People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1895-06-06
The City TO Forfeit the Water Com.
pany's Franchise.
BY A UNANIMOUS VOTE
The Council Solid to a Man in the
Determination to Annul its Con.
tract With This Company
The Committees Report.

ing report:
Wellington. Kansas. June 3. 1895.
To the Honorable Mayor and City Council of
the City Of wellington Kansas.
Gentlemen: Your Water Commit
tee submit the following report:
On Saturday afternoon May il
1895, we proceeded to test the eff
cheney Of our waterwOrks system,
after notifying Mr.. ]. NJ. Thralls,
manager Of the waterworks company
OF our intention Of doing so, in order
to give the company every oppOrtuni-
ty to have their works in the best
condition possible for the test. We
first attached four hose Of fifty feet
each to separate hydrants. These
hydrants were located as follows:
One at the corner Of Walnut and +
streets; one at the corner Of Maple
and / streets; one at the corner OF
Walnut st. and washington avenue;
one at the corner Of Maple and H
streets. The hose at Walnut and F
streets were equipped with fifteen
siXteenths inch nozzle; the twOshose
on Maple street, with One-inch nOz.
zles and the hose at Washington ave-
nue. and Walnut streets with a nozzle
measuring about lie inches. We
sent Fireman Ed Wheeler to the
pump house to see that the pumps
were not used during the two hours
est of the standpipe pressure prOyid-
ed for by ordinance.
Promptly at 2 o'clock p. m. we
turned on the four streams Of water.
The hnse at Walnut and f streets be-
Ing right at the Hunter Milling Co.'S
elevator we turned this stream onto
it so as to determine definitely just
how high it was thrown. The high
est point reached by its tOpmOst spray
at any time by standpipe pressure
was carefully measured and was
thlrty-eight feet and six inches. We
had no means Of determining the
height reached by the stream
proper. None of The other three
streams were higher than this one.
In just fifteen minutes after the
test was commenced the pumps were
put to work vigorously by order Of
Mr.. j. NJ. Thralls. IL was evident
to us that it was useless for US to con-
tinue to make this test. As an ex'
pertinent, merely, we then turned CT
all the streams except the one at
Walnut and f streets and turned thi:
onto the elevator. With the pumps
working, the highest that the top
most spray Of this single stream was
thrown was just forty-fve feet.
At 2:35 o'clock p. m. we called upon
Mr.. Thralls personally to give US d.
rect pump pressure in thirty minutes
for the second test provided for by
the ordinance. We then heightened
the four hose above mentioned to 20(
feet each, equipped with the same noz'
zles as before and attached another
hose 200 feet long with one-inch nOz
zle to the hydrant at the corner Of
Washington avenue and Maple. The
fire department had only five nOzzles
and consequently we could not use
the six lines Of hose mentioned in the
Ordinance. At the expiration Of the
thirty minutes Mr.. Thralls Informed
us that he was not yet ready. We
telephoned him repeatedly thereafter
before the second test began and re-
ceived the same reply. 1t was 80;
o'clock D. m. when he informed u:
that he was ready. We then turned
on the five streams Of water. As il
the first instance we turned the one
stream onto the elevator and measur.
ed the height reached by the top
most spray. 1t was thirty-iye feet
and six inches. Members Of the com
mittee have since been informed BY
H. r. Wightman, the engineer whC
was in charge Of the pumps, tina
when the test began the boilers were
carrying $50 lbs. Of steam. When II
was seen that the test fell so fal
short OF the standard laid down il
the ordinance, Mr.. Hunter o
: the committee telephoned Mr.
Thralls and received the reply tina
J the company was giving the best pres
) sure it could furnish.
? We then turned of all the stream
, except the one at the elevator ant
5 turned this one onto the building
: again. The toDmOst spray reached u
T forty-eight feet and six inches.
q After receiving the request from
= Mr.. Geo. R. Fultz which was verbal,
reported at the last council meeting
no further tests we're made until Sat
urday afternoon, June /, 1885. N
notice OF this test was given +
the water company.
\ We attached four 80 IT. hose to tn
four hydrants on Washington avenu
at its insertions with Lincoln an