm theI
opinion 0f the attorneys, and one that
may greatly hamper the commissioners
in their work, has arisen IN ahe minds
OF the directors. IL is now said BY
members of THE board THAT under the
opinion given ia the Weldin ease that
NOT cent of excess money" can bel
used for any purpose by the depart
ment. Net a length Of new pipe can
be purchased, not a new building erect
ed, and, in fact, nothing but what Is
absolutely required at once can be OBJ
tained. The decision, the commission
ers say, will practically book them in
cooking to the future, and preparing to
meet any unexpected emergency THAT
lmieht arise. This question is consid-
Y cred a serious one and one THAT ne
cessitates immediate action, as Tho un-
forseen may occur at any minute.
BOARDS PECULIAR POSITION
There are some points which have
been brought out by the present con-
! trnversy that, to say the least, appear
! peculiar Under the act passed in 1899
lthe board is required TO turn over all
( excess money yearly to Council 10 be
| lapplicl by taat body FIRST 90 taking up
lCf outstanding water bonds, and. sec-
emily il sudh bonds cannot be obtained.
TO be used in Hiding other bonds OF the
lefty.
Under the opinion Of THE attorneys
ID would appear that, no matter how
mudh excess money is in hand. the
board must apply to the General AS
lscmbly for permission to issue more
bonds before new work cam be taken
lup. This, the department contends. is
an absurdity inasmudh as 10 cannot sec
1.-THE praeticability Of turning excess
money over to Council, then issue a
new series Of bonds. which. in turn,
win have to be taken up by Council
by the very surplus money turned over
to it by the board Why net use tho
excess money and save bond issue?
The directors ask.
THOSE 100000 BONDS
I TO Is evident tnat the Board OF Water
I Commissioners 10 E-t agree with the
lattorneys regarding the S1200OO bond
issue. It IS said when the act creating
uhe Water Department. was passed. in
4 April, 1888 it met with much opp0si-
ltion on the part of Council. and the
subject was carried into the courts and
was not decided until July, 1884 when
the act was declared valid. During
this period Council transacted All tine
business DC the Water Department as
before, and received and paid out am
moneys collected. When the board as
Isumed control, in July, 1884, there was
scarcely a dollar in the treasury with
which to run the department. for the
year and it was TO meet just such an
emergency as This the directors say
that the issuance of bends to the ex-
tent Of Sl20,O00 was authorized by the
Legislature. Even after the commits
sioners took charge OF affairs it was
some time before the bonds We're ready
for sale. and had IL not been that some
Of the larger concerns in the city and
private individuals paid their water
rents in October, of 1884 the depart
lment would have been swamped until
the specified time for paying water
rents fell due. The bonds. plainly
speaking, the commissioners contend.
were authorized to be issued for the
sole purpose of setting the department
upon its feet
It is probable that the commissioners
will hold another meeting in short
time, when their plan OF action will
be finally decided upon and steps taken
toward legal action.