The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1891-12-25
REQUEST NO. l.

EDITOR CORVALLIS GAZETTE: At
tention is again called to request No.
l." which appeared in your issue of
the 18th inst. There is no more i'll
will or disposition in .request No. l"
to injure the property of individuals,
companies, corporations or the water
company, than there is in requests
Nos. 2 and 3. The object In all of
them is simply to outline definite.
defined plan to put forward public in
terests and improvements for the pub
lie good and private good as well.
When the water company had its
headquarters for pumping at the Hurd
planning mill, the pumps forced the wa
ter direct into IL six inch main across
Third street into four-inch, which
ran south up Third street. When the
company put its pumps in the present
locality, they commenced at the pump
with an eight-inch main, which run out
to Third street connecting with the
four-inch down Third street into the
six-inch. Since moving to the present
place there has been disputed ques-
ton Of opinion between large por-
ton of the citizens and the water COM
pany. The citizens claiming that. to
pump from an eight-inch main into II
four-inch, and from. thence into a SIX
inch had the effect to cut off the press
ure, which accounts for the reason that
the plugs during their use at fires did
not furnish an adequate supply of wa
ter as contracted for; while at the in
PRODUCTION of the plug system under
the old construction the pressure was
good and adequate, while the water
company claimed that it made no diff
ference and that the pressure was as
good under the new construction as
under the old.
"Request No. 1" now asks that this
long disputed and vexed question be
no longer left to the opinion of the wa
ter company, nor to the citizens or
council to decide, but to get the best
qualified expert on that subject to be
had, and to proceed and make a thor
ough examination for the simple pur
pose of ascertaining the truth of these
two opinions. If the management of
the water company had been in pro-
gressive hands they would have had
this same investigation made at their
expense and to their own notion when
the question was first raised. But they
have not done it, consequently ''re-
quest No. l" simply asks the city coun-
Gil to do SO and pay the expense of this
investigation, which the water company
ought to have done long ago. In this
petition the members of the water COM
pany ought to join because they can
obtain valuable information ascer-
tanned through an expert at the city's
expense, which the company under
any public spirited view of the ques-
ton ought to have done long ago.
The citizens of the town are not alone
in holding this view, but the general
superintendent who make these kind
of things study, and who come to
| Corvallis to inspect fire insurance
agencies, hold the same view with the
citizens.
Such an investigation by a compe-
tent expert cannot hurt the water com
pany. If the views of the citizens and
fire insurance companies are wrong,
and if they are correct, it will benefit
the water company in affording them
the information by which their plant
can be largely benefited and the city
supplied with better water facilities.
+ We trust the members Of the water
company will catch on to the public
spirited movements (for this time at
least), which IS destined some day to
make this city of some importance.
and especially as this movement can
in no way do them any harm. Ell.
| How THEY DO EAsT.-The following
item taken from an Eastern paper was
handed to US by DR.. Farra, as Corvallis is
about to build cannery it will be of inter
est to our readers: The; canning factory
started at Mound City, No., last January,