The sun., 1910-06-15
iron Mine CITY DOESN'T Want
can GET IT FOR S6.OOO .OOO AMI
mas PRETTY NEARLY cor IT.

More Valuable by a Dam SITE man AMI
body HAD Suspected IniIl C0ndemna-
tori Proceedings set IA City EnEi-
nser begins suit 20 TllOck Purchase.
The present Administrative has dis
covered that the old Aquednct Commis-
sion : plans for the CrotOn Falls reservoir
included the purchase Of an iron mine
valued by its owners at A.sOO 900. and
yesterday Charles 7. Bull. an assistant
engineer in the Department Of Water
supply. Gas and Electricity. suing ~ q
taxpayer secured from Justice Erlanger
an order requiring Commissioner ThOmp-
son. the head of the department. and
Others 10 show cause on June p why
they should not be permanently re-
strained. a. Mr.. Thompson would be
pleased 10 he. from taking further steps
10 condemn the land on which the mine
b. The suit IL brought against Com
missioner Thompson ~ the successor 10
the Aqueduct Commission and against
william Church Osborne. John Quinn
and William ~ Benjamin. the commits
sioners Il appraisal
II Ia Understood that the extFavagance
oI buying an iron mine for aqueduct
purposes was brought to the attention Of
the officers ~ former administrations.
but that nobody did anything about Il.
The commissioners of appraisal. who
were TO Determine the value Of certain
parcels Of land in Putnam county 20 he
used for the purposes ~ the Crotnn Falls
reservoir. were appointed on April q.
is0 All the proceedings before the COM
misSioners have been CLOSED except those
relating 10 the parcels Of land belonging
IN whole or in part to the Croton Magnetic
Iron Mines. corporation organized IN
iSS2 The mine. which was operated for
a short time and closed down in ls97.
lies directly in tho route proposed for a
channel connecting the reservoir with
a divertinE dam nov being built upon
tho east branch oi the CrotOn River
J HaniI.den Doughertv. counsel for Mr..
Bull. points 10 what he calls -the IN
tere-iing fact that tho reoentlv deiunCt
Aqueduct Commission found Il necessssi ~
o. luUate the channel 40 as 20 give the
citg tho opportunity to acquire the prop
crty under which j. said % he lode Il
magnetic iron orr ninety feet wide. about
lWn feet long and several hundred feet
deep
IN the papers filed with the Court j.
IL set forth that In 1915 the AquedWct
Commi issi0n decided to build the Croton
Falls reservoir with a dam site az Dean =
Nasna.a1 the
nf the three branches Of the CrOton River.
A dam az this point, the enEineers re-
ported. would sGore all the water from the
thrce branches and tho flow line Of the
reservoir would be PAS feet above sea
level
4 public hslri1g ~ required by law.
was held. and 80 it, close the Commis-
-iaucr4 by resolution adopted the plan
Tho plaintiff m the present suit holds
that plan -o adopted cannot ~ changed
without further hearing.
The paper, 60 ol % relate that In the
summer ~ 1915 the engineers reported
- the commission that dam AZ Deans
Bridge would ~ more expensive than had
h.su Thought. since it would - neoe-- trv
% relocate part Of the Harlem Railroad
tracN near Croton Falls. Following this
discovery. On" chief engineer recon-
mended a site ghout a mile above the falls
This dnm would store only the waters
Of the middle and west branches Of the
river unless "a directing dam with con-
nsrti-g channel was built on the cast
branch The channel was located 10 pass
dir, tly over the iron mine. II b. the
contention u Mr. Bull and his lawyer, that
the change in the dam sites was illegally
adopted. since u WIS made without a
public hearing
After tn change In sites had hern
daci.t,d upon the owners - the closed
down mine had their property surveyed
ard entered claim for 81 Nh - damag ges.
which with interest would amount ~
nearly ~ .n0D .u0O to-day Mr. Bulls lawyer
-svs that the value u the property over
vhich the divcrting channel Is n pass
b. surprising IN view II the fact that the
Aqueduct Commissions chief engineer
reported that the change Of site would
neccEsitata the acquisition of only farm
ing and pasture lands
Mr Bulls counsel also calls attention
to the fact that the title 10 property passes
~ the city when tho Commissioners
file their Oafhs and that these oaths In
regard to the mine property were filed
~ Anril. 1919. and that it was subsequent
n this date that the mine owners he
stirred themselves. began % take borings
and make the survey upon which they
hasa their claim.