Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1911-09-12
line Kenney and Cummings Claims.

ing on the claims for damages sgains
the South Paris Village Corporation b,
reason Of the diversion Of water from
Stony Brook for the village water sys
tenn. These claims were brought b!
Mrs. Almira ]. Kenney and the Cum
mings Manufacturing Co., owners o.
water powers in South Paris village. OF
Stony Brook. No adjustment OF tn
claims having been agreed upon by th'
parties, they were referred to the coun
ty commissioners according to the termI
Of the act authorizing the municipa
water system in South Paris.
Mrs. Kenney was represented BY Hon
A. s. Kimball of Norway, and the Cum
mings Manufacturing Co. BY Hon
Enoch Foster of Portland. Walter L
Gray appeared for the Village Corpora
ton, and Hon. A. e. Herrick Of Bethe
was associated with him.
After the arrival of the forenoon trains
Tuesday, the county commissioners, At
torneys, and others interested, went t
take view of the premises. They In.
spected the two mills in the village, and
the dams and reservoirs of the village
water system. This trip took until vel
past noon, and 1t was nearly three
O'Clock when the hearing began In the
afternoon. 1t continued through thai
day and Wednesday until o'clock.
Without going into the details of testi
mony on that point, 1t may be az we'll te
summarize by saying that the South
Psris Village Corporation, authorized by
special act of the legislature of 1909, es
tablished municipal water system, Sc
curing its water by building two dams
one on Stony Brook and the other on
Cooper Spring Brook, tributary oil
Stony Brook, above the junction, these
two dams being about four miles from
South Paris. A statement filed by the
village corporation, at the time of this
hearing, under the statutes, is to the
effect there has been taken from Stony
Brook for the use of the village, water
to the amount of 225, 900 gallons in each
twenty-four hours. The use of water
from the brook by the village began in
January, 1910.
R. L. Cummings, president of the
Cummings Manufacturing Co., told of
the use Of water power in the oompany's
plant, which is used as foundry, for
the manufacture of plows, wagons,
double runner pungs, job work, etc.
From two to five men are employed
practically all the time. There is a
fifteen horse power water wheel under a
nine foot head, and the power is used
for running variety of machines. In
1908 an electric motor was installed az
an auxiliary power, but the water was
,,,n nc Mr. H,.v
mings described how much the water
was used during 1905 and 1909, and said
that since the village water was put in
the electric power has had to be used
much more than before-he estimated it
at one half the time.
The Cummings Manufacturing Co.
also owns storage dam above the Ken
uey mill, and Mr.. Cummings stated that
in previous years he had sold water from
this to Mr.. Kenney to the amount of
about fifty dollars in year at fifty cents
a day, but that last year the amount
thus sold was only seven dollars. There
was also an added expense since the
diminution of the water In caring for the
wooden dams and keeping them from
damage on account of the absence of
water. He estimated the damage to the
company, from the taking of the village
water, at $3.50 per year.
Later Mr.. Gray cited the rue of law
that the measure of damage In the case
of the taking of water was the depreciat-
ed value of the real estate due to such
taking. This rule of law was agreed to
as correct by the attorneys for the claim
ants, and Mr.. Cummings subsequently
made an estimate of the depreciation of
the real estate of the company at $500.
he also estimated the depreciation of
value of Mr.. Kenney's mill at the same
figure.
j. A. Kenney, manager OF the Kenney
mill, which Is in his wife's name, stated
that his site was first occupied by mill
in 1888. He employs from three to
twenty-five men at different seasons of
year, saving long lumber and short
lumber, turning bowels, and making
toys. Has sawed about $4,000 feet of
long lumber and 275 to 400 cords of
white birch a year. About six years
ago he put in auxiliary power in the
form of a gasoline engine, for which
steam plant was later substituted. Be-
fore the village water was taken be had
sufficient water to turn bowels nine
months out of the year, but in 1910 he
had to use steam for nearly six months,
the expense of the steam being five dol
lars day. He estimated that he had TO
use steam four months in the year more
than before the village water was taken,
and estimated his damage at $500 per
year.
T. F. Thibodeau and Charles n. Kim
ball, who live near the brook, testified
from their observation of the reduced
amount of water flowing in Stony Brook
below the dams of the Village system,
since the water was taken.
In behalf of the village corporation
quite list of witnesses were put on, to
testify regarding various points. They
included Geo. r. Morton and w. B.
Young, of the committee which put in
the village system, c. w. Bowker, super
intendent of the water works, l.. E.
Scruton, the engineer and contractor
who put in the system, E. FL. Marshall,
former superintendent of the Cummings
Manufacturing Co., and John Wight, q
former employe, F. w. Bonney, q former
employe of F. c. Merrill at the mill now
of the Cummings Manufacturing Co.,
Silas P. Maxim, N. D. Bolster, w. j.
Wheeler, and others.
A number OF these witnesses testified
from observation of Stony Brook that In
the dry season there was apparently
more water flowing in the brook where
the village dams are situated, four miles
from the village, than lower on the
stream, the water being lost by evspora-
ton and absorption, and the brook was
several times described as "flashy"
stream, running high for some months
In the spring and then low for most of
the rest of tho year, rising quickly with
a shower and again going down quickly.
Mr.. Marshall and Mr.. Wight told Of
the amount Of water power available
while they were with the Cummings
Manufacturing Co., indicating less use
of 1t before the village water was put In
than had been indicated by Mr.. Cum
mings. Mr.. Wight estimated the time
that they could run during the year at
four months In all. A statement was
also put in showing the amount paid by
tho Cummings Manufacturing Co. for
electric power each month since the
motor was installed. Mr.. Bonney testi-
fed that there was small auxiliary
steam plant In each OF these mills when
he worked for Mr.. Merrill twenty five or
thirty years ago.
Some of the witnesses gave 1t as their