The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1885-06-24
snurrlLr1Ne orr ,wlArER.,.
had Policy n this Time q General Basin

bad Foley NJ this Time ef General Business
pepresSion. y ~
~ ne Etliot On tht IattlIigaear.
Sin: Its beyond belief that any ,of our
city ordinances were designed q. increase
the pressure Of hard times or DO made the
means Of adding to the horrors Of poverty.
And yet, / learn that al thisyery time jim
many respects the most Oppressive that
has visited Wheeling for Inanyyears-ou
City Water Board, after course Of liber-
atty for several years past has all at
once awakened to activity in matter
which, II carried out in the spirit It. has
commenced, can only result in adding
ten-fold horrors to the present hardships
fof our laboribg classes.
Up to 1889. lJuly,l the Collector hsd no
power TO turn OF the water supply OF q
citizen unless satisfied that by such means
the rent could be collected. See sec. 10,
Ordinances 1881. True, the word "can"
in this section; as printed and adopted,
may have been q mistake for Cannot
tbe collected -bnt 50 1t appeared in the
ordinance, and SO 1t stands 10 this day:
lit seems 10 have been acted upon until
recently as meaning precisely what II said
and not what some commended II ought TO
have said. Because Of this section, or be-
cause Of a humane policy,a number OF
IimpeCunious persons were lulled into fan-
cied security. aud iailed--pot through
wanton neglect, hut because Of the ext
eercies Of their fnances--to pay their
rents. The new rules and regulations,
adopted July 1852, without specifically
repealing the 10Th section, did provide for
| a different mode OF shutting of the water
OF delinauents. Instead OF leaving 1t op:
4 tional with the Collector, they provided
that the Board should elect as to the VIC
Tins, and having so elected, order the
i Collector to shut of the water supply.
d See sec. e., Rules and Regulations.
In many instances, as we have seen
above, the poorer citizens-those strug-
Cling under adverse circumstances to keep
body and soul togetheF-had fallen sev-
. eral years behind. Butuntil recently the
! Board has humanely withheld an order
that could result only in fresh hardship
Ito those already pressed by misfortune.
It was reasonable to suppose that the same
humane policy would be continued
through the present year, at least; for Of
no former period did there exist stronger
reasons for indulgence. Thousands were
out oil work and hundreds unable to gel
cash for what little they did.
It appears, however, that the cruel
order has been issued. AT any rate, the
collector has been shutting off the water
supply, and refuses to turn 1t on again
until the aggregatesof past arrearages-be
!. the same for one, two, three Or more
years-has been paid, and this without
reference to whether the party has the
ability 10 pay or not.
We earnestly appeal TO the gentlemen
composing the Board to rescind the order
at once, and thus prevent unfold suffer
/, ing to q class Of honest but poor citizens,
already driven to the verge Of despair,
!. tIYateris not only necessity TO lie, hui
a preventive Of 9Th and disease. 1fthe
, order be enforced, We warn these gentle.
men that they will place ii beyond the
! power Of many good and useful citizens
ii 10 honestly obtain pure water for their
: families at time when the city Is threat
i, ened with avisit from the cholera. Its
!. hard enough for a poor man to pay one
years rent for water, but It Is simply
tmonstrous totry 10 force him in these
, times into the payment Of years ofarrear-
ages. It is bad policy to drive men 10
despair. we appeal TO the Board once
again to recind the order, and direct the
j, Collector TO put the water on.
n Tl1 81 = - - Use HUnANITV U