Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-04-07
BOARD SESSION IS LIVELY
Action Of Supervisor Baker Not Relished by
His Fellow Members.
STARTS OVER BILL FOR A ROAD GRADER
BiiI for Hardwood Lumber for Use In
Bridges Also Causes Clash, but
the Colonel Carries
His Point.

The session OF the boaro Of county SUI
pervisors yesterday was replete with ar
gument OF a decidedly acrimonious nature.
The action of Colonel w. f. Baker in eX-
pending 500 on a road grader without first
obtaining the sanction of the entire board
started the ball rolling and the other mem
bers were up in arms. Colonel Baker
showed that the grader had been pur-
chased out of the citys proportion of the
county road fund, but the other members
contended that the machine should have
been purchased, If at all, out of the regu-
lar road fund and only with the sanction
OF the whole board After considerable
oratory. which at times was almost torrid
in it's character, the bill for the grader
was allowed.
Then when Colonel Bakers bills for hard
wood lumber and other material for county
bridges in his district came up there was
more heated discussion and the doughty
colonel found the other members of the
board arrayed in solid phaanX against
him. Colonel Baker replied with more or
less warmth to the criticisms of his fellow
supervisors and the atmosphere of the
room became so tropical that County Audi
tor Cheyne felt called upon to open the
windows. Colonel Baker, however, sue
ceeded in having the bills allowed, but
during the remainder of the session 1t was
apparent that there was a certain amount
of restraint or GOODNESS between him and
the other members. At the close of the
meeting none of the members cared to dis
cuss the incident beyond admitting that
there had been some heated talk during
the session.
Attorney W. A. MINISTER, on the certih-
cate Of Judge Thornell of the district court,
to whom the claim had been referred by
County Attorney Hess, was allowed $240
for his services I'm taking the case Of G.
Rogers, convicted for the murder of
saloonkeeper Forney, to the supreme court.
Mynster originally claimed $500 for his
service, he having been appointed by the
court 70 defend Rogers
f. Ma Cunningham was allowed 81, 800
commission under his former contract with
the county as tax ferret, on the amount
paid I'm by Stewart Brothers, under the
compromise recently effected between thai
firm and the county.
T. A. Kirkwood, one Of the property
owners who signed the original petition
for the establishment of the Pigeon creek
drainage ditch, filed notice of his desire tc
withdraw his consent and same was re-
ferred to the county attorney.
The county auditor was directed to have
a water meter installed in the county jail
When the bills for water supplied the
court house and Jail were presented the
members of the board decided there must
he something wrong. Last year the tota
cost of water of both buildings was
a9.l9 while the bills for the three months
Of this year aggregated sss9ss. The boart
, felt certain that such an amount of water
could not have been used without there
was a leak somewhere, and the bills wer
held up pending an investigation. From
Janitor Humphrey the board learned tina