The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1909-02-04
Judge Names Commissioners for
Organization of the Bristol
Drainage District"
WILL COMPLETE DUTCH CAP"
Opposition to Famous Canal Seems to
Have Subsided and Prospect
for Completion Of Project
Seem to be Bright


bone Of contention among certain farm
ers in the Town of Bristol for the last
ten years, broke into the courts again
today when under the new state law a
petition was filed in the Circuit Court
asking for the organization of a drain
age district to be known as the Chris
tol Drainage District Acting on the
petition Judge Belden this afternoon
named commissioners to have charge of
the work of the district and there
seems to be probability that the fam
Gus ditch will be completed The oppo-
sition to the building Of the canal has
been largely removed during the past
two years and the bitter feeling which
attended former efforts to secure the
completion of the proposed undertake
ing has almost entirely disappeared.
George A. Shields, who was one Of
the first men to seek the completion Of
the ditch, heads the petition which is
signed by over thirty property owners
It is shown that nearly 5000 acres of
land in the county will be affected by
the proposed drainage district and that
the digging of the canal will result in
the reclamation of between 5000 and
1000 acres of land that is now unfit
for tillage. The petition asks that
the drainage district be organized for
the sole purpose of constructing and
maintaining the canal The canal is to
be in the neighborhood Of three and one
half miles in length. No estimates
have been made of the cost of the pro
posed improvement and this matter will
not be gone into until after the com
missioners named by the court have as
sessed the benefits and damages to be
charged up against the various pieces
of property which will be affected.
Many of the farmers who had formerly
bitterly opposed the building of the
canal are now in favor of it's construc-
ton and number Of these men have
signed the petition for the creation of
the drainage district. It is claimed
in the petition that at the present time
a great amount of land in the proposed
drainage district is not only worthless
on account of the fact that It is under
water at periods of the year, but it is
further claimed that the fact that stag
nant pools of water are to be found on
this land at certain seasons of the year
makes it a menace to the health Of the
people of wide territory. Tt is on
this account that the petition is made
to the Circuit Court. It is claimed that
the building Of the ditch will result in
he removal of all of this stagnant water
and that in addition the land will be
reclaimed and made among the best
land In the county.
Many of the farmers in the district
were in the city this afternoon to at
tend the hearing ON the petition. Some
Of the property owners are now resi-
dents Of Chicago, but they came to Ke-
nosha today to urge the organization of
the drainage district It was under
stood that there should be no opposi-
ton to the plan. IT is believed that
the commission will be organized and
the work well under way by the middle
of the coming summer and it is posi-
BILE that the work of digging the ditch
begun many years ago will be com
pleted before the close Of another year.
The commission as named by Judge
Belden this afternoon is made up of
D. j. Vincent of Salem; Harding Grow
of Pleasant Prairie and James NORM
Of Some1s.