Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1914-12-09
DEMAND FOR BETTER LAWS GOV
ERNlNe HEALTH AND PAVING
OF STREETS.
CLASHES BETWEEN CITY
AND COUNTY OFFICIALS
Law Indefinite a. to Who Shall Pay
Bills Caused by Enforcing Health
Board Rules-Lawyers Disagree Over
Methods Of Assessing Cost Of Street
improvements.
to Times Republican.
Improvements.

Special to Times Republican.
Mason City, Dec. s-According TO
those who have to do directly
with the board of health laws
OF the state and with tie Law regula;-
ing the assessments for paving. each
are detective, and IL all probability
VIII receive attention from, the thirty
sixth general senibly. Already rep
re sentatives- eIec, in this section of the
state are busy drafting bills covering
these and otner matters.
4 good many councils IN differen;
parts OF the state have had clashes
turing the past year with county SUI
pervisors over payments of board OF
health bills. TIE local health boards
usually acting under the advise of the
cliy physician. would hire men TO pia
card houses where contagious diseases
we're reported, and Shen time came 10!
fu-,lira;ion set men q, work at this.
When these approved bills we're sub
United; TO the board Of supervisors, un-
Ger advise OF the county attorney. they
were rejected on grounds seemingly
we'll taken, that the charge for sucn
service should be paid by the ones re.
oelving the service When the bills
@ere sent back 10 the council 1t was
discovered that the city had no levy
10 take care Of such bills and the men
doing the work of fuuisation and pla-
ca!ding had no legal way OF enforcing
collection OF these bills unless they
sued the ones directly hiring them and
making /, a personal matter.
The duty of the city physician need $
more specific setting OUT. number
Of city councils have II the year past.
appointed sanitary inspectors. swear
ing them IN as policemen. They are on
me JOB continuously locking after the
health OF the people. The danger Is
TIA, the functions OF these officials
viii overlap.
When Lawyers Disagree.
In the mater @, paving assessments
no two lawyers interpret the new lag
alike and different cities are going II
Il in diYerer. ways. Waterloo had Ia
undo ar Il had done and star, over
again. For instance here is what an
other council ran up against: Two
streets running parallel. with stree,
car track and right of-wey between
The right of-way was thirty three feet
vide One Of these roads Is main
Travelled road. the other Used only
semi occasionally. but 1t Is an ac-
cspted road. Property along this
road e plated and held for specula-
tive purposes. The main travelled road
IS paved BIZ; when the council at
tempt TO assess the lots as adjacent
there is legal resistance on the part OF
ne owner and the lots go Scott free
from Assessment. The two roads con-
verge little further on and q forty
acre tract Of lard that IS not plated
is given an assessment OF 1880 as
adjacent property and It's assessment
stan6s. All can see that there is no
justice in such AT assessment The lax
absolutely prevents assessing the
plated tract because Of the fact tina
road only little used lieE between
And then the amoun: ci,argeable to
adjacent property y left 10 the judg-
nent Of the ci:y engineer and city
commissioners with the result that
different cities have gone a his in
vary and there lis trouble Hardly q
~ IA ~ a has 0ilC Ldk Gil
street improvements this year that Is
not now involved in legal entangie-
ments.
In he opinion Of those who are max
ing public ownership Of general utiii-
ties study. there Is need OF change
in the matter Of payment Of water ex-
tensions for cities owning their owr
plants. A; the present time. In laying
sanitary sewers the expeDGe IL taxed
UP against property owners AUDITING
the Improvement and they have tbs
privilege OF paving for the same II
seven year instaliments by signing
waivers. There are those who believ
that the water service should have
similar regulations whereby ,hcee Whe
receive the service would be the one!
TO pay the bills. AT the present tins
I'm proyements are made out Of lev,
or out Of the earnings OF the plant. l.
either case money belonging to all e