Semi-weekly herald., 1909-05-31

iour grand jury lunds that the build
ing of said reservoir and the improv.
ing and extending OF the said canal
system has been carried on almost
wholly in the interest and to- the bene-
fit of the said construction company |
and with little concern for the inter. |
ests of the people owning lands within /
said district. The recommendations !.
of the engineers of the said district I
were seldom, if at all, observed or
compiled with aud. in one instance
when a certain flume was building
although the engineers condemned six
teen out of eighteen bents thereof
the district, nevertheless, authorized
and paid the full price for the same
and accepted the work, which flume
as built by the said construction com.
pany was inadequate and wholly unfit
- be received
Your grand JURY finds that, while
the people had a right to expect land
the engineers had SO recommended)
the building of all fumes of said ca
nal with new lumber. the board of
directors of said district allowed at
least 100000 feet of old, worthless and
worn-out lumber to be used in the re
construction and rebuilding of said
fumes In place of new lumber, with
out cost to the construction company
and without credit to the district
therefor.
Your grand iury finds hat the board
OF directors unlawfully paid out sums
of money for rights-of-way to persons
who had no legal claim therefor. and
amongst others, TO at least one of the
| officers and directors OF said district
Your grand jury further finds that
| while the said board has caused the
| voters Of the said district TO vote
ST95.000 of the bonds of said district
| for the buying of the old canal system
at a, cost of s325,000, leaving them
| $40 900 for the building of the Mar
raguinnep and Ground Hog reservoirs
and the rebuilding of the fumes and
improving and extending the laterals
and bitches OF said system, and that,
while the said sum OF $325000 was
fairly paid over for the said old sys-
TEN, the sum of 100000 has been, to
large extent, frittered away and
wasted and the whole of said sum of
$4,000 is now spent excepting the
sum of $4,000 in bonds and $243 in
cash the Ground Hog reservoir Is not
completed and 1t will require about
S45 900 more to he expended to finish
the same; the fumes on thi said sys-
lem are. In many places, in adequate
rotten and decayed, no provision hav-
ing been made for the rebuilding oil
the same the funds provided there
fore being not spent and dissipated
and the district left in debt many
thousand dollars besides.
Your grand jury further finds that
The board of directors of said district
are paying one of the directors, in
open violation of the law, 50 2,400 year
for the performance of services he is
not competent TO perform; that they
are paying the secretary of said dis.
| trict $1,000 a year, which is also
J in violation of the law; that they
are paying w. II. Blake at the rate OF
81 400 year, and an assistant engi.
/ Deer at the rate of $500 year, in
all expending about $1,000 year to
perform services which had thereto
fore been performed entirely by Mr.
, W. II. Blake at cost of about $4,000
a year.
Your grand jury finds that the way
and manner in which the said board
t of directors entered into the said con
tract and secured the voters of the
district to authorize the same, II has
| allowed the Empire Construction com
pany to make an unconscionable profit
off of the said district, and that there
, has not been anything like s470,000 ex
pended in the building OF the said res
eivoirs and the improving and extend
!; ing of said system, bit, as far as your
grand jury can ascertain, not to ex-
coed $250,000 worth of work has ac-
tually been performed under the said
contract and the balance of said sum
of $470,000 has been taken as dnd
for the profits to the said constrnc-
tion company, and that the said the
Empire Construction company have
violated the said contract in many par.
ticulars without being called 10 ac-
count for their various defaults and
many delinquenoies.
Your grand Jury finally says that
the board of directors of said dis.
lrict, from the year 1907, when the
said contract was entered into with
the said the Empire Construction com-
pany. has been guilty of conduct so
grossly careless and negligent that II
fails in being criminal in the fact that
no particular statute can be found in
which it is denounced.
Your grand jury says that proper
suits ought 10 be brought against The
said the Empire Construction com.
pany for damages in the premises
for their many failures and delinquen
cies, and for abandoning and refusing