Rensselaer Republican, Volume 28, Number 14, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 December 1896 — Last of the Iroquois [ARTICLE]

Last of the Iroquois

The celebrated Iroquois ditch, the largest single ditch system ever planned in Indiana, received its final quietus in the Supreme Court last Wednesday, when Judge McCabe handed down a decision affirming the previous decision of the Jasper Circuit Court. As our readers most of them remember, this ditch was begun in the Commissioners Court in this county under the five mile ditch law. When first petitioned for, the most of the petitioners understood that its scope would be only to deepen the channel of the Iroquois, from Rensselaer to 7 or 8 miles above. But through the efforts of a few parties the scope was extended, until something like a hundred miles of ditches were included, and the total estimated cost had reached an immense sum. After a long fight, the commissioners finally dismissed the case at the petitioners’ cost on the grounds that the estimated cost of the ditch would exceed its benefits. An appeal was taken to the circuit court, and was tried by Hon. E. D, Crumpacker, then Judge of the PorterLake circuit. He affirmed the decision of the commissioners, and a few of the petitioners then took a final appeal to the Supreme Court,. As above stated their final decision was handed down last Wednesday, and was reported in Thursday’s Indianapolis Journal, which report reads as follows:

17690. Thompson vs. Board of Commissioners. Jasper C. C • Affirmed . McCabe, J. —Assessments against lands for the cost of the construction of a ditch, under Section 5767, R. S. 1894, cannot exceed benefits, and when the board of commissioners are informed the construction will cost more than there will be benefits de rived therefrom by the landowners it is required to dismiss the petition for said ditch and proceedings at the petitioners’ cost. The amount of the costs which this decision throws on the petitioners, not including the court costs, is 13745.96, which is coming to Jasper County. The petitioners are 63 in number. Of these about 50 tried to get released from the -petition, or have the case dismissed, when the costs were only about S6OO. It is said that some of these 50 will now endeavor to get released from gaying any share of the costs which accrued after they asked to have the ditch dismiss-