Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1885-04-01
THE LAST PRAYER.
The "Dry Benchers" Present Their
Final Petition.
A Most Exhaustive and Interesting Elk.
position of the Situation.

position of the Situation.
1t will be remembered that during las
summer and fall the air in the vicinity
OF the dry bench was rent with the
prayers and petitions OF the thirsty resi-
dents, who, vainly pleaded and petitioneC
the City Council for water In order tC
pacify them the city sages finally deter
mined to make a show OF doing some
thing and commenced boring into the
side of Dry Canyon for a subterranear
stream that was supposed to exist there
The indignation OF the benchers over the
failure of the city to heed their petitions al
last grew so intense that mass meeting
was called and committee appointed to
investigate the matter fully, and take
such decided action as was deemed adj
visable. It is generally understood that
this committee waited on President Tay-
Tor and petitioned him to interfere in
their behalf, but he turned a deaf ear.
That the committee has not been idle is
shown by the voluminous petition pre-
sented by them to the City Council, for
d. just treatment in the water question. 1t
is printed in pamphlet form and, includ-
ing the report of Chas. l.. Stevenson,
civil engineer, covers thirty-seven pages.
The members of the committee were pre-
sent last evening, as was also Mr.. Arthur
Brown, who has been employed as their
attorney.
The committee commence their report
by stating they were appointed to petition
the Council for water supply adequate
for the needs of the dry benchers and the
lands they occupy.
The committee believed that the fail
ure of the Council to act had been owing
to its ignorance of the necessity, and they
had investigated the matter thoroughly
and were enabled to give statement of
the principal facts. They had also caused
a most thorough examination to be made
as to the adequacy of the water supply,
and had engaged the services of Colonel
G. L. Stevenson, civil engineer of long
experience.
"They further desire to assure the
council that, while as taxpayers and citi-
zens, they have cheerfully paid and still
annually pay their pro rata to provide
and maintain more than adequate water
supplies for other portions of the city,
from which they derive no benefit, they
shall respectfully insist that such unjust
discrimination be no longer permitted"
The committee states that the area of
land within the corporate limits that
either has no water, or partial supply,
is 517 acres, and this is populated by 2,20O
persons, who depend upon what water
they can purloin from City Creek, or re-
ceive once week during six or seven
months of the year from the waste of
Emigration Greek, eked out by a small
quantity furnished from Dry Canyon
springs.
'The deprivation of water for irrigation
to that part of the city, notably the most
suitable residence for residences, is a |
hardship in itself that works not only in
jury to the owner, hut positive loss to
the city in no increased value from i'm
and keeps their own lands
out OF the market. If, as now, the citizen
of the North Bench is compelled to pay
first, to haul water, next, to
be deprived of cultivating his land, and
still have to pay his proportion of pro-
vldlng and maintaining for an excess of
water for all other portions of the CITY, it
would seem that his part thereof was
pretty severely Disseminated against bv
he city government.
The city canal has cost upwards of
'25O, GOO, and the city has further paid
'ut $4,000 in an endeavor to obtain
lrtesian water, not for the benefit of the
living, but specially stipulated to beauti
y the lands of the dead. In mistaken
ndeavor to give the Dry Bench some
water $1,000 has been expended. Dam
yes arising from an ercess of water are
lso annually paid for. The excessive
amage arising from a lack of water has
ot as yet been met
when, some years ago, the petition Of
few citizens of the lower wards was made
procure water for the cemeteries. their
equest was cheerfully and rightfully
ranted. The request of 2,2OO of the citi-
ems of the wards absolutely suffering for
he want of water, we sincerely trust will
as willingly acceded to (the committee
'ems to ignore the fact that such request
as been made and not acceeded).
The committee proposes two methods =
furnishing the Dry Bench with water. la
ne first is to supply the lands below the
ut Lake Canal therefrom, and the GUAM
y thus released to be devoted to in
easing the quantity available for flow
rough the city pipes to those portions pl
the city lying above the canal level. til
lis method will require an outlay of lie
3 200. il
The second method contemplates the u
cation of reservoir in Little Valley pa
the east side of City Greek Canyon, m
storing the surplus water of the creek pc
q drawing upon this basin during the CO
Rod of low water. CIV
The committee state the inhabitants pc
ey represent constitute one-tenth of the tn
pulation, and the lands to be watered M