Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1910-09-17
Council Bluffs
BOARD bitches NEW DITCH
Damage Claims in Prospect Put
ouietus on Mosquito Project.
LEGAL TALENT GALORE ON HAND
Promoters VIII Have TO Foot BiL for
Surveying and Advertising-
Coal Prices Are Higher
for County.

! Confronted by damage claims sggregst-
| ing over $500 200, which we're to be piled on
top Of the original cost OF $4,000, the pro-
moters of the Mosquito creek drainage
canal lost their enthusiasm yesterday when
they appeared before the board of county
supervisors to meet the land owners who
objected to the construction OF the canal.
There was almost an audible sigh of relief
when the board. by a unanimous VOTE re-
jected their petition and thus killed the
whole project.
Yesterday was the day for final action
on the petition when II was to be ap-
proved or rejected and the boards rooms
were filled with interested land owners The
roster showed 175 property owners affected
| by the proposed action, and the protest
| against the ditch bore the names of lis Of
this number while many. others were pres
ent to make verbal protests and so on
record II needed. The railroads were repre-
scented by counsel, J. c. Cook appearing
for the Milwaukee, ]. L. Parish of Des
Moines for the Rock Island and Emmett
FINLEY for the Wabash, each of the out-of-
town attorneys being assisted by the local
legal representatives. The Milwaukee COM
pany took the matter most seriously. and
in addition to Assistant General Solicitor
Cook brought District Engineer Brown from
the home office TO Join in the protest
Many Speeches Made.
All made earnest pleas, approaching
closely to the line Of speeches. Attorneys
for several Of the heavier land owners were
also present and presented the objections
Of their clients.
It was shown that the entire amount of
farm lands within the area of the ditch dis
trict amounted to but 1900 acres, and that
one-haf of this is located in the hills,
where no benefit could be derived, leaving
but 2,60O acres against which a tax aggre-
eating more than $4,000 would have to be
assessed for the first cost of the ditch and
settlement Of damage claims, This APP
peared to present q possible tax Of more
than 500 an acre, II the damage claims
were sustained. and more than $50 an acre
for the construction work alone.
Prospects of further damage claims were
brought into view by the statement of
Benjamin Marks, who said he had fire.
quently seen the Mosquito two miles wide
after it had reached the river bottoms
and sending q current southwark many
times greater than the proposed capacity
of the canal, and that an attempt to hold
this volume OF water by raised bikes would
; fail for the reason that the current would
wash away the levees after the water had
! been conducted to a point where it could
. overflow large tracts OF valuable land now
exempt from such damage.
The original petitioners and promoters OF
: the canal will have a bill OF about 81 200 tc
: pay from their own pockets. They were
required to give bond for the payment OF
= all costs for preliminary surveys, adver
: Using. ETC., and the board ordered the sur
veyor's bill, which exceeds $1,000, to b,
d collected from this bond II will be di
: vided evenly between about twenty OF tn
4 promoters.
J, Coal Prices Soar.
= The board of county supervisors wer
8 given another illustration of the higher cos
n OF living when the members came to con
g slider the bids for supplying the winter
/ fuel for all of the county's institution
5, yesterday afternoon. The figures sub
u mitted by the lowest bidder averaged s
l cents ton higher than last year on al
Il grades of coal used. There were three set
e OF bids submitted by the Carbon Coal com
pany, the Droge Elevator company and tn
: Fenlon- Wickham Coal company. The boar
ID decided 20 use Illinois lump coal for tn
ID heating plants in the county buildings, in
y Guiding the county farm, and Centervlll,
d Iowa) mine run for free distribution anon
}. the poor under the supervision of Over
n seer Miller at Council Bluffs.
,e The bid Of the Carbon Coal compan
p was the lowest all around and won tn
rs contract. The price to be paid for Illno
az lump delivered at Council Bluffs is S4S4;
a the county farm, f. o. b. at Mcclellan
3, 4.64; CenterVille delivered to paupers
:: Council Bluffs, $H. The Droge company
bids for the same grades were ;AS5, s..
n and A.ss, with no extra charge for qua
" ter ton lots delivered to poor. The Fenlol
ia WIckham bids were $3.50. s47s and t7
rs Tha contract c.us Tor .ha d.I,,,.r,, 80 .
* -, 90. =, e Vi
Sc coal aiter peihs "elshou on CITY scales ar
in involves between 200 and 800 tons.
re