Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, D.T. [N.D.]) 1878-1884, 1881-01-28
WATER WORKS WANTED
THE CITY OF WANTS
PROTECTION FROM FIRE.
The Citizens Awakening to the Fact
that the City Must Have Water
or there VIII be No Inn
Drovemauts Made
provements Made.

that the City Must Have Water
or there Will be No I'm
provenents Made. IS
SELF EVIDENT FACTS
| The fact has demonstrated itself that
the citizens of Bismarck want "a little
water in theirs and now the subject to
| be considered IS the III est feasible means
of obtaining it in such quantities as would
not enly satisfy the parched palate, but
| sufficient in case Of fire. Every one will
remember the great fire Of last winter,
which took about 1000 of the hard ear
! nings of several firms on Main street, and
they will also remember that but for the
1 1timelv arrival Of tank OF water from the
river on flat-car, tue whole of one block
and possibly the Sheridan House. also,
would haze been in ashes. The Babcock
extnguisher has done good service, but
the case last winter, in long exposure to
the cold, it is liable to freeze up and then
there is.nothing for thc people to do but
to put their hands in their pockets and
watch the progress Of the fire as it
whrls thousands into smoke and ashes.
These conflagrations are liable to occur
any moment.
THE CITY IS UNPROTECTED,
In case Of a great fire the engine would
! be as a squirt.g gun before a furnace. In
the incipient stages OF thefre the engine,
manned as 1T is, by thorou gh and efficient
frcmen, would do good service, but, in a
city where there are rows of such tinder-
box buildings as some Of the leading
firms are now doing business in, water
plenty Of water, propelled with sufficient
force to knock the shingles and siding off
a building is the only thing that is of ser
vice. The experience Of every city has
been that she has paid nearly ten times
as much for interior fire eXtinguishers,
as a thorough system of water works
would have cost in the first place.
BISMARCK WANTS WATER WORKS.
! There are manv more advantages to be
derived from a complete water system,
than that Of protection from fire. 1t
would enhance the value OF real estate
nearly twenty five per cent. and would
lessen the rate Of insurance nearly one
half Capitalists seeking an investment
would be magnatlZ~d by the enterprise of
the metropolis; they would risk thous-
ands in good buildings, large manufacto.
rics, etc.. where now they would not in
vest cent. AS it now is, the residents Of
Bismarck are scarcely able TO get what
wafer they actually need for drinking and
cooking purposes. There was a time in
the recent cold snap, when it is doubtful
| if there were over twenty barrels OF water
in the city. At this moment >hc Sun bull
ding caught fire, and had it not been
for the combination of Providence and
the heroic etfolts Of Il few citizens, at
least $50, 600 would have been swept away,
and bismarck would have been left with
out its new. postoifice. Then again, how
handy and how much more desirable it
would be for every man to turn the tau-
Get in his business house and every fami-
water instead of Stale kerosene Oil or
whisky barrel rinsings. Bismarck eX.
| poets to be a
GREAT METROPOLITAN CENTRE
Why, then, should she not begin to lay
the foundations Of a 'boom" which the
| present generation may also enjoy? Why
should not those who have pioneered ana
| lived in deprivation in the earl y days OF
Bismarck, now enjoy few OF the COM
forts of life? The next generation will
be only too glad to pay their proportion
Ola debt incurred by an benest invest
will reap the benefit. 1t may not be nee
! hn,,l cit tn hDi1C
works, but if that scheme is the most ad-
vsable, no business man should kick un-
til he has drawn balance sheet. The
! additional tax to pay the interest on bonds
would be so light that no one would
scarcely notice it, while on the credit side
comes the decrease in Insurance rate; the
advance in value of real estate and per
sonal property; the satisfaction OF having
all the water you want and when you Gle
sire it; and the contentmont OF knowing
when you retire at light that you have
some protection from fire. Besides this
argument, which is nnanswerablc, there
Is still another. .a,e sa
WHAT BISMARCK USES H." IS.
THE TRIBUNE has made careful can
vass and finds that there is used on an
average in this city, 920 barrels Of water
rel the citizens OF Bismarck are now pay
ing over $3.50 per week, or !s11, 500 per
year. This Is a low figure based upon
personal canvass of the city. Would it
not he much cheaper to have water works?
| It must be admitted that 1t is no longer Il
question Of what Bismarck wants but how
she is to obtain it. There have been
three systems suggested. VIZ: Holly,
Reservoir and Artesian well. Last Satur-
day cvcninga
| MEETING OF THE CITIZENS
was called at the Sheridan House to con-
slider the matter. Col. VIM. Thompson
was called to the chair and G. II. Fair
child chosen secretary. The chair an
nounced the object of the meeting, and
was followed by Mr.. Bly, who stated that
lie had corresponded with several Arte-
sian we'll borers and was satisfied that
one could be dug at Bismarck forf about
I 900. The benefits to be derived from
All Artesian we'll was the small compa,a-
| tive expense of maintaining and running