The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1893-05-05
SHALL THE PEOPLE OF BENNING-
TON OWN AND CONTROL THEIR
DRINKING WATER

TON OWN AND CONTROL THEIR
DRINKING WATER?
The Legislature of 1886 granted the
charter of the Bennington Water Com
pany, with power to ''fix the rate of
rents and the same alter at pleasures"
also to ''dig up or open any street, com.
mon or highway" etc., and authorized
the village and town to contract with the
Water Company, for water for FIRE pur-
poses, watering streets and other uses.
Section 13 of the Charter reads as fol-
lows, viz: "The town or village of Ben
nington shall have the right, during the
continuance of this charter, hereby
granted, to purchase the corporate prop
erty and all the rights and privileges of
said company, at price which may be
mutually agreed upon between such cor
poration and the said town or village of
Bennington, and the said corporation is
authorized to make sale of the same to
said town or village; in case said cor
portion and said town or village are I'M
able to agree as to price, then the com
pensation to be paid shall be determined
by three commissioners to be appointed
by the County Court for the county of
Bennington, upon application of either
party and notice to the other, whose
award when accepted by the court, shall
be binding upon said parties, and this
authority TO purchase said property and
franchise is granted on condition that
the same is assented to by said town or
village by two-thirds vote of the voters
present and voting thereon at meeting
called for that purpose" When did the
village of Bennington voluntary lay at
the feet of the Water Company this vast
and valuable franchise, within its bor-
bers and surrender its inalienable right
to have the will of the majority govern
in the purchase of the water works as in
other public business and affairs, under
our form of government. and all without
the slightest consideration? The Repre-
sentative of Bennington, in the Legisla-
ture of 1886, which granted the charter,
afterwards became an officer of the Wa
ter Company. and now strenuously op-
poses the purchase of the water works
by the village. The Water Company has
thus far paid no tax to the village, but
the stock being personal property, and
its principal owner citizen OF New
York, it is presumably taxed there, and
we are paying water rates to support the
government of New York, which we
ought to be paying to support our own,
if any. The village paid into the treas
ury of the Water Company for water rates
last year 81, ,364.00, which would be four
per cent. interest on S34, 10000. The
amount paid by the village at large can
he mt mere fraction of what is paid, in
the aggregate, by individuals and private
corporatiOns. When it is considered how
short a distance the water is brought to
reach the village; that it comes to our
doors impelled only by the natural force
of it's own gravity, and that it is the only
supply of the great majority of our near
ly 5000 Inhabitants, the conclusion is ir-
resistible that the enterprise is hand
somely paving investment. There is lit
tie reason to doubt that the water works,
at the rates at present charged, will pay
for themselves and necessary sewerage
also in the twenty years for which it has
been proposed to bond the village for
sewers. The sewerage system of the
village, if constructed, will call for addl-
tional outlay for water. There is COM
plant coming up from different parts Of
the village, that more hydrants are
needed, and as the village grows this de-
nand will increase. Take single hy-
drant, at the contract price, $50 per year,
at compound interest at four per cent,
will amount in twenty years, to SS93.34,
or the present worth of single hydrant
to the Water Company, at an annual
charge of $1,000 per year, for 20 years,
interest at four per cent, is S40770. In
| order to borrow money at the lowest
rate of interest, to purchase the water
works, we must make the purchase be-
fore we bond the village for any other
purpose. If we transact this important
business upon sound business princi-
ples we shall buy the water works as the
initiatory step, and bond the village by
a single issue of bonds to be negotiated
as required, for the purchase of tile water
works and the construction of sewers to
such extent as they may now be I'M
peratively needed, and for the extension
of the system as the public necessity