The Holt County sentinel. (Oregon, Mo.) 1883-1980, 1911-07-28
An Important Decision.

lately noted In The Sentinel has, in
the case OF SQuaw Creek Drainage
district No. I against John Turney,
handed down a very important deci.
sion. The opinion Is by Judge stephen
;. Brown, Commissioner. and is con.
CURED IN by the whole Supreme court.
In order to have full understanding
Of the decision. and what its effect
will hereafter be upon the whole
drainage dis, rict business mot in this
county alone, but throughout the en-.
tire state We will explain the situa.
ton. by giving a brief history of the
Law and proceedings leading up to
this decision of the court
Holt county having a very extcns.
i've Missouri river bottom. the most
extensive, 1t il said, Of any county in
the state. Hon. T.. NJ. Parrish in 1877.
when lie lived In this county and
was senator from this district. pro-
cured TO he passed by the Legislature
"A law authorizing the circuit courts
Of the state. upon proper petition Of
citizens, To incorporate bodies of
swamp aud overlooked lands int o pub.
lie corporations, for the purpose OF
draining, d,king and otherwise i'm.
! proving. protecting and redeeming
said lands from water. The law was
but starter. and was, In some re-.
>pprts. but crude affair In a way:
but 1t authorized the organiza,io ion Of
drainage dist ricts. and provided for
the issue Of bonds by such districts,
and briefly laid out "A whole plan tina,
might he followed. For some reason.
however. nobody IN the state. for a
long while. seemed TO take hold of II,
and make Use Of II IN the courts
There being statute all the while In
force. that allowed the county courts
to deal with these swamp land mat.
tiers. said county court law seemed to
be used altogether. To the exclusion
Of the so.called. circuit court law:
and, ~ the matter went on for years.
In ls'r'. however, when Judge Gala
u.
there being a strong demand by the
residents Of all that great bottom
country northwest. ives, and south.
west Of Mound city for some perma.
neni relief from the annual overflow
waters from Davis creek. Squaw
creek and the Big Tarkio river, ap.
plicaii ion was made to II. T.. Alkire,
Who had been brought up In that
bottom country. and was thus well
cluainted with the whole situation.
and ex-senator 7. &. DUNCAN. Who
owned about a thousand acres of land
In there. and VAST thus fully cognizant
Of the absolute needs Of the country
from the 81 standpoint and experience
Of q land owner. and these two gen.
tlemen undertook to invoke this cir.
cult court law, IN the Organizat lon
and incorporation Of a drainage dis.
tric, that would have corporate
powers. and become, by statute, an
arm Of the State. This being the
very first effort ever made IN the
State. 81 far ~ the decisions Of the
higher courts show, TO use this Law
the promoters of the enterprise, and
the attorneys In the case, had pref
~ hard road To travel through the
courts To the final consumnat ion Of
incorporation Of the district. Their
act ion was contested a, every step.
and, II was enly after a long. hard
and tedious contest here, that Judge
Craig. finally. on the Ind day of May,
1904. decrecd Incorporation of the dis.
trict Notwithstanding the many OBJ
jet and exceptions that had been
urged against the same by those op.
posing the movement. Some 5000
acres OF land had, originally, been, by
those asking for incorporat ion. In
cluded within the district. but, dur
my the long contest, numerous tracts
which the incorporators had thought
would he benefited epuallywitli much
of the land retained Including part
of John Turney's land Werc excluded
by the court, and, all told, some 5000
acres, or SO, We're let out. ~ was
this action upon the courts part, In
excluding these lands, tina, after.
wards. led to the litigation decision
of which has Just now been handed
down. or course, Immediately after
Judge Craig's decision here, the oh.
jeclors to the original Incorporation
of the district, carried the matter to
the highest court In the State,and, II
was not Till the October term. 1907,
that a final hearing thereon was
reached In that tribunal. Mr.. Dun
gan, In the meantime, had voluntari-
~ Withdrawn from the case, and Hon.
John Kennisli, now Judge of the SUI