The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-12-03
Water. Company Brings Con demnatiOn Proc e d n 2 s Against Farmers Who Have Discovered Untold Wealth In the Soil.

1 How the desire of one man with
 propensities for intensive farming and the purchase of a five acre tract
 of land along Beaver Brook, near De-
 von in the town of Milford, will have cost the New Haven Water company
 nearly one million dollars, has threat ened to poilute the water used by Mil
 ford residents and increased land val ues in the town nearly 5 fold in 1 some instances is oon to be told in
 the superior court of New Haven 1 Condemnation proceedings brought i by the Milford Water company, a con-
 stituent of the New Haven Water company. against fifteen owners of
 land in, the watershed of Beaver Brook, feeding the Milford reservoir, have brought many of the facts to light.
 The coffee color of water used in
 Milford during the past summer has been attributed to the intensive the owner of the property in ques- ton, with the results that chemists have been brought to test the purity
 of the stream, and threats of damage suits have been heard.
 Among the owners against which condemnation proceedings have been | brought are Snyder, the Beaver Brook Farm and Anthona Cannias> owner of a 25 acre tract, 16 acres of which is wanted by the wa-er company. At torney Abe s. Geduldig of this city lkepresents the interests of Cannia and a keen fight for possession of the land,
 or over its appraisal, will be made. As related by one of the Htigants the situation. has rested peacefully for
 ing valued at from $100 to $500 per acre, farming on the ordinary scale
 being conducted. When cows or in
 sanitary Instructions objected to by the Water company were called to
 the attention of the farmers the nuis- l ance was readily abated-
 1 Several years ago a small five acre tract of low lying land was observed l by Snyder, who came from New Jer- sey. To his eyes, the property pos
 sessed untold value from :ts texture and latent fertility.
 The soil was of dark color, and of
 almost mucky nature. He purchased 1 1t and immediately began to turn it over with blows and other instru- 1 r1lents. uAA dark fluid trickled through Beaver Brook. making the water a1
 most black and in the Milford reser- voir the. feed pipes to residents of
 Milford carried coffee colored liquid. l The Water company objected and demanded that Snyder stop his work.
 Snyder declined He persisted with his work. Chemists from New York
 declared that his operations were spelling the drinking water. On the other hand Snyders' chemists asserted
 that no damage accrued and the wa
 ter was still beautiful The darkened color in the reservoir increased with heavy rains. Snyder told of the great value of his land due to improvement. Oter farmers followed his practice.
 Land values jumped from. s1o0 per
 acre to as high ass in one instance, l $1, 300 per acre.
 Suddenly the Water company dis covered that it did not hold options
 on the land adjoining Beaver Brook i which was tributary to the Milford
 reservoir. Farmers intent upon the
 big profits accruing from intensive ag-
 ricuIture refused to comply with the i Water coTnpany's demands.
 Last week notices were served upon i fifteen owners that condemnation pro- ceedings had been begun for acquisf- 1 ton of the properties. It is conserv- atively estimated by realty dealers that the proceedings will cost nearly
 $800,000 because of the discovery of
 the value of the land under modern
 farming methods. Snyder is hailed as
 a. fairy godfather by farmers in Mil
 ford while the Water company off,
 cials and engineers employed in mak-
 ing surveys are 10th to hail him in
 such terms.