Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-11-28
Ottumwa Water Works Decis-
ion Annulled by Federal
Court of Appeals
RULED ON SEPARATE CASES
Iowa Supreme Court Decided City
Could Make Contract for Water
Works Plant and Not Exceed Debt
Limitation-FederaI Courts Now
Grant Restraining Injunctions.
pecial to Times-Repuhliean.

Special to Times Re publican.
Ottumwa, Nov. 2S.-News was re-
ceived here yesterday Of a decision in
the United States court of appeals af
firming Judge Smith McPherson's in
junction restraining the city from car
rying out it's proposed contract with
the Fruin- Bambrich Construction Com
pany for the building of water works
control, which decision turns adrift all
former understandings on this ques-
ton and for the present the city stands
enjoined from doing what Judge Sloan,
of the state district court. said it could
do and what was again expressly per-
mitted in the decision of the state SUI
preme court affirming Judge Sloan's
decision. This latter decision of the
state supreme court is the one that
brought such joy to the hearts of pol
iticians in Ottumwa and Cedar Rapids,
where similar case was pending, that
the city councils and mayors of the
two towns met in Cedar Rapids to cele-
brate the event with a banquet. 1t
is now claimed that this is the first
time since the bred Scott decision that
a federal court has failed to follow
and concur in the judgement and opin-
ion of a state supreme court.
The case is a complicated one and
really gives little consolation to either
side in the controversy. In order to
build municipal water system and
still evade the statutory debt limita-
ton, the city council of Ottumwa pro-
posed to hold an election at which a
special annual waterworks levy should
be voted, which in amount would not
in any one year exceed the legal debt
limitation, and then proposed to make
a contract with the Fruin- Bambrich
Construction Company that the special
levy, together with all the profits ac-
cruing from the operation of the water
works plant, over and above cost of
operation under municipal control, be
turned over to the company annually
for a period of years in return for the
building of the water system.
The City Water Supply Company.
the present private water company,
sought an injunction in the federal
courts which was granted by Judge
Mcpherson restraining the holding of
the proposed election. In the meantime
similar restraint was sought from the
local district court which Judge Sloan
denied and the state supreme court
upheld him in the decision. This was
considered a great victory for the city
and hence the banquet. But the case
in the federal courts was steadily plod-
ding on. Judge Mcpherson had granted
an injunction. Now the federal court
of appeals sustains him in his action
paying no attention to the decision Of
the state supreme court because the
cases were two distinct cases altho
both sought to accomplish the same
purpose. This last decision will now
probably go to the United States SUI
preme court but good lawyers contend
that if new election should be or
dered the federal court could take
cogniZance of the decision of the state
court and probably would follow the
precedent of it's decision.