The evening light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1881-1883, 1882-04-07
THE CITY COUNCIL.
THE DITCH QUESTION.

especially does this apply to the city council.
The ditch question is one very closely allied
to all official interests, and it is doubtful if
there is single member of the city govern
ment, from the m yor down, who would dare
make the slightest suggestion to the effect that
the ditch leak in the city treasury needed
plugging up.
The petition of several citizens, opposite to
whose names are subscriptions amounting to
total of about $3.50, asking the city to
advertise for bids to repair the valley ditch in
accordance with the plan of Alderman Nigl
exposes the ditch leak in very glaring pro-
portions.
This valley ditch is a monument to NUM-
cipal folly, it is an engineering enormity, and
its construction was fraud and an injury upon
the community. But there is a considerable
community Of tax payers who own property on
this ditch and who have made homes adjacent
to it with the idea of being supplied with wa
ter from it. The improvement suggested
would cost over $4,000, and it is doubtful if it
would be a permanent improvement after
made. The amount of irrigation supplied by
this ditch when running is insignificant, the
main object being the supply of drinking wa
ter to the people, and we think it would be
far better to have the water works extended to
that vicinity.
To supply the water to run this ditch during
dry summers will greatly interfere with the
supply to the old bitches on the same side of
the river, and there has grown up decided
opinion that this ditch is failure and that all
the money the city has spent, and that citizens
have spent, is money thrown away. The in
ception of this ditch was for the purpose Of
supplying water for domestic purposes and
was before the water works were built. 1t is
argued that the city would gain by increased
assessments of property if this ditch was re-
paired and maintained which is no doubt
true, but the benefits would also accrue to the
property owners as well, and the property
owners should be satisfied to foot the bill
themselves and not force it upon the other
property owners of the city.
The time is fast coming when we must re-
turn to the original idea and practice in regard
to our bitches or abandon them altogether
Originally the di'ches were a source of rev
enue to the city.
The bitches must become sef-supporting;
the community at large is bound to protect it.
self against the present imposition, and the
people who use the bitches for irrigation
should begin to look at the question in this
light.
The showing just made by the city council
of the receipts and expenditures incident to
the irrigating bitches is a better argument
than we can possibly make in favor Of re-
form.
The bitches on the east side supply I5S wa
ter takers, to whom 37S hours of water have
been sold at $I.5o per hour, total revenue of
$567.
The expense of repairing and cleaning these
bitches up to March Ist was $6l2.9o Taking
this as the sum for the year, and add the sal
airy Of the ditch commissioner, 5000.
We have a total expense of $I,5I2. 9o--or a
deficit of $Io45.9o. SO that the people who
do not irrigate are taxed this amount for the
benefit of the few who do.
On the west side the income is $73s with an
expenditure of $54o.6S and the salary of the
ditch commissioner 5000 makes total of
$I44o65, and deficit Of $7o5.65.
A total deficit to the city of $I757.55.
We can safely place the deficit for the year
at S.: 600, to say nothing of the proposition to
widen the leak and let out 81 900 more for the
repair of the Valley ditch.
The income is derived in the shape of
tax. The bitches on the east side pay SLIGO
per hour for the year, on the west side differ
ent prices; the upper Labor So, the Aszan
ST. 50 and the San Pedro ST.. The reason
for these various taxes is not explained. The
city will be compelled in justice to the tax
payers of the city to place the water rate at
such figure as to cover the expense.
The question will elicit a great deal of dis
cussion, but it is one that will bear
discussion. It's 4 genuine, inexcuSable
leak in our city treasury; just such
a leak as Alderman Copeland was looking for
when he was elected alderman. 1t may be
said that two thousand dollars is not much Of
leak, but if we can stop it, as well as several
| others of about the same size we will have