The daily gazette., 1883-04-18
Datl.tA!e#alA Gazette
WILMINGTON. WEDNESDAY, APRIL IS
The water Commission.

The fact that a measure like the Water
Commission vas passed by the House of
Representatives at Dover without any op-
position, and is likely to become
law without voice being raised against
its enactment, is significant as an evidence
that people sometimes hesitate TO trust the
local rulers Of their own selection with the
performance of important and costly uns
dertakings.
Since its incorporation Wilmington has
had hut single experience with commits
sions, but that experience was so sminently
satisfactory, and so effectively lifted the city
out of the slough of debt and difficulty into
which partisan City Councils had
plunged it, that the people ap
proved the labors of the commission
and have looked with favor upon this sys-
TEN OF managing great public improvements
ever since. Every citizen and taxpayer is
familiar with the history of the Cool Spring
reservoir, which was mismanaged
by City Council under Republican
Independent aud Democratic control, and
finally completed by commission OF prac-
tieal business men, who paid no heed to the
party advantage to be derived from the pro
ject in their charge, but conducted it upon
the same principles that marked the man
agement of their private business.
And thus it is that the people of Whining
ton approve of this act Of the Legislature in
assuming some of the functions of their
local government. There is need of vast
improvement of our water department, and
with the disastrous experience of Cool
Spring reservoir fresh in their minds the
Taxpayers have no desire to see such an i'm
portant and costly undertaking entrusted to
the City Council, ,and are willing for another
trial of the commission experiment that
proved so effective and satisfactory a few
years ago.
The personnel of the Commission named
in the bill which passed the House of Rep
resentatites yesterday is very strong. Mr..
Paynter has served the city in the Water
Department almost continuously for quar-
ter of a century, and Mr.. VIM. T. Porter is a
practical mechanic, at the head OF one of
the largest manufacturing establishments
of our city. Mr.. Rodney served on
the Cool Spring reservoir commits
sion, and although inclined to place
rather high value upon his services is 9
shrewd ami energetic business man, but
withal careful and sagacious in all his opera
tions. If a commission so constructed can
not satisfactorily perform the duties en-
joined upon it then this form OF local gov
ernm mt can be declared failure and at
once abandoned.
AT any rate, this commission is but an
experiment, though, unlike its predecessor, it
is designed to be continuous body, to take
sole charge and control of the water de
partment of the city. AS long as it provel
satisfactory it will be continued
but whenever it becomes careless, in
efficient and extravagant, or attempt
to walk in the footsteps O
so many City Councils and ALLOW
the Water Department to degenerate into
mere political machine, the aid of the Legis
iature can be invoked to wipe it out of exist
ence. The people are not helpless in tn
matter, and can return to the old systeu
just as soon it is proven that the presen
experiment is failure.