Omaha daily bee., 1906-07-26
Fair Thursday and Warmer tu
Extreme East Portion. Friday FRir.
APPRAISER FOR WAFER WORKS
water Board Takes Another step IN
Effort 20 Defeat s6,OOO,OOO
Valuation.

The Omaha water board at an adjourned
meeting held at o'clock yesterday after
noon, appointed Mortimer r. Cooley Of
Ann Arbor, Mich. to be the city's repre-
sentative on new appraisement board in
the event that the appraisement of the
water works, made by the last board.
should not be held good, as the water
boards lawyers contend.
The appointment of new appraiser on
behalf of the city is said to be simply
the next step in the procedure outlined
by the lawyers to head OF the $6.OO0,O0O
appraisemcnt which the water board un-
dertook to reject, alleging that only two
of the three appraisers had agreed to it,
that 1t was excessive and that IL was not
fairly made. The appointment will prob
ably be followed up by official notifca-
tion Of the water company and demand
that II name a new appraiser on !ts side,
which demand is sure to be ignored IL
Is said, however, that the lawyers want
all of these motions made in order to
bring that into the case, which is impcnd-
ing in the federal courts, in which the
water company has applied for a writ of
specific performance I'm the sale contract.
The new appraiser, on the part of the
city, is the brother of Engineer Cooley OF
Chicago, who kas employed by the water
board as an expert i'm presenting testimony
before the last board of appraisers upon
which to base its finding. He is said to
stand high in engineering circles, and tc
enable the public to get acquainted with
him Attorney Wright prepared the follow
ing memorandum for the press:
Mortimer r. Cooley, the man appointed
! Dy the board as its appraiser. is dt pres
ent the head of the Engineering depart.
ment Of the University Of Michigan. Tic
of the Naval academy and served i'm tn,
navy until he was detailed by the United
/ states government to assist in the or.
ganization OF the Engineering department
| at Ann Arbor At the request of the fac
/ ulty of the university. his detail was eN
/ tended and he was afterward appointed
! to the chair of engineering of the Univer
| sty of Michigan. He has filed this chail
continuously for about twenty years, "
/ the exception OF brief period during thI
| Spanish American war, when he served a.
| an engineer in the Navy department
He is man of large experience and
! recognized authority on engineering mat
| ters. lie was appointed by the state o
! Michigan to appraise the railway system
| of that state for the basis of taxation. 1
was upon his appraisement that the stat
| OF Michigan, under the recent decision o
the United States supreme court, has beef
enabled to collect about $4,000, 900 o
taxes from the railroad systems in th8
state. He was chosen by the goVernmen
of Newfoundland to appraise the railwa!
| systems of that country to determine tn
| value to be paid upon their purchase a.
| the government. He has recently bee
I appointed by the city of Chicago to an
lpratss the value of stree. RAILWAY pFop
erty and franchises under the proceeding
In that CITY looking to their purchase an
acquisition. He is a hrst-class man 4
every regard