The Evansville journal., 1870-08-02

Works Companies, bat providing that
the Common Council might impose
restrictihns upon such companies
preventing their. realizing more than
ten per cent. profit on their capital
stock But for the unfortunate death
Of Mr.. Latta. a short time after his
visit to US, l think we should long
since have had Water Works under
this law, the on law which, to day,
provides any just, or equitable, or
practicable means of constructing
Water Works for the City of Evans
vile. Mark that
Iu 1866, when tie city was entering
upon Mayor Bakers system of grav
cling and bowlderinP de streets, some
of us concluded I'll 4 true economy
REQUIRED we should first get down our
water pipes. An estimate and offer
for the erection of works on the old
thorough provision for filtration In
the bed of the river. for the sum of
$150, 900. was obtained from John
jeffrey, as reliable Water Works
engineer and builder as the country
affords Public meetings were held,
at which the whole subject was fully
discussed, and the conclusion reach
ed that we ought to have Water
Works at once. the city and citizens
contributing equally to the capital
stock. A committee was thereupon
appointed to solicit invidual sub.
scriptions. They succeeded in OBJ
tanning some $4,000 from very
nearly the same monopolists,
who, the other day. subscribed
to the Hotel fund, and upon
the same principle, viz: as donations
to the improvements of the city, and
looking maiRly to that improvement
for their reimbursement. The pro-
ject failed for the same reason the
Hotel project failed, because the
number Of smonopolists' in our
good city of Evansville, who
can be made to see their interest 10
this sort of investment, is certainly
too limited for the success of such
enterprises. think no one. 10 view
of the truth of history here presented,
will be kDave or fool enough to pre-
tend to believe that myself or any
one else who subscribed to that stock,
with that Limitation of profit, did so
for the value Of the monopoly"
| have sometimes thought that dol
lars were bigger IN Evansville than
anywhere else on The continent. They
are certainly bigger than that.
Well, with the defeat of this effort
in this behalf, I subsided 50 builder
of Water Works. Last Winter, Mr..
Semonin, as one Of the COunciimen
of the city, took up the role. He got
estimates from Mr.. Weir, of the
Holly Company; got the Council to
appoint a committee of one citizen
from each ward, to take the matter
into consideration, and that commit
tee, consisting of those dangerous
monopolists, William Iglehart, NJ.
Henning, Peter Semonin, DIR. Bray.
j. A. Haney. John A. Reifz, Thomas
Kerth, William Baker and Edward
Burtis. met in the parlor of the Mer-
chants National Bank, and discussed
the subject aud prospects, | and
other citizens being present BY invi-
tation. Mr.. Semonin aud others
thought Company could be raised.
[ told them they could not get $40, {.
600 subscribed in Evansville. Mr..
Rettz moved that a company be
raised by the city and citizens taking
the stock, which was adopted, and
committee, consisting of Messrs
Reitz, Semouin, aud Mayor Baker,
was appointed to draft the necessary
papers for the organization of the
company. know positively, that no
such papers were drawn by that COM
mittee, unless Mr.. Reitz drew them,
which / don't believe; aud | do not
know, and don't believe that any such
papers were ever prepared In the city
by any one.
Now this is all / have ever done or
known in regard to Water Works com
panies, except to advocate them at
all times and vote for them, when |
had a chance. Yet here has been
this four months standing lie; this
baseless, groundless humbug and
! sham, that in the event Republican
/ Council had been elected, L and my
associate mOnopolists stood ready
with a private charter to be passed to
make another "odions monopoly OF
the Water Works. Only few days
ago, a respectable gentleman of the
| city told q friend of mine, under the
Injunction that he should not disclose
his name, that be knew the above to
be the fact, and had himself seen the
papers. / do not know who this
respectable gentleman CD is. and do
not want to know who he IS.
But he will know, when he reads this,
both who he is and what he Is. lie
will know and feel that he is guilty OF
a mean, contemplate falsehood, and
meaner and more contemplate cow
ardice, and that be dare not. except
In the same anonymous and dastardly
manner as above, contradict single
assertion | have made in this paper
/ did intend to pay my respects TO
the other branches of this interesting
topic, viz: the Gas Company and
Street Railroad monopolies. but the
length OF this article, already. warns
me to postpone that to another day
/ will only add that there is no such
thing as Gas Company monopoly,
and not much of Street Railroad
monopoly" Even a fool should
have learned by this time that the
supplying of the city with gas is just
as open to competition as supplying
it with coal The city has the perfect
right to supply itself if it wants to,
and, with the distinguished success
and economy with which it is about
to furnish water to all its inhabitants
throughout all its borders, / appre-
hend it will not be long before it will
be encouraged to embark on the en-.
terprise. JNo. j. CHANDLER.