The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1870-05-11

wafer WORKS
We print, this morning, the Address
of the Water Works Committee to
the voters Of Evansville. Failing to
see a copy Of Sundays Courier, we
did not get the address until we
clipped it from the Courier Of yester-
day. The committee, with that free
dom from partisan prejudice which
has thus far guided it in all its action,
did not favor US with a copy of the
address. 1t seems to have been con-
tent to confne its circulation TO the
extremely small minority Of the voters
Of the city which depend upon the thin
Cruel furnished by the Courier, for
their daily pabuluns.
The statement OF the Courier, that
we had a copy Of the address before
us, when we wrote the article on
Water Works which appeared in the
JOURNAL of Monday, is false in every
particular. The article for the JoUR-
NAL was written and in type on Sat
urday, while the Address was withheld
from asfor reasons we cannot divine.
We have always treated the Commit
tee fairly, aud the very estimate of
Mr.. Weir, on which the Committee
asked the Council to order an olec-
ton we clipped from our files and
furnished the Committee with the
utmost cheerfulncss aud pleasure.
But we are not disposed to higgle
about irrelevant matters. The CoUr-
Ter knows, and so does every reader
OF the JOURNAL, that, long be'ere
this question of Water Works as
sumed so much Importance in the es-
timation of the Courier, the JOURNAL
took decided ground in favor of the
city doing the work. This, too, when
a Republican Council was in power
and could easily have chartered a
private Company, had it been dis
posed 10 do so. This fact is a sufi
cient answer to all the Courier's
twaddle about "heartIess mouopo-
lies and ''enriching stockholders at
the expense of the people," The
truth is, the Courier never discovered
much necessity for Water Works un-
til it was inspired by shrewder men
with the suggestion that a party ad
vantage could be made to result from
their construction. It's zeal then
knew no bounds. and it has been bla-
tant ever since.
One good has resulted from all this
discussion. We now have the commit
tee fairly on the record, as they were
not by their report to the Council or by
the order on which the election is to
be held on Thursday. On this point
the Courier delivers itself as follows:
Let it be borne in-mind that 10
Uotia1 IN fuvor of Water Works next
Thursday the people only vote in favor
of permitting the Council to test the
correctness of Mr.. Weir's estimates
by thorough examination. No con
tract will be made upon a false basis.
The Committee say: IF the people
voted against Water Works, we
should not feel authorized to enter
into negotiations, or to expend a sin
gle dollar in surveys and scientific
examinations for the purpose of as
certaining the feasibility of erecting
such works" II it is only the wish of
the Committee to ascertain the opinion
Of the people with regard to Water
Works, that opinion has already been
expressed. Both of the political par
ties, in unusually large mass conven.
tons, decided in favor of Water
Works being constructed BY the city.
Very pearly or quite one thousand
voters of the city were present at
these conventions. and were quite
unanimous in the expression of their
opinion. Why, then, put the city
10 the expense Of an election to ascer-
tain an opinion that has already been
given aud is a matter of record. The
expense of an election would almost,
if not altogether. meet all the
cost of a preliminary survey, if the
money were applied directly to that
purpose.
But the people do not vote on Wa
ter Works. They vote for or against a
proposition authorizing the City Coun.
Gil to contract with the Holly Water
Works Company, for supplying the
city with water, as per plan and esti
mates submitted by William Wier,
Engineer Of said Company, at a cost
of S168, 600. for eight mi IS of pipe, or
about one fifth the necessities Of IL
city. When the Council applies 10
the Holly Works Company, it will be
met at the outset-as Mr. Flagler in
formed the people, at the Court