Arizona republican., 1899-01-21
FACTS VS WIND.

The people who went to the court
 house Wednesday night in response to
 the invitation of the allies of the water company and the sewer company list ened to calamity cry; those who
 went there last night listened to prac- tical talks by practical men and gained
 much practical knowledge concerning
 water works and sewerage systems. We present the detailed report of the meeting in another ccsumn of this pa per. It was most satisfactory meet ing. Facts and figures were presented there which refuted squarely the open
 charges of dark lantern performances
 in connection with the bonding propo-
 sitiCn Nothing could be manlier than
 the attitude of Mayor Adams at that meeting His character had been
 grossly assailed by Judge Baker, the
 representative at Wednesdays meet
 ing of the water and sewer compa-
 nies. \ man of lesser caliber would
 have resorted to Judge Bakers tactics.
 Instead, the mayor made dignifed de-
 fense of his actipns as the head of the
 municipal government and then read
 extracts from the water cOmpany's franchise which placed the judge in the
 unenviable position of having misin-
 terpreted that franchise to the people assembled at Wednesdays meeting. In
 addition to turning the tables on the water company's spokesman the mayor
 gave figures relating to water works owned by municipalities which proved Of great interest to the audience, show irg as they did that Phoenix pays more for water than other cities. A state ment made by the superintendent of the local water company in 1896 to an eastern official publication devoted to water works was particularly interest ing, as read by the mayor, for the reason that it bore out his statement that the cost of operating the local plant was about $S,G0o The fact should be considered in this connec- ti0n that the city and county pay an nually to the water company about $7 ,5O0 for water.
 Naturally the most interesting ad- dress of the evening was that of MT. L. | H. Chalmers. who when city attorney | gave an opinion that tho franchise given by the city to the water com pany could be avoided MT Chal- mers last evening not only reiterated | that opinion, but clinched his argu- ment by quoting the opinion cited by Judge Baker Wednesday night i'll sup ! port of the validity of tke franchise, i showing that the judge had omitted | reference to the vital point in that | opinion which made it absolutely val ueless as an aid to the water com panys contention. MT. Chalmers dis claimed any intention 10 antagonizc | the water company; he simply eX- pounded the law iH a clear manner ! and undoubtedly convinced every man present who was there to secure infor- nation that tho city has an undeniable right to build and operate water works. No city council can grant a monopoly: MT. Chalmers showed conclusively that the local water company has a decided Not the least enjoyable feature Of his address was his 5arfN aliusiOn to Judge Bakers we'll kncwn adherence to the basic principle of de- of opposition to mono polies. Walter Bennett's speech in favor of municipal ownership of water works and sewerage and of the incor- poration as a part of the city of the nearby additions closed a series of re- markedly interesting addresses. Many votes for the bonding proposition un- were made last night. ThP people were afforded an alluring pros )ect of how much better a town PhOe- nix would be with adequate water and sewerage systems which in the long run would prove a source of revenue.
 The leaven is working satisfactorily. The coming election may result ad- to the bczd proposition, but he progressive people of Phoenix will yet be able to realize their hope Of making this the model city of the west.
 EASIER TO CRATE THAN REMEDY.