National Republican., 1883-02-20

II 1lD IN IA
money, as well as in tho July following, es- |
pecially as there was no change in the mean |
timer If they did know it, why then did |
they ask for the money TO make the connec- |
tion2 One Of two things would seem TO fol- |
low ms necessary consequence, and that Is |
either that they were grossly and inexcusa-
bly, ignorant, or they were dishonest
But that is not all their answer shows |
They further state that they tried the expert !
ment of opening the cocks near the NJ street |
bridge to let the water out of the main that |
supplied Capitol hill in order to improve the |
supply below the avenue, but 1T was found |
that all such experiments resulted in an inn |
mediate reduction Of the pressures on Capitol |
hill" Wonderful discovery Did the world !
ever hear of tho like, that taking oil the |
supply would lessen the pressurel
But that is not all their answer shows. II
shows that, instead of increasing the supply |
on the hill, as the law said they should, they
tapped the 30-inch main on Massachusetts,
avenue that supplies tho hill, and ran 12-
inch main from IL down Fourth street, up In
diana avenue, and down Four-and-a-half
street to Maine avenue, below the Botanical
garden, thus taking away part of oven what
supply the hill had
But even that was not ALL When they como
in their answer to tell how much money they
expended and what for, as called for by the
resolution, they mako the following state
ment:
Payable from collection OF water main taxes.
Four.nnd.h ha { street main, 12-nch pipe.... s5273
Cost OF laying...."............. LIZA
s6007
Improvement OF water supply on Capitol hill.
East capitol street Square 1G0. 1928
No one can fail TO SEQ that the above was
intended to convey the idea that the money
had been expended to increase the supply on
Capitol hill, in accordance with the spirit, IL
not the letter Of the law, and have no doubt
that congress, with the exception of q few
who were in the secret, thinks so TO this
day. But nothing could be further from the
truth. have already shown how and where
the S6,007 was expended. l believe thatI can
show that the $Gi725 was expended in the
purchase of n steam pump for the use of
private citizen, to pump water out of the
mains on Capitolhill into tanks on his private
dwellings.
That's how and for what that money was
expended, as / believe, and / challenge the
gentlemen to call for an investigation, If they
dare What right had they to take the pub
lie funds to pay for steam pump for private
use2 If they could do 1T for one, why not
for all? Was that carrying out the act of
congressp Was the phmping of the water
away from the bulk of the citizens ON the
hill for the benefit of those in particular
row Of houses increasing the supply on
Capitol hill rs the law said they should2 Do
you wonder now that it took more than a
month to "cook up their answer.
But even that is not all. Nowhere in their
answer do they tell what they did with that
$4,000. whyS Simply because they never
used it at all, but actually let it lay there un-
used until the thirtieth day of June last,
when IL lapsed, and was turned into the treas
ury. But there is still another matter in con-
nection with the standpipe not generally
known, They built it without any authority
of law, and as the payment for it was not
completed when the act of 1873 was passed,
requiring them to deposit in tho treasury all
district moneys, and as they could not got the
money out of the treasury to complete the
payment il once it was turned in, simply be-
cause there was no law authorizing the ex-
penditure, they deliberately violated the law
by keeping back $4,000, which was never de-
posted in the treasury as the law required.
As another illustration of the wonderful en-
gineering skill exhibited in connection with
the erection of the standpipe, was informed
by the late Col. Theodore b. Samo, engineer
Of the aqueduct, that when it was first started
and for sometime thereafter, they actually
pumped the waterb back into the same main they
pumped it out of, thus pumping the samc wa
ter round and round What this beautiful
specimen of engineering work has cost i am not
able to state from the record, If indeed there
ever was q record Of it; but l understand
that IL cost not less than $4,000, and that it
costs about $14 900 per annum to run it and
as stated in the water registrars report the
pump runs only half filled at each stroke, be-
cause there is not water enough to fill it.
Yet we are told that ait serves its purposes
admirably" Perhaps II does, but the resi-
dents in that section do not seem to think so,
but that probably is because they do not
understand what its purpose was in the minds
of those who built it, and cannot appreciate
the remarkable engineering skill exhibited.
brought forth in iniquity," and it stands to-
day monument Of stupidity and rascality.
Now, Mr.. Editor, do you wonder that the
citizens, and especially of Capitol hill, feel
that they have been abusedP Do you wonder
that they do not want any more "army en-
gineer" in their water or that they think it
is high time that these engineers were trans
ferred to the Indian territory or some other
far off region where they can experiment to
their hearts content, but not at our expense
Water is as necessary to us as air, and If, as
oil agree, it is an outrage to charge us for
what we do not get, it is a far greater outrage
for these officials to deliberately defraud us of
what congress gave us.
This matter of water Is q case in which for
bearance has ceased to be virtue. We must
have relief, and that soon, too. We are in no
humor to submit quietly to any more tex
periments." In view of the foregoing facts,
it strikes me that it is the engineer in
charge" who needs to be investigated instead
of the water service, and if Senator
Mcmillan cor any other man" will put
the extension of the aqueduct under the
charge Of a competent engineer, one who
feels more desirous of increasing the water
supply in the shortest possible time than in
Experimenting with holes and bores and
that sort of tomfoolery, the people of this
city will be under everlasting obligations to
him. In order to fully appreciate our obli-
cations to these worthless it must be remem-
bered that it was under their control and by
their influence that the water rates were in
creased 40 per cent. or more at the very time
the supply was being reduced by their mar
velous engineering. CITIZEN.
Old Red Clouds Ponies.
In 1876 Col, Mckenzie, acting under orders
from Gen. Crook, arrested disarmed, and dis
mounted the Red Cloud and Red Leaf bands