Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1889-01-28
NO. "a.

Boothhsy village As MIR. Mepougsl test
hed here his father voiced the sentiment Of ,
majority Of that meeting when he said. '.
deni think that We understand enough sbou
this ma ter yet to sdop, it or do anything IL
the direction Of assisting insthAt matter. 1
would be taking leap In the dark" Well, Z
little more than two months passed. Thu
people had got more Information upon thi,
subject. town meeting WAS called on tn,
ssth of May to consider the question and al
that town meeting not one word Of discussion
vas had, nog word. The meeting WAS well
attended no,~ outstanding that terri ,le rain
which came so near the delugc Of old As /,
~ss described by the tirst witness upon the
stand. There VAS just one vote taken upon
the subject and there MAS a large majority in
favor Of the town running hydrsnts, 10 paw
the amount of Sl2oo per year for the term Of
twenty hve years and in addition TO that
gentlemen. an amount equal te the tax 70 be
assessed upon the whole water plant, making
some here, | shoald estimate, shout Is a.
| much more. Well, y committee Was raised
then 10 make a contract with the Boothhay
Water Company for . term of twenty Ave
wears. The whole trouble that has brought
| these petitioners ere can be summed up In
the one sentence, that that committee WAS .
great deal bigger IN their own estimation
than the power which had created them. IL
1t 10 true gentlemen that one-han Of your
number have been municipal officers then
You can well understand that the municipal
officers Of Boothbay were elected To look out
for the interests of that town. Well now
this question slumbers from that time, May rs.
until April Sth or 9Th following almost .
wear. Mr.. Nickerson-sAn | wish to say
here in regard 10 that committee that | sim
l "a hat k.,.t
tom don't think Mr., Nickerson nor Mr.
Boyd nor Moody would have transacted their
business as they transacted or attempted to
transact the business connected with this,
You recollcct the expression Of Capt. Lewis
| upon that point He said II thought the
business was very loose" That expresses IL
| all. Since that time these men have been
trying to fid the Booihbay Water Company.
| They didn't discover an, thing which had any
substance OF any money or any responsibility
connected With it, The contract was made
with irresponsible people. And there Is a
load Of pipe down there at Boothbay now
| that hasn't been paid for, and the owners
| cant find anybody that they eau compel
TO pay for il. II was will
| o'the-wisp and when they tried to
find the company there WAS no company 10
| find. While the annual valuation was being
taken by = majority of the board Of select
men they they met Mr.. Nickerson aud he in
formed them for the first time that the, had
made a contract When, Mr.. Chairman A
few days before that No, away back ON the
18th day of December. And that was the
first time they had ever lisped IL to the rec
ognizsd authorities. The counsel says was
| Il not a inattor of common know ledge that
there was such a contractl" But no man
| h.. L.. ..tl "a tt.st al ga, -.
know ledge | think there Was one OF the
witnesses who said that he knew 1t, but the
selectmcn tell you that they never knew IL.
| The first time they examine that contract
| they find ~hatf II that had been "A contract
| in accordance with the authority which had
| been conferred upon those men II would have
| been a contract binding the town for a period
| OF twenty Ave years To pay the sum of $50
900 nth tax added thereto. That which they
made might be a contract binding that town
for fifty years Ia pay double the amount Of
money, and perhaps more. II was optional
with that company to enforce II for period
| Of years and that is the authority which this
committee has assumed, but which WAS not
given them. There was the trouble with the
contract Again the water was taken from
another source when every citizen In that
town had right To understand that II should
be taken from Adams Pond when they voted
upon that proposition Bu, there was the
fact that At that proposed source perhaps
there was supply and perhaps
there was not Something leaked In about
a hydraulic survey having been made. There
may have been by somebody bat they have
given you no hint as To what the survey was
sir. Levi. says he thinks that the
supply wss ample but that opinion was divided
upon that question. Well. now. If they were
going to have a supply OF water for that vii
lage they wanted it with u company that had
the substance to make supply. There wa'
a clause put In the contract, the eighth
clause. giving the company the perpetua
and exclusive right to furnish water for th'
village. The selectmen criticised that con
tract M they were In duty bound to do. A
the very first meeting OF that committee u
make the contract. and the selectmen, ther'
was friction, as they term II, and what VA
~ All the friction In town meetings va
upon one subject, and that was the suhjec
Of the legality or the illegaaity of that con
tract Tne COUNSEL asked the question owe
anu ,-er Of witness after witness, "iDidn'
! you vote ag.inst water every tis~f and tn
witnesses say, mo, !: was the Illegal con
tract" And then he wou.i twist the ques
; ton into some other form AIR! ''v 10 q
them to admit that was wafer
were voting against. Out Of the si
town meetings that were called on the sub
9 iect of water Just two and only two propos
: tons were made to furnish water 10 Booth
bay, one in the annual meeting in March y
= and the other in the meeting in May wbic
o followed il. You will And that in thes
, meetings every other question was the que,
o ton of what should be done with the coDtra'
II with one exception and that was the remark
o able proposition Of July ~ 70 see il the tow
as q town would vote To put In system
a waterworks. The town Of Boo,bbay 10 con
. posed of voters who have the right To reje'
. such u proposition a. that IL they see nj, an
: they saw ft IL was impracticabIe. No
! should the town be divided for that reason
J. A legal controversy was going on at the TIM
. Distinguished gentlemen Of the bar had bee
y consulted upon the one side and upon Il
! other, and ii was claimed by VI
y Sickerson and his associstes af
? presume by their counsel, that the col
y tract which hal been signed as they say {
n the I2th day Of u, cenber. vas still in fcrc
. The meeting Of July lsth was called by tho
T. who were interested in the contract made
N tn. committee and they had inserted In III
n warrant mn article 10 hear the report Of II
y, water committee. The chairman of the "
d. ter committee was there, Mr.. Boyd VI
y there. Idont know whether Mr.. Moody W.
At .,,J