The Dickinson press., 1899-12-16
Lessons From Experience.

! ~ ~ liN SooN PSoPlS |
of Dickinson carry out their expressed
intention and construct water works, to
furnish themselves with water for house
hold and fire purposes, they will do wise
ly. Let the village as a corporation take
hold of it. A study of the way North
Dakota towns have done in the past, will
convince the student that they have been
managed generally on the chow not to
do it, principle. They have been ex-
travagant in hiring useless officials.
They have spent money for fire depart
ments and fire mains that have been
wise; but for every dollar that has gone
for such things, another dollar has gone
for things that were worth nothing.
Take Bismarck and Mandan for ex-
amples of how things should not be done
and we are referring to their past and
not their present. Bismarck is head
over heels in debt. The city cannot is
sue warrants. Nobody tries to predict
when it will get from beneath its debt
incubus. What has Bismarck to show
for it? 1t has no water mains, even, be-
longing to the city. 1t has no city hall
worthy of the name. 1t has fire appar-
atus that are worth, perhaps a couple of
thousand dollars. You may search in
vain in its newspapers to see how much
it owes, but we venture that it is not a
cent under $4,000. The system of pay
ing out money when its officials did not
have it, for useless officials, is respon-
sible for the debt which its present city
government is trying to diminish. The
men who are responsible for its debts
have left the country-just as those who
are responsible for the debt of Mercer
county have gone away.
Mandan is in better condition. Its
warrants are all paid up, and it has only
its bonded debt to look after. 1t is with
in the debt limit. But our debt is far
larger than it ought to be. We have a
practically useless artesian we'll to show
for one block of bonds amounting to
$4,000, the monthly interest on which is
$50. We have a graded Stark Avenue
n a slit through a magnificent hill
leading to the court house, representing
$1,000 more. We have a city hall of
doubtful value. We have efficient fire
apparatus that have earned their cost
many times. We have a $500 dixie
that effectually protects us from Wash
burn gorges which the Bismarck papers
get ready for us every spring. But we
are several thousands of dollars shy
when we come to figure up assets and
liabilities. And yet we have done bet
ter than many of our neighbors. The
hard times that this section of the coun-
try has passed through has been a good
thing in that it has taught all of us how
to get along with a minimum expend-
iture, and Mandan as we'll as other cities
has profted by these experiences.
But while Mandan has cause to con-
graduate itself, the example of all these
North Dakota towns should be valuable
to Dickinson which is just starting out
for itself. Human natu a hundred
miles west of us is very much like that
a hundred miles east. Before all Dick
inson's credit is gone--before its debt
limit is reached-let it get some good
things. Let it get waterworks, a fire de-
partment, and a place to keep them in,
1t can get along without a city hall of
pretentious construction. Mandan is tc
be congratulated hat it never built a
useless city hall, such as was projected
years ago, on the theory that it woulc
give employment. Let Dickinson KEEP
its salary list down. Let it secure side
walks. Have efficient sanitary officials
Let the health of the community bs
maintained. Let its streets be kept il
good order. If it does these things, ane
sees that it gets a dollars worth of gooo
for every dollar it spends, the PIoNEEl
will be pleased in a year or two to send
reporter there to write up the town..