The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1921-03-17
A LITTLE MORE HISTORY.

"A LITTLE MORE HISTORY.
For the past several months Mayor
Peavey and those members of the
City Council "who jump at the crack
of the whip of their ringmaster"
have been endeavoring to befuddle
the taxpayers of Washburn into be-
lieveing that they have been accom-
plishing a wonderful thing through
their fight against the Gray-Robinson
Construction company's claim for the
construction of the sewers in the east
part of the city, and some of the
readers of the News, the Mayors
organ, have been lead to believe that
the Mayor and the Council members
who are backing him, have been put
ting up great fight in their effort to
saddle unto the taxpayers of the city
nearly two thousand dollars which
should have been assessed against
the abutting property, for this is just
what their fight amounts to.
These sewers, over which the Coun-
Gil has been spending more tax money
for litigation, were built during the
war, in order to care for the property
being erected in the east part of the
city. Ten of the owners of abutting
property, who believed that the as
sessment as made by the Board of
Public Works, could be knocked out
on the ground that an error had been
made in the proceedings, engaged an
Ashland Attorney and proceeded to
make asfght, and succeeded in get
ting the court to order a re-assess-
ments of the benefits and damages.
The court found that the contract for
the improvement had been awarded
and the contract begun before the
printing of the notice of the assess
ment of benefits and damages, and
for this reason ordered re-assess-
ment. On all other points the court
found that the proceedings were re-
gular and according to law.
The owners of property who were
benefited by this re-assessment, ac-
cording to record, were Asa Free
man, Charles R. Wiley, Chris. Ras-
mussen, Joseph Schneider, Bessie M.
Hansen, John B. Stevens, Joseph E.
Swanson, H. G. Koenig, John Love,
and Max Koehler. The owners of
abutting property who were soaked
with the amount of their original as
sessment together with their share of
the assessment made against the tax
payers of the city of Washburn by
the Mayor as member of The Board
of Public Works, were Bert Bryan,
Carl Palm, Andrew Anger, George F..
Cross, Joseph Kasmareck, M. Holm
gren, d. M. Maxcy, John Suess,
George T. Fox, c. C. Gray, Elizabeth
G. Zeamer, VIM. Barnhardt, E. /. du
Pont de Nemours & Co., Georgiana
Picott and others who may have
owned lots in this section, but whose
names do not appear on the tax roll.
Because of the statute of limitation
having expired these latter people
were forced to pay the amount of the
original assessment and the rest of
the taxpayers of the city were forced
to pay the amount which the Mayor
saw fit to attempt to saddle unto the
city.
You taxpayers of Washburn who
have paid sewer improvement assess
ments for sewers laid in front of your
property do you ever remember of
the rest of the taxpayers of the city
helping you pay for your sewers, yet
this is just what the Mayor is having
you do in this instance, forcing you
to help pay for sewers laid in the east
part of the city in front of others
property while you were forced to
pay your sewer assessment alone,
and because the Times saw fit to
mention this is accused by the Mayor
of throwing up "smoke screen" in
order to hide the actions of others.
The only interest the Times or its
editor has in this matter is as tax
payers of the city of Washburn. We
do not see where the city can escape
the payment of this claim in view ci
the court action already had in tht
matter and the action of the Mayors
Board of Public Works ii ii :nakiEg the
lre-assessment.
A committee of the council investi-
gated this matter thoroughly, alld
acting in the interests of the tax
payers, met with representatives OF
the Construction company and Sc.
cured a reduction of $3.50 in ths
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