St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-11-28
TAPPING WHITE BEAR.
A Protest Against the Much Iniuncted
but Still Talked of Schema of
Using White Bear Lake
in st. Paul.
in st. Paul.

To anticipate trouble is often foolish; but
to guard against II when threatened, no mat
ter nov lar n the failure, is always wise.
{ wish TO call the attention OF tue many in
/ terested in the matter to a standing menace
which from year to year Is kept hanging over
the heads, mol only of owners OF property At
/ White Bear lake, but of ali those citizens Of
St Paul who have the common sense 70 APP
preciate It's value to the city.
Ia the publications which have recently
appeared in toe papers explanatory OF the St.
! Paul water system. White Bear lake is slways
mentioned a. one which sooner or later can
be tapped for the purpose Of main
tanning this system. Now this
reviTes fight of long standing,
one which Sometimes seems to be almost for
7 gotten, and then again springs into action in
all its derceness; 8 fight which has already
! in years gone by found its way into both
court and legislature, and has eliminated in
a perpetual injunction against the designs Of
those controlling the water supply system OF
/ St Paul, and in an act of the legislature
making the waters OF White Bear lake forever
free 70 the public aud forbiddIng the drawing
of OF tapping Of these waters Tor any pur-
pose whatever. aud making special exeep-
tons against previous laws which had vir-
tually included this lake among those which
might be tapped for the benefit OF ths water
supply system Of 81. Paul.
But my object Is to keep before the prop
erty owners at White Bear lake, both IN Ram
sey and in Washington cOunties. these facts:
Firstly, That notwithstanding the present
legal status OF the question, the menace TO
4 tap the lake for the purpose mentioned has
never been wholly relin9uished. as appears
( from publications referred To.
/ Secondly, That injunetiOns Of courts and
legislative euactments can be Overridden by
subsequent acts Of the legislature; and
Thirdly, That experience proves that the
acts Of legislature in this case, adverse TO
the friends of White Bear, have slipped
through both houses in the quietest manner
possible, before We were aware that anything
OF the sort was going on ana not only so,
/ but on one occasion the trenches OF the old
company, BY dint Of night work, had actually
reached TO within few feet OF the lake shore
and were stopped only by an injunction
promptly secured, and by a resolnte move
ment on the part of some Of the old
settlers 10 establish night watch with shot
guns in hand.
Let it be clearly understood, therefore,
that the past proves that ineessant vatehful-
ness is necessary for the future, II not with
shotgun in baud, at least with eyes wide
open.
Were the tapping Of White Bear lake an
absolute necessity to the water system Of St.
Paul, aud would tapping provide an efficient
supply for the city, it 10 quite conceivable
that the needs OF the city would be paramount
=
the measure, but no man in his senses,
knowing the circumstances OF the case,
would advocate such procedure; simply be-
/ cause the lake in question never can Weld