Evening journal., 1899-01-03
SOW IS THE rIME ro Acr.

members Of the Board OF Water Com
missioners, excerpts 10 the term jug
Cling with figures" which we used in
our editorial calling public attention to
the fact that the surplus OF sS6. .sss SO
declared by that body and turned over
10 City Council for general uses is an
evidence Of extortion rather than OF
business capacity on the part Of the
department. He is right, and we wish
70 recall the term. Mr.. Hastings and
his colleagues on the board are men
whom We hold in high esteem, and we
wish 1t distinctly understood that when
we used the term Juggling with fig
ures" 1t was not our intention TO con
vey to our readers the impression that
there had been any crooked work on
the part OF the commissioners or any
OF their subordinates, or that false fig-
ures had been given out for publica-
ton. We meant that the figures were
used to impress upon the taxpayers the
idea that in the Board OF Water Com
missioners they have a public depart
ment Of unusual Intelligence and busi-
neEs capacity. and that the golden
fruits OF such intelligence and capacity
are used by City Council to Undue The
taxpayers with the idea that u Civ.
Council they have a body OF men who
are meeting extraordinary expenses on
a very low tax rate and declaring a
surplus besides In their accounts with
the city the commissioners are NO
doubt honest to the fraction OF cent.
But that does not alter the fact that on
their own admission they are collect
Ing from the users OF water s9,6OS 92
more than twice as much as they
should for the service, and that the
surplus OF ss6,sSs.62 goes into the gem
eTal fund to enable City Council, at the
expense Of the consumers Of water, to
keep down the tax rate under the gem
eral levy TO a figure which they think
will afford them a polltica! advantage.
Our charges are against the system
first and the men afterwards. The sys-
tenn is unjust and burdensome and the
Water Commissioners know it. They
have it within their power to maze the
water rates what they please, and,
knowing that they are more than twice
as hign as they should be. they ought
as honest men, standing between che
water system on the one hand and the
oonsuners OF water on the other. re-
ducs the rates from fifty to fifty-five
per cent. They cannot give any accept
able excuse for non-action in the mat
ter. II they will not take the step vol
unfairly and with good grace, they
must be forced TO do It by legislative
mandate and with bad grace. They
may deny the remedy. but they cannot
deny the conhition. It stands before
them in their own figures. and is a
matter OF record which they will not
deny.
Let US show by example whet the
present system means. During the fis-
cal year 1898. under the present sched
ule Of rates, the water tax collection.
aggregated sl64 O6832. The tota
expense OF running the department
none Of It's needs being denied, wat
81 ,229.TO. The surplus was $3.50, ,S3S 50
That sum represents the money whicl
She consumers of water paid and whicl
they had no earthly right to be caile,
upon to pay. 1t will be seen that tn
collections were s9,6O3s2 more tha,
twice as much as the sum nes1ed L
run the department perfectly, sausfac
torally and unstintedly in all Of it
branches. The commissioners use
every dollar that they needed and sti
had as much more and ss6OS92 o
hand. In other words, they could, with
out Inconvenience, on the 1898 colleC
tions. have given consumers water IRE
Of charge during 1899 and during Janu
ary, February and part Of March. 190
Instead OF doing that; instead OF givin
a return for value received, they tnrr
NAAN NnNlAN bulR4AH NNtl " vi
Council for general purposes and wi
now proceed to collect another SUI
more than double what they need Il
1899. unless they change the schedua
themselves or are compelled to chan:
them by legislative enactment.
That surplus Of sS6.S3S.62 has pass'
into the hands Of City Council and
gone. Consumers Of water cannot hol
that the Board Of Water Commissio
ers viii recall It. Il would scarcely
right for it to do so, for in fixing Il
tax rate little less than year az
City Council counted on receiving
least $4,000 from the Board Of Wat
Commissioners and made. the ra
lower than It would otherwise ha'
been. If the surplus had not been d
clared by the Board Of Water Cor
missioner. for at least that sum Ci
Council would md itself in hole