The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1894-05-31
ON THE WATER QUESTION.
The Water Commission Files Re-
jolnder to Indignant House
keepers" Replication.
Editor Astorian-

Editor Astorian-
In reply to still indignant House
keeper" in your issue Of SOth inst,
note she says some of his statements
in Tuesdays issue ARE so ambiguous as
to require more than one reading to get
the gist of his meaning"
admit that one whole sentence In
that article must be used as the nom
NATIVE or subject Of the verb. That
would have been considered good gram
mar in DR.. Murray's time, and before
him in Addison's time.
did not say, as she lntimates, that
belag "civil, well-bred, polite, complais-
ant and obliging," with a plenty of
money, would build good and ample
water works, but | included as lively
and as little mossbacked" as any citi-
zens in Astoria, as characterlzing the
commissioners. / now reaftirm my for
mer statement.
Has said "Housekeeper" properly con-
sidered the character and capacity OF
men, commissioners, possessing those
| HuetAANiNS" " iiiNJ 80 pNNSf''N''N - - -
terrogation point, too)
Please read that description Of the
commissioners again--and that Is not
the enigmatlcal sentence either Let us
see. Lively and not mossbacked i'm
plies readiness and courage to act at
once, not drowsy or too conservative.
"Well- ll-bred"-brought up where,
among other things, they use plenty Of
water for personal and household
cleanliness.
"Complaisant and obliging having
dis sposition to please and accommodate
their fello7r mortals suffering for water
in the city.
Are my definitions disputed? Tell US
wherein.
So l reafflrm, that men possessing
these qualities and equisites-nothing
else being in the way-could and would
build good and efficient water works if
anything mortal would. My characterl-f
zatlon of the commissioners is admitted
as true and not denied by House
keeper" The water works do not come.
What is the trouble? Something be-
ond mortal understanding, probably.
But said "Housekeeper" cites q cer-
tain physician and dentist as being
incommOded and in fear of sickness in
the family because Of the insufficient
supply Of water and the like, and winds
up, Don't tell us the supply is ample
for all but 20 or 30 families, Bosh"
Here, again, "Housekeeper" attributes
to me what 1 never said.
Such allegations and misstatements
by "Housekeeper' may be fifty termed
pettifogging-bosh.
have never said "the supply is am
pie for all but 20 or 80 families"
know the supply is not ample for
anybody when it is shut off part Of
each night, and have never said other
wise.
But this pettifogglng and misquoting
will naturally come to an end ere long,
and then witnesses will be called to-
prove our opposing assertions. / am
ready for the witnesses now-real ones
who will stand up and testify, openly,
not covered by anonymous signatures.
/ will prove that min e-tenths of the
water consumers have been tolerably
well supplied the past one or two years;
that less than one-tenth of those who
take and pay for water, or wish to be
supplied, in Astoria, although consider
ably inconvenlenced, are not badly"
incommoded, and that in all such cases
the small tank would have supplied
them quite we'll; that the expense of the
tank is small and within the reach of
all our prominent physicians and dem
lists; that no prudent "Housekeeper"
viii commence washing Clothes, ! sup
pose) at 4 o'clock in the morning, inl
Astoria, without having put part of the
clothing Ito soak the evening or day i
before and provided some tubs, buckets
or other vessels of water ready for use
in the morning for washing, cooking
and family ablutions at or a. m.
and finally, that every statement which
l have made in this matter, touching |
the supply of water for domestic use in
Astoria, Is absolutely true.
have never said the works furnish
an ample supply; but have all the time
admitted considerable deficiency, es-
pecialy in the elevated portions of the
city-comprislng from 1-2O to 1-lO of the |
families In the city.
Our attorney has charge of the matter
OF securing the right-of-way by a de-
cislon of the circuit court and will do
his best, 1 presume, in getting AN early
decree, which we hope will be favor
able.
But with such favorable decree there
are still some questions as to character
and extent of the proposed new works
which may be better explained to
'Housekeeper" by her husband than
by communication in newspaper by
member OF the Astoria
WATER COMMISSIONERS.
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Any one wishing to rent a house
should read Rudolph Barth's ad-
vertisements in the For Rent column.