Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1885-02-06
The CITY Water Question.

The question of our city water supply is
beyond doubt the most pressing one now
before the Board of Aldermen and before
Our community. We speak of it rs before
the Board of Aldermen, for petition Of
citizens to the Board, asking for the cN-
tension of the supply pipe to the outer
face of the brcakWAtcr, remains as vet un-
acted ON, in any decisive way, by the City
Fathers. That petition was the largest
and strongest one ever presented to the
Board. 1t bore the names Of nearly sir
huHdrcd citizens and represented the
larger share of the property and intclli-
gencc of our city. 1t declared their con-
victiOn that the measure asked for was
of the utmost importance to the growth
and prosperity of our city, and it respect
fully prayed for immediate action in the
mattcr' 1t is now about sir months
since it was presented to the Board and
it is certainly high time that something
effective was done about il.
An important contribution to the dis
Cus-iOn has since been made by Il report
of Civil Engineer William Pierson judi
son, the Government engineer having
charge of the breakwater repairs. Mr..
toinyestigatc the Watcrcurrents in the bay.
and our present system Of water supply.
The results of his scientific observations.
made last October, have been embodied i'm
his report, which we need not copy here
as it has been printed in Il pamphlet and is
available to our tax payers and citizens
His conclusion is that an effective remedy
for the existing very serious defect in the
supply, is to extend the inlet pipe thous-
and feet, into the pure water of the open
lake, at The other side of the breakwatcr
and he also declares that such an extern
sion of the pipe is perfectly practicable
and can be made without stopping the
supply, by laying an iron main, with heXi-
bic joints, which can be safely placed on
the bottom from floats. Senator Ed
mundS adds To the report an expression OF
his earnest hope that the city authorities
and people will take the matter up and cX-
tend the pipe to the brcakwatcr lat the
earliest possible Moment placing the cX-
pense on the grand list
Beyond question this has got to be done
and the sooner it is done, the better. At
the present very low price of iron, tn,
pipes will cost less than at any prcyiou,
time, and So favorable time to pro
cure them may not occur again in Il gen.
Grafton. Prices of labor are also favorable
But if it were the worst instead of tn,
/ best time to undertake the work
it still ought to be done and that with
out delay Without rcCiting the obvious
reasons for this belief we have ne hcsita
tion in saying that if the responsibility
rested ON us, we would extend the pipes
even if the doing 50 involved Il stopping OF
all OUTLAWS on the streets and sewers fol
two years to come. Pure water, and con
fdoHCC in the WdtCr, is just now of more
4 importance to our city, than good road
ways or additional sewerage, or any other
material interest. The feeling on the sub
ject is strong and deep seated among oul
citizens. The Board of Aldermen cannot
afford to disregard it, or to longer delay
action upon the subject,
Methods of Choosing the President
In the last NOrth 4 mcricuH RCriPlr,
President Barnard of Columbia cOlleg,
favors placing the election of the prcsi
dent in the hands of the National Lcgisla
turc. Roger \. Pryor and William Puf.
slrate by Il direct vote of the people, tn,
result to be determined 10y IA majority OF
the popular vote of the nation. Senators
Vance and Dawes prefer the continuance
of the electoral system, with the modt
ncation suggested by the latter that a
plurality may elect Stll other methods
are suggested in the public press, the
most foolish, because most impossible
method of all, being that recommended
by the New York Gr0phic,-viz. "A return
to the original theory of the existing sys-
tenn, by selecting electors without refer
ence to candidates, and leaving to them
the choice of president, in their discre-
ton The Grdphic suggests AS an objec-
ton to the Barnard plan that members of
] Congress would be governed by their pri,