The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1905-12-14
DRAINAGE EXPENDITURES.
Judge March Writes a Strong
Article Sustaining the
Courts Actions.
Rich HILL, Mo-, Dec. 3, '05.
To the tax payers Of Bates County.

1
We find that quite a number ofour
citizens are condemning the County
Court for advancing money to the
Drainage District to meet the expen-
ses incurred in making the survey
and estimate for the proposed Inn.
provement, and being satisfied that
those who are now censuring the
court would not doso il they entirely
understood the situation, We have
decided to write these few lines, hope
ing that we may be able to cause
those objectors to view this matter
In "A different light from what they
are now doing.
After the present system OF drain
age was proposed and the prospect
for its adoption began to assume
serious proportions there were q
great number that opposed it, think
Ing that the county would be at the
expense OF building the bridges made
necessary by the construction OF this
great artificial water course. But
that objection has been set arrest as
the drainage district must in allcases
build the highway bridges that are
needed for the accommodation of the
travel.
But we will now return to the pres
ent objection. II You will read Sec
tion S298 in the Revised Statutes OF
1905 relating to lands, swamp and
overfowed land, you will find this
clause: "All costs except oiconstruc-
tion and collection OF delinquent as
sessments, or installments, and ex-
cept those taxable to the petitioners
or demonstrators or appellants
SHALL be paid out Of the county
treasury and refunded tc the county
out OF the first money received upon
assessments, or from the sale of
bonds Issued under the pro vision OF
this article"
By way OF explaining the above, II
you will turn back to section 828 3,
aod read, you will find that the petit
tioners are no longer liable for any
cost incurred, and further, the costs
OF this improvement are divided into
two accounts; first, location, which
includes all the expense OF making the
surveys and estimates, both prelimi-
nary and permanent, assessing the
benefits and damages, abstracting,
recording, ETC.; second, construction
which covers the cost Of digging the
main ditch, lattsrals the construc- |
tion OF highway bridges, farm cross |
ings and any other expense that may |
properly belong In this line.
You can sse from the foregoing |
that the county court is not only |
justifsble IN its present pr oceedures |
bnt can not do. otherwise than to |
advance the money to the drainage |
district for expenses which II b now |
incurring.
But leaving out the provisions Of
the Law to which we have just alluded
can our county afford TO lend its
credit for the short time which it Will |
have to wait before being reimbursed? |
We will zee. A few months hence the
drainage bonds viii have been placed
on the market and sold, and the
county paid back the three or four
thousand dollars which she has ad-
vanced, and approximately, three
hundred thousand dollars turnsd
over to the county treasurer, which
will then be placed in the county de-
pository, the interest thereon to &C.
crue to the county the same a. il re-
ceived on all other monies deposited
therein, and when you consider that
part Of this sum will likely remain
there 18 months or two years, you
can not fall to see that our bridge
Iund will be increased far more than
the contingent is now being depleted
BY the Temporary loan. /,
But this is not all; the law provides
hat the interest and installments on
shese bonds must be collected in the
liffersnt townships, just as other !
axes are; and turned over to the
county treasurer; andif you willstop
10 figure out what the use Of this (
money viii bring for from ons to
,hres months each year for the twsn-
j ysars in which thsss bonds Ars
> 5ssszs - ~ IS H