Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1901-03-01
A BURNING ISSUE.

The question OF q water supply ioI
the city of Staunton has been one ol
moment and is growing in importance
daily. or rather nightly. The citizen
of this blooming village when be goes
to bed knows not what tomorrow may
bring forth, he knows not whether he
NAV find on the morrow his house
standing or a nice warm bed of ashes
where it should have been. His faml-
ly may possibly be cremated for all be
knows, for there is not much to
prevent it should fire break out. We
have borne heavy taxation on account
of water. When not paid on the very
day the tax is due, ten per cent Is
added as a commission for collector,
and the water is cut off from the prem
ises permanently, as a further penal
ty. This, however, is not 80 great a
privation. because that occurs every
night, whether one pays his
water tax or not. The taxpayer OF
Staunton when he lies down at night
might as well be in the desert of Sahara
so far as water in his house is concern
ed. Should even the smallest fire be
discovered, which might be e1tinguish.
ed with few drops of water, he has
none for the purpose, because the
water has been turned off and his
property left to the mercy of the
flames. On Tuesday night last fire
broke out in one of our largest bust
ness blocks, we learn that it was
twenty minutes after the fire company
reached the scene before there was
water to turn on the fire. Enquiry re-
vealed the fact that the person whose
duty it is to turn on the water in case
of fire lives nearly half mile from
the point where the water supply Ii
turned on. so that after he il apprised
of the fire he has that journey to
make to accomplish this, and then the
pipes must fill. When a large female
college at Roanoke burned some time
ago it was, we learn, but 60 minutes
rom the time the fire was discovered
before the building had fallen in anG
was completely destroyed. Think o.
what was done in 20 minutes there ani
then consider what 20 minutes NEAR
in a fire such as ours of Tuesday night
1t is appalling when we think of it
that in this city at night not resi-
dence has drop of water at the com
mand Of the inmates. This is awful
when we contemplate it in cases O
sickness, and far worse when we Sc,
the risks we run in case of fire. Tha
people should sit dumb under sucl
conditions is to class them as serfs
afraid to speak or, as idiots who can
not. The question of water has beer
discussed for some time and it Wal
hoped that those in authority would
rise to the situation without beine
goaded to it by the press or by tht
sharp sting of public opinion, or by
such an example as We have just had
but they have not. On Wednesday
morning, however, they and the city
awoke to a new order Of things. While
some of our officers slept in peaceful
a nd blissful ignorance of what had oc
Cured during the night, some of oul
citizens had stood and watched theil
all, go up in smoke, powerless to avert
the calamity, and 20 minutes of valu.
able time lost because there was not q
drop of water nearer than the reser.
voir, and not hand to turn it on near.
er than half mile from the point
where the turning on takes place. 1t
is conceded that those who have Or
dered such conditions have done so
with pure motives and good inten-
tions, but the mere thought of the
helplessness of our people under such
conditions in the night time when
fires usually break out is staggering,
and the public has only held it's voice
in the hope that We would not long
suffer thus, and the press, at least this
part of it, because we did not wish to
be considered alamists. Now we re-
greet that we did not agitate the matter
earlier. Argument is unnecessa-
ry, the facts are all that need citation.