Omaha daily bee., 1902-10-19
PINCH TAX LEVY TOO TIGHT
Linooln Finds Itself without Money 70
OsRn o. Repair strsstE
BORING FOR OIL N WEBSTER COUNTY
Party Of Public Spirited Cittsens Hss
Already ExpeBdes Five ThSu-
sand Dollars sns VIII
Spend More.



LINCOLN. Oct. B-fSpecial D-Lincoln IL
liable 70 suffer for the zeal with which the
Commercial club and interested taxpayers
worked for q reduction Of the county rs
ssHsmsnt this year. They succeeded in Sc
curing q reduction q The aggregate assess
Dent 81. BBO. 600 and have plunged into q
movement for q further reduction Of an
equal amount. Meantime. q has Just been
discovered by the city council that all street
sweeping and street Improvement Of every
BORT must stop fer want Of funds. Hereto
fore the city has relied upon its proper
tionHte share Of the county road fund for
money with which TO keep is streets clean
and IN repair. Owing 20 the radical reduc-
ton ia the county assessment this fund has
proven voefuIly inHdequEte. 70 thBf an over
lap Of nearly 80 900 from last year is q re-
suit and the funds for this year are al
ready gvsrdrswn nearly 500. The finance
committee and the committee on streets
a16 grades have determined TO recommend
60 the council Bt fits next meeting that
all work In cleaning sweeping. grading and
repairing streets shall stop nj once. OWNS
20 the heavy rRins Of the sumner and fall
The outlying streets are IN very had re-
pair. and the inability Of the authorities
70 sweep even the central paved streets IL
going TO attract attention % the fact that
II is possible 20 become too economical in
the matter Of HssssEment ~ property.
The city iE suffering from the same all
Dent that Is affecting state finances and
making Il impossible for the state TO raise
enough -eveDUe 70 discharge its OhliEa-
lions and keep its indebtedness from in
crsnsing- II is the tendency to decrease the
county REsessmentB- II he said around the
state house that leginlHsoD will probably
2 be .w-.w-G - -
prevent this continued reduction Of asses
mentE by counties, 30 that the limits i'm
posed upon the state and city leriss viii
not preclude the possibility Of Passing
enough revenues for carrying on state and
municipal governments. II has been suE-
gesteo that this may be accomplished by
Decreasing the amount that may be levied
Tor county purposes. SO that county Ru-
liberties will be compelled 10 force ND the
levy in order 10 secure suBcient revenues
FOR their own purposes.
Boring for Gas and OIL
Thomas ouiEEle Of RossmouL Webster
county. was Al the stH1ebouse today un
business connected with the gas and oil
company Of which be IL secretary.
Mr.. QuiEEle BEyB that they have very
promising prospects. Up until the present
they have used an ordinary driH for boring
purposes and he came nov TO buy a dia-
~moDo-pointed one. The Indications are that
there IL an abundance Of petroleum and
gas below. He SAYS:
" were FIRST induced 20 believe that oil
might be found there by noting Quantities
OF 1t gathered On the surface Of pools and
ponds in that vicinity. Just about a year
ago we formed a company and began the
search. Our shaft is sunk on the farm OF
Lars Rose, for whom the town iE named.
II Is a hole Two and a half inches in d.
amerer. We have brought out a quantity
of promising mineral and assays have
shown strong trAcings Of petroleum and
gBs.
$50 far we have spent s., 900 in expert
menting. hut we have not regretted a DOL
lar Of IL. We are confident there will be
paying Developments Some Of our output
IN on the way TO Lincoln to be investigated
by the State university chemist"
cited for Contempt.
Mrs. Rosa Funke. owner Of the Funks
opera house building. md James Tyler.
architect, were before Judge Frost today on
a charge Of contempt Of court. The build
ing is IN course Of remodeling, and Z. Hal
lett. one Of the ground floor tenants, Sc
cured Al order Of the court prohibiting
them from pounding and hRmmering and
looBening the plaster from above his store.
He INV Eave that they calmly dieraVnraaS