Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1882-05-07
WEEKLY CHRONICLE.
Water Works.

y
fcient capacity to supply two million
gallons of water daily, will cost to
complete about one hundred thousand
dollars. But when the Moses Lane
plan is completed we will have barely
a nucleous or foundation upon which
| to build a more extended and COM
plete system. When this survey was
made the city was chiefly
to secure the greatest possible
protection against fire at the
least possible cost. As such
the Lane plan is satisfactory,
but for furnishing general supply
to the citizens and to different man
ufacturing enterprises in the city it
is wholly inadequate-in fact it does
not reach or touch the vast majority
of them. To give this more general
supply additional mains and cross
mains will have to be run at great
expense. In order to arrive at some
thing like an approximate estimate
of what such completed system of
water works would cost, we have
taken as an example the works built
by the city of GAINESVILLE, Ohio. In
1870 Gainesville had population of
10,O11 souls, about the size of the
corporate portion of Knoxville to-
day. We find in the report of the
superintendent of the GAINESVILLE
works that, up to March Ia, 1876,
the total cost to the city of building
said water works was $39S,043.18,
and these were laid and in use 30
miles, and 1856 feet of water
mains. We find also that two
years before the sum of $25,00O.00
had been appropriated by the city to
aid in extending mains and giving a
more general and adequate supply of
WAFER.
The superintendent, in his report,
calls attention to The fact that the
citizens of GAINESVILLE are complain,
ing about having to pay interest on
the water works bonds, and goes on
to say, that, if the city will pay at
the rate of $4,000 each for the fire
plugs in use {" which, he says, sis
less than cities of like size either
East or West of us pay,) and will
pay current rates for the water used
in the city offices, prisons, &c, he
thinks, with prudent management
and close economy, the water works
viii become self sustaining in few
years. The interest on the bonded
debt of GAINESVILLE, contracted for wa
ter W prks purposes, is just about the
amount of the revenue derived from
water privileges, viz: $22, $4,000, more
by few hundred dollars, while the
expense of operating is over S12,-
900.
In Newark, N j., the officials in
charge of the water works are now
under charge of corruption and en-
bezzlement, and are either in prison
or under heavy bonds. In Albany,
n. Y -, about the same State of affair
exists at present. At Nashville, in
this State, the authorities have been
wrestling with Dean engine for
about two years, and have finally
como to the conclusion that they have
been grossly imposed upon, and have
now determined to buy new Carliss
engine and do away with the Dean
altogether. This will cost the Rock
City about 100000 that any pru-
dent private corporation or company
would have escaped. From a
gentleman just from Atlanta
we learn that the works there are
wholly deficient, and that they cans
not throw a stream of weter above
the second floor of the buildings, be-
sides being utterly unable to give an
adequate supply of water to the ms
haditants.
From the foregoing facts we op-
pose the city building Or attempting
to build water works for this city.
Now, it will cost a private compa-
ny something less than municipali,
ty to build system of water works.
and very much less to operate them,
But a private corporation must haze
some OF the advantages that NUNS
cipality has in ordor to enable it to
build and operate works to advan>
tage. 1t must have the right of way
in the streets, the right to issue bonds,
the right to charge a fixed price for
water and collect by ordinary pro-
cess, the right to regulate its busi>
ness in the manner most con
duciYe to It's interests, and
such other rights as individuals,
companies or corporations are usu>
ally allowed in the prosecution of
any legitimate business. Any him
drance of or obstruction to the
transaction of such legitimate busi>
ness by any party or parties in
power is unfair, unjust and unwar-
rantable under our laws. If we as
city would foster enterprise and en-
courage the investment of capital in
our midst, we must show spirit Of
liberal fairness in our dealings with
parties interested in enterprise or
seeking investment. In looking over
the memorandum agreement made
by the committee of the city council
with Messrs. Herr and Loweree we
we're impressed with the evident ad-
vantage possessed and retained by
the able committee for and in behalf
of the city, and at the same time felt
that, with an honest, fair dealing
water company, all the privileges
necessary for the prosecution OF their
work had been granted. We now think
that the action of the city council on
Monday night was of the enterprise
killing kind. It appears to us as IL