Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-03-01
Shalt We Haze Water or Not?
To the Editor of the Globe.


To the Editor of the Globe.
SALTWATER, Mimi, Feb. 2S.-Allow me
to call the attention of the citizens to one very
important fact. The time has come when the
citizens of Saltwater need water and we must
have water. We have gone and bought beau.
tiful fire engine, and have one of the finest en-
CINE houses in the State and made all the late
Improvements to equip and maintain the same
to be ready at moments notice to go to a
fire. The engine goes dashing through the
The hose cart and ladder follows on
and thousands of people running after it.
hollering 'frev' fret One says, where is the
fire, someone says Hersey's new house on Pine
street, and when they get there it is Jersey q
barn instead Of his house. The barn is just
fairly on fire. The engine is on the spot. The
hose carts are all there. The chief engineer
boilers out, where is the water" He says if
I can get water can save the "house" if not
the house must go, and the crowd hollers out
no water. What good is the engine without
water? What good is the engine to any man
who lives upon the hill? Don't the people on
the bill who own property pay taxes to supper,
that engine which stays down on the fiat? We
want water works and we must have them. We
want three large reservoirs, one ON the north
hill, one on the south hill and one in the
western part of the town.
understand from good authority that there
is water works corporation about to be
formed. 1 say right here that am opposed tc
that water works corporation. Let the city &c
to work and put in her own water works. She
ia abundantly able to put them in, if a corpor
alton is able to put in water works for the city
she is more able to do it for the following rea.
SONS: The city of Saltwater can borrow all
the money she wants at per cent upon fifty
years time. There is no water works corpora
tion can borrow money any longer than ten
years time at 10 per cent. The citizens have tc
pay for the water works directly or Indirectly
80 let US dodge the middleman and do the bust
ness ourselves.
l suppose some wise man will say, What an
enormous tax this will be. In answer would
say, Not dollar more tax would it add to our
list. Where is there a man in this city who
has a family, that don't pay on an average OF
$l5 per year for water and from $5 to $40 per
year to keep his cistern in repair? Now. let
the city place hydrants at suitable localities
and charge families sl5 per year fo' water, o,
whatever it may cost. We pay rs cents load
for water now, and the city can furnish that
water at a much lower rate than that. Again,
every city in the State of our size has water
works. Mankato has them, Winona
and Red Wing have them, and why
shouldn't we have them? No reason
in the world with the exception that we have
every improvement. Let the wise nine go to
work and buy 81. w. Cannon's water power,
for that man did not buy that water to lay idle.
He don't let $4,000 run into the st. Croix a
great while without stopping it soon. He amt
John McKusick. Mr.. Cannon has an eye to bus
mess. Buy that water power and establish
water works in the city of Saltwater as soon as
possible. Don't wait until it is too late, and
then be bowling around. We must have water
sooner OF later, and now is the time. The op-
portunity presents itself for us to get hold of
McKusick lake. and 1 think Mr.. Cannon will
sell the water power to the city of saltwater
which we have been in want of 30 long.
Mr.. Durant told me, yesterday, that he,
Marsh and Hersey. and Jencks, and several
other RS, on Pine street, had concluded to put in
water works down by Mr.. Simmonet's spring,
to supply themselves with water. 1 have no
doubt that if the city would put in water
works that these gentlemen would abandon
this idea. 1t would cost them about $500
a head, about dozen of them. Give us water
or take your fire engine and shove her into
the lake, and abandon that crowd around that
engine house, for the engine is no good with
ont water. One word to the dear, poor man
Don't pay any more taxes for that fire depart
ment until the city government gives you
water, 30 that the fire department can render
YOU some service in the time of distress.
Yours respectfully, r. NJ. COLES.