The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1904-10-19
ICB ANNEX OF THE GROCERY.
NEWBURGH PAYS FOR THE SEW Err,
ODELLS GARNER THE ICE.
SlBA,OOO Assessment Levied in the City
Under Mayor Odell 10 Pay. Says Piain'
To- TIT, for DivertinE Foul water From
Odeli's Lake Outside Assessed District.

Under Mayor Odeil TO Pay. Says Piain'
TIT, for Diyerting Foul water From
Odeli's Lake Outside Assessed District.
For two years there has been pending
6 the United States Circuit Court for tho
Southern District OF New York suit In
equity brought by Mary A. Townsend
OF Woodbridge. n. j. against the city OF
Newburgh, this State, to annul an assessment
levied by city officials on property there
owne1 by her for the construction OF q
city sewer.
THE SUN to-day makes public the COM
plant in the action 1t Is a much more in
teresting document than the average COM
plant in suit Of the sort. It charges that
the building OF the sewer at an expense
Of Sl64, 1926 10 70 property owners OF New
burgh was procured by the oovinous acts
of officers, directors and stockholders Oh
the Muchatt PES Lake Ice Company or
some of them, that the said persons
while connected with and interested in the
Muchatt es Lake Ice Company were also at
the same time officers and agents of the city
OF Newburgh. elected or appointed to
protect the interests OF the city and duly
sworn 80 to do" but that, in violation
OF their duties and their oaths, while act
ing ostensibly as such officers, they were
In fact CONTINUOUSLY and corrupty acting
for and in behalf Of the Muchattoes Lake
Ice Company
oDELL ICE COMPANY AND oDELL CITY
GOVERNMENT.
The contract for the building Of the
sewer was let in 1893, The suit against the
city was ente I'd by the plaintiff in August,
tO0g. The Nauhurpb citv AZ re,torias from
1892 up TO and including the present
year give these as the chief officers OF the
Muchattoes Lake Ice company:
President, Benjamin b. Odell, Sr.; score
tary and treasurer, Benjamin B, Odsll, Jr,
superintendent, Hiram B. Odell.
The directories from 1894 on contain the
name Of Henry Mccain as vice-president.
The company's annual sta tement filed in
the County Clerks Office in Goshen in
January, 1892, contains an affidavit in which
b. B. odell, Sr., is named as president,
and B. B. Odell, Jr,, as treasurer Of the
company. The directors as given in list
fled in the same office on Jan. AZ, 1902, are
B. B. Odell. Sr., B. B. Odell, Jr. H. B. Odell,
henry McCann and William G. Taggart.
The same men are named as directors OF
the company in the list filed for the present
year.
b. b. Odell, Sr., father OF the Governor
Chairman and president OF the ice COM
pany, has been Mayor Of Newburgh many
times He served continuously In tho
office from 1894 to 1900. Hiram B. Odell
is brother of the Governor, an ex-Alder-
man of Newburgh and the present post1nas-
ter Of that city He served as alderman
for one term, during the years 1893 and 1894,
both years and also member Of the finance
and street committees during the first
year Of his term Of office. Mr.. MoCann is
the proprietor Of a plumbing establish.
was county clerk Of Orange county on
serving until 1909. B. b. Odell, Jr in the
period from 1892 to 1902 was a member
OF the Republican State committee, Con-
gresham, chairman Of the State executive
committee and Of the State committee
itself and Governor.
SEWER ASSESSMENT RESISTED.
According to the bill Of complaint, Mary
A. Townsend, the plain tin, owns three
parcels Of land in the section OF the city
Her property was assessed for 33,075 80
She failed to meet the assessment and her
property was sold at auction on Aug. 2lj
1902, being bid in by the Corporate Counsel
OF the city OF Newburgh Shortly after
ward suit was entered by her, and the city
itS CltiS W Vic pIoPCItys
At the time the Townsend property was
sold at auction several other properties
were sold under similar conditions, and
the plaintiff In the present action Is said
to represent more than fifty property own
CTS OF Sewburgh,
LEGISLATURE INVOKED FIRST.
The complaint sets forth that the Mayor
and the Common Council OF the city OF
Newburgh and other persons interested
L.. Cfo
the passage Of an act by the Legislature
OF the State OF New York, approved Feb,
IS, 1893. which among other things au-
thorized the Common Council Of the city
OF Newburgh to construct trunk sewer,
commencing in the Hudson River at q
point near the mouth Of the Quassaick Creek
and extending over and through such lands
as the Common Council should direct along
the side q! the creek to a point near the
nsSon of sst s sna the h
Common Council authority to let the con-
tract for the construction OF the sewer after
public notice had been given to bidders,
and(also authority to cause the issue Of a
them to assess all the real estate situated
on the watershed which they deemed
TO be benefited by the sewer The records
show that James Lawson, a Republican,
was Mayor in 1898.
The watershed referred to in the special
act. according to the complainant, COM
prises more than half the entire area of
the city. but only a small portion OF the
irhr bitants reside there. A large portion
Of the land is used for agricultural pur-
poses, and there is, it is stated very little
business or manufacturing Of any kind
in the district requiring a sewer, except
certain mills located on Quassaick Creek.
These mills are upstream and westerly
from Muchattoes Lake-the lake from
which the Muchattoes Lake Ice Com
pany harvests its annual supply OF ice.
The Quassiack reek feeds into the lake
The complaint says that these condi-
tons have been practically the same since
1892 and that the plaintiff is informed and
believes that they are likely to remain 80
permanently.
The sewer was laid out and built at an
expense of Si54, 426l8 under the super
vision Of the Common Council. The plain
tiff charges that there were irregularities
in the fulflment of the terms Of the origi-
nal contract by the Newburgh contracting
firm which took the job, and that the COM
mon Council exceeded its authority in
entering into a new contract with the firm
without giving proper public notice OF the
opportunity to bid.
IRREGULARITY ALLEGED.
On Dec %. 1895, the complaint alleges
BENJAMIN B. Odell, Sr.. then Mayor OF the
City issued to the Board Of Assessors n