The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1894-10-05

little over 800, OF which amount Gue
brewery will pay $3.50, the balance to
come out of the city treasury.
Under the first plan the city viii
have to pay for the outlet sewer be-
tween Fifth and Sixth streets, ac-
cording to it's custom of paying for
outlet sewers.
Under the second proposition tie
city would have to pay nothing out OF
the treasury, as what the brewery
did not put in of the outlet sewer
would be assessed on the adjacent
property,
Under the third proposition; the
city could assess one block of the out
let sewer on the property, and would
have to pay for two blocks, less the
$3.50 donated by the brewery, as above
stated. The fall between Fourth and
Fifth street on Rock is so great that
iron sewer pipe would be necessltaU-
ed, but this does not cost much more
than clay or cement pipes.
By looking over these three PROPOSE
tions carefully it will became clearly
apparent that the second, or Fourth
street route, is the best for the city as
it is the only one that does not call for
an appropriation from the city treas
ury. This route will also relieve the
oil mill of it's waste water, which now
in winter freezes and OverflowS adj
joining private property. The Omaha
freight depot and water tank will also
be accommodated. On this route so
much of the property belongs to cor
poratiOns that the burden of special
assessments falls lightly upon private
property, and there is a smaller num-
Der of people opposed to that route
than to the others.
Through some sort of Quibbling all
these projects have been defeated,
although the council went so far as to
accept bids on Fourth street, but
finally, and to our mind without justi-
fication, the body refused to approve
the contract, and thus the most feast
BILE plan was dropped and the whole
matter fell fiat.
We want to say to the ReUaeaC that
which the public has been cognizant
of for some time, and that is that taUO
members of the council have been
vascillating on some of the PROPOSE
tions and opposed to others for the ex-
press purpose, as we believe, of defeat
ing the sewer altogether Mr.. Bier
bauer has done all he could to remedy
existing defects, and more than al
most any other man would have done,
and this paper has at all times given
him full credit for his efforts to get a
sewer. The fault for failure does not
lie with him, but with the council,
and we have no desire to defend, much
less apologize, for the acts of a few of
it's members.
A scheme will come before the
council Saturday night that should be
sat down upon without ceremony, and
that is to have the city construct a
sewer up Rock street. The council has
no money, in the first place, to
build such a sewer; it has no right to
borrow money for such purpose; the
route is not consistent with the gen.
eral plan of the sewerage system
adopted, and there is no reason for it's
entertainment except to relieve a
half-doZen kickers who reside on
either Fourth or Fifth streets, who
want to evade this special assessment.
This is the plain English of the case,
and no one knows it better than a
couple of the aldermen who have con-
tinually opposed what the majority
have all along contended for, and
which the engineer has either advo-
Gated or admitted to be perfectly
feasible.
What the council should do is to
accept the Fourth street route and
proceed forthwith to construct it.
''Kicks" are of less Importance than
life and health.
To further delay this matter will be
nothing less than criminal neglect,
and if there is any equity in law, Mr..
Bierbauer has it all on his side by re-
fusal of the council to meet him half
way on the sewer question. He asks
no favors of the city. He is willing
to usewer the entire length of his
property, and pay bonus in addition
for the privilege of doing so, only ask
ing that the city furnish him with al
outlet. Common decency demands
that this he done while the health of