The Portland daily press., 1892-04-16
THEY VOTE F0R WATER.
Cape Elizabeth Settles a Vcxea
Question.
\ BIG MEETING AND AN OVER.
WHELMING VOTE.


Explanatory Speeches-very Little
sparring and Very Orderly, Good
Natured Observation-Disclosures Haskell
Held Them Down to Business-The
Vote Was SAT Yes to 1876 No.
A special town meeting to act upon a
proposition of the Standish Water Com
pany to supply the town with Sebago
water, was held in the Cape Elizabeth
town house yesterday afternoon. Like
other previous meetings when the war
rant has included articles having refer
ence to public water supply, the great
interest taken in atquestion was shown
by very large attendance.
Nearly every voter in town must have
been present. The house was crowded:
all the settees except row along tho
walls had been removed and the entire
floor space was full of people standing
packed like sardines in box. The vote
for moderator showed a total of 602, with
only about two-thirds the people present
voting.
Capt. A. D. Boyd led the forces of the
anti-water people, but it was forlorn
hope. The Sebago people had the votes
| by large majority aud the eel5sunE
captain submitted with good grace VI en-
he found defeat inevitable. But he
made a good fightto the last and went
down with colors flying.
| At 2 o'clock the meeting was called to
order by Town Clerk Knight. Captain
Boyd came to the frontimmediately with
protest signed by nine others besides
himself, declaring that ''the proceedings
in calling and holding the meeting and
the several articles to be voted upon are
not authorized by law He asked that
the protest be made part of the record
of the meeting.
Thomas B. Haskell was elected moder-
ator by a vote OF 43O against III for
Charles E. Jordan. Captain Boyd chal-
lenged the right to vote of Elmer MeFar-
land and Thomas Mcfarland, and the
former did not vote.
Mr.. Haskell took the chair. He hoped
the proceedings would be conducted in
the proper spirit, that the speakers
would confne themselves to matters of
business and that personalities would be
avoided.
The second article of the warrant, s'to
hear the proposition of the Standish
Water and Construction Company" was
taken up.
Captain Boyd wanted to know who
this Standish Water and Construction
Company is, and then declared
that it is company organized in the of
flee Of the Portland Water Company, a
monstrosity which strains the nerves of
every man in Portland unless he is i'm
mensely wealthy to pay its rates.
The Standish Company was chartered
June 10, 1891, capitalized at 100000, and
only 500 is paid in. The speaker want
ed to know if this meeting was going to
make contract with concern that has
practically no paid-up capital. He then
called attention to the fact that the COM
pany propose to tap the Portland main,
which runs to the State Reform School,
This is six-inch main. The speaker
ridiculed the idea of an eight-inch maif
running from one of only six-inch diam
eter. He also ridiculed the statement in
regard to employment of Italian laborers
and made the meeting smile when he
spoke of the philanthropy of corpora
tions. He exhibited schedule of water
rates in Portland, and was proceeding to
a long argument whena point of order
was raised, and the question called for.
On motion of Mr.. Delano, the propo-
sition of the Standish Company was ac-
cepted and spread upon the records. The
vote was taken by show of hands; an
overwhelming majority in favor.
The third article of the warrant, ito
see if the town will vote to instruct the
selectmen to contract with the Standish
Company to supply the town with wa
ter" was taken up.
Captain Boyd wanted everybody to
know that the Standish Company had no
CONTINUED ON FIFTH PAGEl
------------= ----------=