The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-07-25

have no control over the rates in other
| communities. The reasonableness OF
those rates is not involved in this inqui-
| ry and cannot be determined in this
hearing. Now, upon those grounds,
| considering this as a matter entirely sep
arate and independent from this investi-
| cation, we have declined to give the fact
relating to our income and cost OF con
| struction in field which is not within
the scope of this inquiry and which the
| judgment of this court cannot affect. L
| believe we also declined to give them the
amount of the floating debt.
Now we say that the only object of
this motion, the only effect of the grant
| ing of this motion will be to open the
door to an inquiry which we say should
remain closed in this proceeding. We
say the granting of the motion is unnec-
essary and that
1T shonld Not Be Granted
| for the reason that it opens the door to
enquiries which are not within the linn
| it's of this investigation.
So far as the relations of the Portland
| Water Company to the water takers in
| Portland are concerned, SO far as that
| field of inquiry is involved, we desire to
have it open in the most thorough man
ner for investigation. The only result
| of the years correspondence, the only
| thing that the water board and the COM
pany were able to agree upon, was as to
| the maximum rates for manufactures
and I understand that that subject will
| be withdrawn from the attention of the
| court. Now, in SO far as the submission
| of these questions to the court involves
any investigation whatever of the affairs
of the Portland Water Company, just SO
far we are ready to meet it and have the
| door thrown wide open for that purpose.
| But what we object to is to have an in
vestigation carried on not restrained by
competent authority within the limits of
the proceeding which is taking place.
The water company is business cor
| poration; it has its own private interests
just as much as any private enterprise
in which men are engaged. 1t has its
own risks, its own hazards and its own
| difficulties to meet. An enormous
amount has been invested in the works.
Recently large expenditures have been
| incurred and the last complaint of defec-
| tive service has been removed. More
than that, the water company has adj
versaries of it's own that it must look af-
ter outside of the City of Portland. Not
withstanding we have had a charter
since 1868 to take water from Sebago
Lake, notwithstanding that we have been
| in occupation of it from that time to the
present, still our rights are contested
BY the principal mill owners the Pre-
suInpscot
river denying our right to take water
even for this public purpose without a
compensation to them. There is whole
field of unadjusted dispute and contro-
versy between the company and those
men who are our adversaries in this par
| ticular. Now, while the whole field of
inquiry as to the relations between the
water takers in Portland and the water
company we want open, while we well
come this opportunity to have the rates
in the city Of Portland satisfactorily adj
| iusted and which will be accepted by the
community as in accordance with the
judgement of the highest court in the
state, we do not want, under the guise OF
such an investigation, proceedings which
are in substance and in fact a hostile
movement to take place against us and
within a field where we submit that the
investigation is not legitimate. We do
not wish an attack to be made upon us
which will strengthen the position of GER
tain adversaries in an entirely different
and outside field The whole field of in
quiry as between the Portland company
and the water takers in the City of Port
land we want to have open in this
proceeding. To that extent we want to
go but there we want to stop. We want
a legitimate investigation under the
direction of this court and not an ex
parte investigation.
Judge Symonds said they had called
upon the counsel for the city informally
for statement of the cities to which
they propose to compare the rates in the
City of Portland but as yet had not re-
ceived it.
Mr.. Rand Said.
1t is true that the Water Company is g
private corporation but it is also true
that it holds monopoly and deals in one
of the necessities of life and as a condi
ton for being allowed the privileges
given it by the City of Portland, it has
made a contract by which it is bound tc
furnish water TO the takers in the City oil
Portland at reasonable rates. The sixth
section of that contract says reasonable
rates with due consideration to the cost
and income of the works." Does it say
anything about the cost of the works in
the City of Portland? The works of the
Portland Water Company extend from
Sebago Lake to this city. They are ex-
tensive works and more elaborate and
extensive than are needed for the pres
ent water supply of the City of Portland
They supply water at various points
along their line to various takers and the
pipes and entire system which supplies
that water along the line of the different
takers in different places all make up the
works of the Portland Water Company
This clause in the contract covers the
whole works. We are to ascertain anc
put before Your Honors at the proper
time what are the cost and income of the
whole works and not the works within
the limits of the City of Portland. We
have been informed that they have kept
the cost of construction of the works az
whole. That we claim is as it should
be- We don't care how much the cos'
of construction was in Deering or Cor
ham or Westbrook, but we say we are