Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1885-06-19

sleeping rooms 81 to Sc; photograph
gallery S10to $50; plasteriDg per square
yard ! cent; printing offices, special;
charity persons or families free; resi-
dences, for each family, including for
all household purposes, each residence
1 rooms, Sc; each additional room, 81
livery horses including washing car
riages, SS, additional stalls 81, sprink-
ling lawns, gardens, yalds, S-l6 inch
orliice, not exceeding hours per day,
LOCO feet, 81 so; sprinkling carts, spec
ial; soda fountains So to SIS; steam
boilers, high pressure, II hours per day,
81; stone work per perch, 5 cts, store
uses So to $40; urinals, private IS; pub
lie Sc; water closets, publie,per bowl SIS
private So; water haulers, per barrel of
81 gallons, cent; work shops, 10 per-
sons or less So. Two public water
basins to city free. Meter rates not to
exceed Is cents per l 900 gallons.
The works to be completed by July I,
1885.
So much for the provisions of the or
dinance, which to say the least, appears
to gives the waterworks company all
the privileges they could reasonably ask
and gives to the city everything it is
willing to pay for.
We believe that tire ordinance as now
prepared would not be satisfactory to
the people of this city and we believe
the council will never consent to it.
In the first place the exclusive priyi-
lege of putting waterworks in for this
city is worth big money, and instead of
the city paying $4,000 year, it should
rather receive something from the COM
pany, at least it should have water for
fires and for street. sprinkling purposes
free. The ordinance makes no such
provision. Though the city is expect
ed to pay S75 dollars per year rental for
each hydrant, it cannot use those hy-
drants except for fires, for flushing
the cutters and tor fire company prac-
tice.
Another objection is that under this
ordinance. the city must take an extra
plug for every additional 500 feet of
main pipe laid after the original plant
is made. And for such additional plugs
the city must pay $50 per annum each!
AS the city spreads out over the several
new additions much new pipe would be
laid and if the city would have to pay
$50 per year for every 800 feet 1t would
no ho MI mi s,au Cl.
like any customer, should be allowed
to say when it shall pay for additional
hydrants.
We greatly fear that the water COM
pany is calculating ON works that will be
too expensive for this city, or perhaps
they are being asked to pay about
double what the works would really
cost. One hundred thousand dollars is
big sum of money for water works.
1t is understood that several cities in
Kansas haye secured abundant water
for half that amount, though perhaps
the works were bonded for double their
cost. We beheve.there,are companies
that would be willing to build them
and give the city the water it may need
for public purposes, including fires, or
at least only charge small price for
water for public uses.
So let's consider this matter, and be-
fore going blindly into a contract to
extend for twenty years, let us find out
something about what the Lowest and
best bidder would do. lie is frequent
ly valuable man to have around,
though not always popular with unsuc-
cessful competitors.
The council is not inclined to be in a
hurry about surrendering the valuable
franchises the city possesses, and they
are to he commended for their course.