The record-union., 1899-06-16
WHEN WILL SACRAMENTANS BE
: COME "INTELLIGENT?"

The assertion has been made fire.
quently of late that sufficient evidence
is not yet before the people on any
water or sewer proposition to enable
them to vote intelligently thereon.
These statements are simply and flatly
disingenuousl They are a libel and an
insult. They have not even the virtue
Of q seeming of truth. These same peo-
pie who make these statements and
claim that they are not intelligent upon
the water subject have had that matter
before them and all evidences relating
to it ever since 1874.
From that time to this the question
Of subterranean supply has been be-
fore the people in varied forms all the
time Finally in 1893 regular cam
paign for clear water from the east side
source was inaugurated. 1t was not
born spontaneously. It came of the
patent evidence before the people, that
hundreds of citizens Of the county were
using driven well water and had sc
used 1t for many years for domestic
and for irrigation purposes; that it was
satisfactory for both and showed no d.
mfnution as to quantity of the flow.
Well borers Of long experience had
for several years been testifying to the
virtues of the supply as to quality and
quantity. One of them went SO far as
to bring samples of the water into the
city in large quantities during Deveral
years, Articles appeared in the daily
press right along debating the question.
"A company formed to test the capacity
of certain wells which it had driven.
and it made proposition to bring in
the water and deliver 1t for a term of
years. the people to collect the water
fees, maintain control Of the system,
and finally to purchase the plant if so
disposed.
Then followed one Of the live
lest campaigns ever witnessed IN Sac
ramento.. All corts Of charges were
nadesthat there was job in it," and
that under the proposition the people
would lose control of the Water Works.
1t may be here noted that there is not
even the shadow Of suspicion now
upon which to base any such charge
against the demand for a practical
working test of the east side supply.
Practically for six months that cam
paign went on. The matter was looked
at in every conceivable light. Tho.i-
sands Of our people went out to the
various driven wells and tested the
quality Of the water. Millions Of gal
Ions were brought into the city and dis
tributed for general use. The local press
was filed day by day with letters,
statements. testimony and editorials on
the question At last, after an extended
campaign, exhaustive and thorough,
after the State analyst had certified
that the water was potable ana good.
the matter Of voting upon PROPOSE
tion to take the water on the contract
proposed by the water company came
to head.
BY 1858 votes for to 1,147 against,
the people decided in favor of the clear,
pure water of the east side. Of the
1.147 in the negative, eight-tenths of
those 50 voting opposed the adoption
only on the ground that the city was
bartering away it's right to control the
water supply. Some few, very few,
held that river water, even is It had to
be taken with spoon, or carved with
knife and fork was good enough for
them. A mere handful alone took the
ground that the water was not soft
enough, and that there could not De
secured a sufficient supply.
But eight-tenths of the l.147 favored
clear, pure water, and stood ready te
abandon the river supply.
The people were. then, as early as
1893, Intelligent enough upon TIE sub
iect to vote thereon Since then the
matter has been constantly agitated
The Chamber of Commerce has spent
much money In tests, hundreds of citi-
.ans themselves experimental. Clear
water has been peddled in the streets
since 1893 and to this day three COM