Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 February 1911 — Representative Guild Will Introduce a New Ditch Bill. [ARTICLE]

Representative Guild Will Introduce a New Ditch Bill.

Indianapolis Star. Representative J. R. Guild of Medaryville will, introduce a bill In the legislature providing for the cleaning and repair of dredge ditches in this state. Under the provisions of the bill the judge of the circuit court will have supervision over the work and making assessments to meet the cost. This bill provides that under the order of the court the county surveyor will make an estimate on the work necessary and approximate the cost. All work is to be let by contract to the lowest responsible bidder. The cost is to be assessed against the property on the prorata basis of the original assessment for construction. “There is no law now on the statutes to govern the cleaning and repair of dredge ditches,” said Mr. Guild. “In the northern part of the state there is more than 100 miles of ditches, constructed at a cost of more than $500,000, and no way provided for their repair and majntainance. We are now constructing another ditch which will cost $350,000 and the greaPTieed is to provide 'some system for keeping the ditches in a condition to carry away the water from the farm tilings. "We have ditches which are practically closed on aocount of willows growing along their banka and which have not been cleaned since their construction. Under , the present system each farmer whose tiles empty into the main ditch is supposed to do some work, but the system has failed and unless some way of clearing the main ditches is provided the entire drainage system of the northern part of the state will soon be worthless.” The bill to fie introduced was prepared by the farmers •of Pulaski, Starke and St. Joseph counties, and has been accepted'by a large majority of the dredge engineers of the northern part of the state. Representative Bedgood of Lafayette will introduce a bill graduating the penalty on delinquent taxes on real estate. The tax will provide that a delinquent tax receipt may be redeemed by the owner of the property within thirty days upon the payment of the cost of advertising and other expenses and 3 per cent interest on the actual amount paid out by the purchases. After the thirty-day limit has expired the owner may redeem the property upon payment of cost and ten per cent up to the time * deed is made two years after, the purchase of the delinquent receipt. After a deed has. been made the costs and the taxes 'become a principal and may be redeemed at face value with interest at 10 per cent.