Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1893-01-20
OUR ST. LOUIS LETTER.
Works Conduit Completed-A
Musical Success.

MUSICAL success.
Sr. LOUIS, Mo, Jan. 5, Isolde
tween years of census taking, one who
wants accurate information about the
population of city can get it much
better from the reports. of the water
tax collectors than from the voting |
lists. People cannot dodge tho pay |
ment of water tax as they can the |
taxes on real and personal property |
If the water tax is not paid the water |
is shut off promptly. Water is used |
in every house, and the receipts in
crease in steady ratio with the |
population. The water collections Of |
st. Louis went over those of the year
preceding in 1892 by more than 4
quarter of million dollars, and this
is interpreted by the statisticians to
mean that the city has gained in the
last year about a hundred thousand
people, who live in dwellings and pay
their taxes. These figures, too, are
borne out by the reports for last year
from other departments whose work
increases with the population. The
building of new houses last year put
twenty-three million dollars in the
pockets of mechanics, and demanded
the lighting of many more miles of
streets by electricity. On the last day
of the year the city paid bills for the
lighting of AIS miles of streets and
alleys.
Water Commissioner Holman made
the city New Years gift by complet-
ing the million dollar conduit which
is to conduct the water from the river
to the pumping engines of the new
water-works. This conduit was the
most difficult and important part Of
the whole system. 1t was begun two
years ago, and work on it has been
going on, night and day, ever since. 1t
will easily carry the one hundred and
fifty million gallons of water day
which the new engines are to pump.
The building of the conduit was the
engineering feat of the work, and its
completion relieves the Commissioner
of all anxiety. BY next fall, when tho
sight-s,ers begin to arrive for the fes-
tivities here, drive over the Broad
way Boul evard to the Chain of Rocks,
where the new works are, will be q
part of every tourists plan.
Nobody can tell whether or not the
stories are true about the attempt OF
an eastern syndicate to buy all the
street railways in ST. Louis, but the
dealers in the bonds of the roads, who
; know their financial condition, say
. that the company that gets the lines
will have to pay at least fifty millior
t dollars to acquire the control. TIL,
: four systems of street railways in Thu
3 city cover 500 miles of streets, ant
i most of the lines are run by electricity
8 moreover, everyone of them is paying
1 good dividends. The rapidity ant
o cheapness of the service is not equallet
by the roads of any city in the'coun
try, and the people feel no grievance
that might interest them in clamorine
= for a change. So, the consolidating
n movement Is looked on generally will
: Indifference. So far as anyone can Sc
now, the patrons of the roads woul
. be largely the gamers by the change
as there would be established, almos
l. necessarily, thorough system G
3 transfer tickets all over the city, b
IS which a passenger might ride twent
~ or thirty miles for a nickel.