The weekly tribune and the Cape County herald. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1914-1918, 1916-03-10

was forthwith issued, restraining tn
district from cutting any of the roads
The next step in the litigation wa
taken by the attorneys for the Drain
age District when on December 8
they presented q petition to the Su
preme Court at jefferson City, seek
ing writ of prohibition which il
turn would have the effect of dissolv
ing Judge Ranney's Injunction and re
straining both the Judge and the
County from enforcing its provisions
The Supreme Court threw out the
petition and denied the writ. The in
junction suit had to be tried before
the court in which it was obtained ant
both the Drainage District and the
County Courts attorneys prepared fol
legal battle which was set for the
February term of court.
Meantime, the work on the ditch
was being held in allegiance on account
Of the fact that the highways could
not be cut. There are eight high
ways that the diversion channel would
cut along the lower boundary.
To expediate the work of the drain
age district and at the same time ar
range to fight the legal battle to a fin
ish, the attorneys for the Drainage
District sought to effect a compromise.
Several propositions were offered,
Hays declared, last night, none of
them safeguarding the county, in his
opinion.
He offered project whereby the
County Court was to agree to an order
Of the Common Pleas Court being en-
tered suspending and withholding the
penalty for contempt of court that
would follow violation of the in
junction. At tire same time, the
drainage districE was to sign a con-
tract to build the bridges necessary, as
they became essential in making the
diversion channel. thereby making it
possible for the drainage district to
perform its work without restraint,
and making it possible for the county
to have the roads unobstructed by the
canal.
Under the contract, the bridges were
to be paid for as installed by the
drainage district and the account was
to be carried forward to the end of
the litigation.
The litigation vas to go on to de-
termine the liability and it was to be
4 part Of the agreement that if the
courts Of last resort decided the in
junction in favor of the district, the
county was to repay the Drainage Dis
trict.
This agreement was reached orally
between the attorneys for the Drain
age District and Judge Hays in the
early part of January.
The two sides then put their engi-
neers to work to study the character
of the bridges that should be erected
over the canal and let the engineers
agree on the character and kind of
bridges that should be built D. NJ.
Scivally, County Highway Engineer,
represented the County Court and Will
liam A. O'Brien. chief engineer for the
Little River Drainage District, repre-
scented the district.
Within short time, the two engi-
neers worked out general scheme for
the bridge construction to cost approx
100000. The Commerce road
near the Mississippi river which is US
ed but little, Was to be cut out of the
agreement with the right withheld by
the county to reiniect it into the case
whenever it saw fit.
Two roads which cross the channel
near Whitewater were to be Joined
and cross the channel by way of one
bridge, thus reducing the bridge work
to six bridges. Two Of the structures
were to span the main diversion chan
mel with 4 1000-foot floodway and a
second Of No. ditch. The four others
were to span but the one channel.
When the engineers made their
agreement on the technical features
of the bridge construction, the attor- |
neys then proceeded to put on paper |
the agreement that had been made |
orally and in tentative way early !
in January. At the same time, they
were to embody the scheme of the en-
gineers into their contract and provide
for the protection Of the County and
the Drainage District respectively.
oliver and Oliver made the first
draft of the contract. Judge Hays |
last night declared the contract that |
was submitted 10 him for approval did
not protect the county and he proceed
ed to cut out everything but the
whereas"
Judge Hays rewrote the contract. |
In the first draft, the drainage dis
trict wished to merely have temper
airy bridges built over the channel at
the road breaks, which should stand
until the waters from the Castor and