The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1888-10-17
He Pun3tures Some ef tho Air Bub-
bies blown in Opposition to The
Sewerage Proposition

|
last evening. and soon after the
hour of 7 the Mayors gavel fell,
and the business of the evening was
commenced. There was large atten-
dance of citizens interested.
THE SEWERAGE PROTESTS.
The protest of Elias Morris, as pub
iished in The HERALD of Sunday last
was the first one made, as follows:
| To the Honorable MAJOR and Members of the
City Council Of Salt Lake City:
| Gentlemen: u The undersigned protests
agaius; the proposed system o. sewerage for
the following reasons:
Frst-5eweT District No. is altogether
| too large.
Second-The proposition is entirely I'M
| just, as it compels the great bulk of citi-
| zens who will never derive any benefit fro III
| sewerage to pay for putting in the mains
| and Tor the maintenance of this system :;
also fer the water for flushing.
Third-If sew erage is actually necessary,
the residents of the three centre streets
should establish it at their own cost, and
not have those who do not need it, and can
never be benefited by it, defray the ex-
| pense of it.
FOURTH hold that the permission of the
Z
longs, is necessary before it can be used for
sewerage for small portion of the city
Fifth also protest against the present
proposition, because l am willing, as prop
! erty holder on East Tempe Street, to Join
in movement TO establish seweragetO be
paid for by the property holders who are
| pen Gifted by it. providing the City Council
will guarantee that the estimate they have
made is correci, and that the system viii
properly work. If this guarantee is made,
it Will be comparatively easy for the citi-
zens interested to defraY the expense OF
an ''-' u ''-'-' '" = ELIAS MORRIS.
This brought Mr.. Ritter to his feet.
He said that this protest, in some of its
| features, gave expression to the views
of large number of persons, as was
| indicated by the statements made in
| the public prints. He knew that these
feelings were honestly INDUCED in by
Mr.. Morris and others, but he was GER
tain that such views arose from mis-
apprehension of the facts; and while he
found no fault wi b Mr.. Morris and
others in thus expressing their objec-
tions to the proposed sewer plans, it
was due to the members of the Council
that no wrong impression should OBJ
tain among their constituents. He
knew that an impression did obtain
among many that this Council pro-
posed to perpetrate wrong on large
portion of the community, in that
they propose to tax them for an i'm
provement in which they think they
have no interest, and from which they
will derive no benefit. but he said that
no improvement could be made that all
did not obtain some benefit from, either
near or remote.
ivov on0cih1o IN od51cf honn3ifc
to the people i'll the proportion as they
contribute to the public revenue. The
fallacy OF the issue that the sewer
main should not be constructed. at
public expense, on account of the
lrregularity of benefit, may be illus
trated by reference TO few facts IN the
past history of this city. The Jordan
Canal cost $3.50 600; the portion of the
city directly benefited paid for its con-
struction and maintenance sum much
less than their proportion, when benefits
are considered, and that portion of the
city least benefited paid much more
than their proportion. For instance,
Sewer District No. 1 pays, in direct
taxation and licenses, roughly speaking,
about 65 per cent. of the entire revenue
of the city. So, on this basis it paid
about Is per cent. of the cost and main
tenance of the canal. while at the same
time it is receiving little or no direct
benefit from its construction, because at
least 70 per cent, of the area of the dis
trict has abandoned the use of water for
irrigation. What would be thought if
this district should protest against be-
ing taxed to pay for and maintain that
canal? The same may be said of the
water works recently constructed at
81 Sou al
The people in that locality probably did
Sewer District No. l, paying IS per cent.
of it, and other portions of the city the
remaining % per cent. The same may
be said in regard 10 other public neces-
sites; so, that if such arguments were
valid, complications that we could not
grapple with would result. 1t is also
claimed that injustice would be done in
using water for flushing the sewers. 1t
is evident from the expression made
that an idea exists that large amount
of water will be used for this purpose.
Such is not the case. The proposed
flush tanks will eaca discharge some
500 or 600 gallons every twelve hours, or
5000 to IL. 900 daily. Ii it required much
more than this, other sections are not
unreasonably injured by it, for the fact
must be borne III mind that Sewer Dis
trict NO. /, by reason Of the abandon
ment of the use of water for irrigation,
is using much less water than they are
lega ~ entitled to. The Improvement
of streets is still another illustration.
There are portions of the city where
the cost of improving the streets is in
excess of all the taxes paid by the in i
habltants, SO that other districts must
bear the extra burden. There is one
ward in this city wherein, during the
last five years, more than the entire
revenue derived from it in ten years
has been expended on the streets, and
yet he held that no Injustice hal been
doae by this seeming disproportionate
expenditure. He held that the con-
struction of the Jordan d Salt Lake
Canal, the Dry Bench waterworks, the
Improvement of streets, etc., though |
largely local IN their benefits, was just T!
and proper expenditure of the public |
funds, and that if the construction of |
Sc yer mains Is anuniust expenditure.
to those districts not directly benefited, |
then has Sewer District No. l been
most grossly wronged, in tlat it has
borne very large share of all our pub
lie improvements and out of great dis |
to the direct benefit 70 1.-THE !
Il iot