Telegram-herald., 1890-02-26
SHALL VOTERS VOTE?
Ioeatlauss ron FlFsi pass-l

Now. when tAls matter MAS nrst
brought up / believed TIE Board al ful'-
hc Works should oe authorized by TINS
Common Council or by the peoples
rather, 10 extend the works aud obtain
a full supply of good, pare spring water.
l think that the experts WHO came here
did uOt al reach tDe CONCLUSION Mhloh
the honorable gentleman stated they
reached, that there Was not any sAeh
water 10 be obtained, bat / think, on
the contrary, me Board OF Public
Works, AZ that time, four or fiye years
ago, made a very exhaustive exanlna-
ton OF thls question anu obtained eX-
perts from various parts OF the country,
ana the CONCLUSION OF the Board OF
Public Works, al that time, based on
the examination OF these experts Was
that there Was an abundant supply ot
pure water just north oI the CITY that
could be obtained boy the construction
OF wells and galleries andshe city could
obtain an abundant supply ia that way,
and IL would be good water, pure, healthy
spring water. Kalamazoo, Lansing, and
other towns al over the State are using
this system, and have no difficulty
whatever; and the chairman of the
Board of Public Works informed this
committee that be was the only mem
ber OF the present Board OF Public
Works VINO was then member, that SUch
was ms conclusion at that time, ana he
/ has never seen any reason TO change x.
| The reports of these experts showed
! that the amount OF RAIN fail over the
! territory north of the city could be de-
nonstrated with scientific accuracy and
that allowing for all chances Tor
/ drOuths aud waste, etc, there was
| still left an abundant supply of water
which could be reached by tins method.
Now, Mr.. Gilbert says IL isn't any use
considering tins scheme because the
people voted IL down, and he uses that
AS a conclusive argument against the
advancement of this theory IN any way.
! Why did the people vote 1T down? IL is
very easy TO explain: The people OF
this city voted it down by large
majority because the great mass OF the
people had no assurance at that time
spring water would ever reach their
homes. Take the people on the West
Side of the river; they had no water
pipes laid and had no benefit of fire
| protection. They were not going TO
place in the hands of the Board OF Pub
lie Works large amount OF money on
| the simple question OF the quality OF
the water wnen they knew there was no
| means bv which that water would reach
them. They were not fools enough TO
put a tax on their homes for the benefit
of men who had pipes already laid in
front of their houses. The situation IL
now completely changed; but when we
consider the first proposition submitted
by my colleague, what state of affairs
do we find? We find the Board of Pub
lc Works today without plan, method
or system which they can recommend
for the people TO adopt. One leading
member of the present board says that
he believes that the gallery system Will
obtain for this city an abundant supply
of pure and healthful water; he believed
it when the investigation was made; he
believes it yet. Other members of
the board say that Grand river
water, taken as Il is taken
now, is the healthiest and purest water
that can be obtained in any State, or any
country, or any place, and goes so far
as to say that if he could pump out of
Lake Michigan at the same expense, and
} without any more inconvenience, he
J would hesitate long time before he
would set the pumps to work and
change from Grand river water 10 Lake
Michigan water. We find other mem
bers of the Board of Public Works ex-
pressing no opinion on the subject or
concurring in those which have already
been advanced, and TO which | have
already referred.
The question for the people today ]:
the question of pure drinking water,
and this question they are going "a
solve, and 1t doesn't make any differ
/ ence how you vote on this tonight, fol
| they are going TO vote on II and
, going TO settle 1t, because you car
not pump this water and make the
, people of this city believe 1t is fit Il
! | drink and 1t is not tit TO drink. ] d0n'i
! | hesitate TO say II Is my opinion that j
Is not fit for anybody to drink, and
while that is the small use of city
water, it IS the important use. /,
! present city water is good as is claimed
, | by Mr.. Gilbert, for % per cent of th'
| uses for which water is needed, II D
still true the per cent. which is lef
lthe use of water for drinking an,
! cOoklng) outweIghs a hundred time
the % per cent. The important purpOsi
for which the citizens of tins city neeC
water, and the purpose which y IN
n creaslng rapidly every year and Wi
I increase IN a greater ratio still, IS the
G use of pure and wholesome water 70
i drinking and cooking, and the peopl'
b, of this city are gong TO get II and the.
Y are gong TO settle It, and # we hav
c got Board of Public Works who WI
not meet TINS question and settle Il, an'
j. If 1t has got 20 be settled by
selling the present water works system
? they are gong 10 settle II anyhow
This Is the important question, and IT ,
true as this last committee say III thel
: report that "the increase IN population
g has reached a stage al the present TIM
i when well water, III the thickly settleS
o portions of tins city, is not ut 70
> domestic use" and any man VII
knows ANYTHING about this city and tn
proximity Of the harms, privies, an
I, outhouses, etc, TO the wells, the thick
< ness of the population upon mani
:, streets, knows that i ls fact that thes
e wells receive from those places tn
p germs Of diseases which are commun
o Gated TO the people drinking the vatei
for impure water ls one ~ tue creates
sources Of the epidemics which pas
4 over cities. not only In tins country, bu
. elsewhere. and the abundant use
;. pure water is first and si important &
the health Of the community.
Whose works are thes Whom d.
they belong to- Do they belong - th
people of this city or do they belong
a set 4 men who sre SIMPLY 0bstrur
fionists standing in the way of tn
ABUNDANT and sufficient supply of puT