New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1906-08-15
DITCH MAKES MORE TROUBLE
County Auditor Finds People Hard
to Please.
Contracts Unfulflled Cause Much
Dissatisfaction.
Auditor Vogel Feels That he is
Being Unjustly Blamed.

ditching matters of the county and now
it is not the aanska ditch that is maxi
ing the trouble but ditch that is COM
pleted. It appears that an investiga-
ton Of the ditch shows that it is not
altogether f to the measurements pre-
scri bed in the contract and the auditor
has held up the warrants for the pay.
This has caused about as much trou-
BILE as the matters in connection with
the Hanska ditch, but the auditor says
there is no other way to do. He is
bound by the terms of the contract and
it is his duty to abide by that instru-
ment. He is not doing it wilfully,
though it seems that there is dispo-
sition on the part of some of the peo-
pie affected to make it appear SO.
At a meeting of the county commits
sioners held Saturday the contractors
for the construction of ditch No. APP
peared before the commissioners and
requested an extension of time in
which to complete the work and the
commissioners granted them until the
1st of January. The contractors
showed that it was absolutely impos-
sible for them to get at the work. They
had arranged to have machine here
by the first of last April and it was
three months later when it came. The
delay was as aggravating to them as
it was to those for whom they had con-
tracted to do work.
They say that when they are ready
they will finish up both bitches in that
neighborhood and that they will be
completed before the time set. They
have arranged to put on a day and
night crew and will rush the business
as fast as it is possible for them to do
so. Under these considerations twas
thought best to waive any other con.
siderations and the extension was
granted.
Ever since the beginning of the agi-
tation for bitches in the county there
has been more or less trouble and ex-
pense. When the move was made to
have the county construct these bitches
there were a number of them laid out
and made ready for working at one
time. About the same time it appears
that nearly every county in the state
got busy with its ditching propositions.
1t was impossible to get machines in
the county to do the work and Omen who
had the machines would not sign con :
tracts to do the work where there was
a high penalty attached for neglect to
complete the work when specified. It
was next to impossible for them to do
SO, as there was little assurance as to
the time that they would be able to get
at the work, for this reason it was
necessary to either make the penalty
small or leave it off altogether.
In the case of the Hanska ditch No.
8, the penalty was made fifty cents q
day for every day after the expiration
of the time for the completion of the
ditch that it remained unfinished.
When it was found that the time was
going to pass and nothing be done in
the matter the County Auditor at once
set about to see if there was not some
other machine that he could get to do
the work, and in the meantime the
people who were paying high taxes on
land that could not be used because of
the water that was interfering, were
becoming restless and appealed to the
auditor to do something.
In speaking with Mr.. Vogel of the
trouble, he said that he did not blame
the people who had land to be affec-
ted by the cutting of these bitches.
They have been and are now paying
the county high taxes on the land and
it is absolutely worthless to them in
its present condition, but he feels that
they are doing him an injustice when
they lay the blame at his door. The
commissioners have the matter in their
hands and he is simply their servant
but the people seem to think that he is
responsible personally for the whole
trouble.
This matter and the order he has
from the COMM ssi0ners tn list mort