Omaha daily bee., 1911-12-26
C0ZAD WATER QUESTION UP
DR.. Winnett of Railway Board Re-
turns from Hearing.
POINT OF JURISDICTION RAISED
kcarney Industrial school Sells
Quantity of Sugar Beets and
POtatOes-Elks Treat Poor
Children of city.
(From a staff Correspondent

LINCOLN, Dec. 2.-(Special. DIR.
Winnett of the state railway commission.
has returned from Cozad, where he con-
Quoted a hearing on the petition of pat
rons OF the irrigation ditch at that place
for better service. A large amount of
testimony was introduced and at it's con-
clusion the doctor requested that the petit
TONERS submit briefs on the question of
the jurisdiction of the commission to deal
with the question presented. These
briefs will be turned over to the attorney
general and il that official decides the
commission has Jurisdiction, some action
will be taken.
The law clearly gives the commission
jurisdiction over water rates, but there
Is some doubt whether the commission
or the irrigation board has control over
matters Of service. The Gothenburg ditch,
involved in the controversy, presents
complicated situation, tangled up with
litigation now pending in the supreme
court The Cozad power canal formerly
tapped the Platte river some distance
above the Gothenburg irrigation ditch and
after using the water for power purposes,
emptied 1t into the Gothenburg irrigation
ditch. The Kearney people objected and
tained, the Cozad power ditch will be
forced to empty the water back into the
Platte, some distance below the head of
the Gothenburg ditch. There is sixteen
miles of main ditch in the Gothenburg
system.
supply Letting Comes Soon.
Bids are now being received at the land
commissioners office for the quarterly
letting of supply contracts, which will
take place January 2. In addition to
the usual supplies there will be included
in this list those necessary for the open
ing of the tuberculosis hospital at Kear-
ney, which it is hoped can be made ready
for occupancy by the middle of January.
Kearney school sells Potatoes.
The Boys Industrial school at Kearney
has just sold a carload (675 bushels) of
potatoes, for which 80 cents a bushel
was received. The school farm had pre-
vIousiy sold $500 worth of sugar beets,
and in addition raised a large amount of
supplies used in the school.
Public offices Closed.
All public offices were practically
closed in Lincoln today At the state
house the heads of departments gener-
ally came down for a short time. opened
the mornings mail and took a look
around to see that the building was
still there. Nothing in the way of rou-
tine business was attempted however.
Mrs. #. A, Graham, wife of a former
,mayor OF Lincoln, who was reported
1nissing, had simply gone to visit a
friend in another part of the city.
- EIks Best People.
The children of Lincoln will certainly
subscribe TO the claim that the Elks are
1.-The best people on earth" The local
..1clks lodge was a real Santa Claus to
the children, entertaining more than
3 900 of them at the club rooms. Automo-
.biles were sent to the State Orthopedic
hospital and the crippled wards of the
state were brought TO the club rooms to
enjoy the Christmas cheer and then re-
turned to the hospital. There were
presents on the Christmas trees for all
the children who came. These consisted
OF toys, candy and other things which
appealed to the childish palates. In adj
dition there was music and other enter
tainment for the little ones
The rush OF holiday mail showed only
slight signs of letting up today and pos
tai employees were hard at work today
OIgging out from under it.
The Omaha q Beatrice suburban rail-
way has filed notice of an equipment
mortgage of $3.50 in favor OF the GEN
.eral Electric company. The mortgage is
10 secure payment for a new motor car
to- use on the co npany's lines.
Mrs. Mildred Beers. 1888 Q street, died
today from the intestinal trouble which
3 has been epidemic in the northeastern
part Of the city. This is the first death
directly traesable to the epidemic. though
a large number have been III from its
effects