The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-04-09
OGUEH'S BIG WATER FIGHT
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Continued from Page L
The city has a Judgment of s2es.oOO
with $4,000 interest, which is a, lien on
the water system and appertaining
property prior to the mortgage. The
city council earlier in the year. by res
oiuUon, advised water consumers to re-
IuSe TO sign contracts for water for
the ensuing year and to refuse to pay
Tor water consumed, as the right of the
ogden WaterwOrks company to the
property is disputed. The city asked
that a receiver be apopfnted to take
charge OF all money paid for water
rentals. The company alleges that the
obJect Of this move is to force it to
the wall and enable the city to get pos
session or It. The bill praying for an
injunction recites that the mayor and
council 'conSpired" TO keep consumers
from paying the rentals due and then
Wltully, Wrongfully maliciously and
Ifaudulehtly Kept up the purpose of
S 5l conspiracy by using the police
department to keep the company from
J shutting off the water of delinuuents.
Ihe injunction is asked to Keen the
mayor and council from passing reso-
luLlons aimed to influence consumers
10 reIuSe 10 pay for wa ter and to re-
strain the officials including policemen.
from interfering with the company or
its employees in turning off the water
OF delinquents and from turning on
water once TUNED off.
Question Involved.
As argued in court yesterday. the
case hung principally on one point:
is the curb cock by which water is
turned on or off a premises the prop
erty of the water company or the
owner of the promises?
The attorneys for the water company
claimed that the curb cock was solely
under Its control. The attorneys for
the city, H. II. Henderson and H =
Mcmillan, declared that each citizen
paid for his own curb cock or valve;
that II was his property, and that no
person mad a right TO interfere with il
without his permission. Hence a Citi-
zen has right to resist any attempt to
smut the water off his premises and a
ponce officer has the right to arrest a
water agent who persists in turning off
the water or commits a breach OF the
peace IN SO doing.
The attorneys Tor the water corpora
ton held that the ordinance making il
trespass to turn off the water was
passed after the acts in controversy.
and that the only breaches of the
peace had been committed by citizens
lighting the company
six-shooter Argument.
The forenoon was spent in reading
the companyS flood Of affida Wits /
w alter Lou was a leading hero OF
the company'S taie. His real name is I
Louis Lochgrene, but in ogden they |
been an Inspector for the water COM /
pany so long. The story was told now |
ne, with Robert, William and George 4
SIMPLIFY, other employees of the COM /
pany, shut off the water from the /
premises of the George A Lowe COM /
pany, OF which Councilman Abbott is
manager, and attempted to shut il eff
from the residence of Councilman
george w Jones, who lives in Ogden
and does business in Salt Lake. In !
ponderous legal verbiage supplied bv i
Attorney Allison, Water Lou and the
olhers with him related how the said /
GeoPge w Jones said he would defend /
ms property with a siX-shooter if nee
essary. That six-shooter statement
Inquired largely in the arguments.
Charles II. KirCher. manager of the
company, explained in an affidavit the
FuIeS- OF the company and the system
OF putting In the curb cocks and their
method of control. 1t was admitted
that the consumer paid for them, but
the attorneys Tor the company held that |
because. the company supervised the
putting in of the connections the later
ais became their property. William c.
eaNer, formerly receiver Of the Sys-
tenn, told in an affidavit how he, as
Wen as Mr.. kireher had been in the
habit of turning off the water Of Celin-
quents to force collections.
The affidavit which stirred the city
ofhcials most to anger was one by
county Commissioner William C. VIII |
son. This related a meeting with |
Councilman Abbott, at which the latter I
reprCached the county commissioners I
Tor agreeing to pay for their water, and
is quoted as saying he thought the |
county board ought to stand bv the |
council to get the waterwOrks" He is
also declared to have asked: Couldn't /
that thing be stopped or changed ?" In
another afhdavit Councilman Abbott
denies the latter statements.
Afhdavits for City.
various affldaYits of the cOmpany's
side, giving many of them in substance
only, H r. Mcmillan started in on a
similar task for the city in the after
noon session.
Affidavits by every one of the defend
ants were read, as well as others bv
Policemen Charles Pincock, Daniel c.
Sullivan, John \. Hutchins. James F.
Pender and Fred Tout, Special Officers
c. G. Brown, Joseph A Harbertson
Daniel f. Mpnson, Henry Hansen
Charles d. Tyree, Edward Black, w. A II
Herrick and John Browning, together
with Lorenzo Farr, Alexander WfIkin-
son, Ben Ternes, Sidney Stevens and
Decatur De Witt.
The substance of all these was that
the city officials were merely trying to
save their rights under their lien That
the council acted merely an an I'D visory
in suggesting to citiz Ems not
to pay their water rates, 1t the curb
cocks and the curb boxes containing
them, as well as the service Plies. Were
paid for by the Individual citizens and
we're accordingly their property. ard
that each citizen had a right t d, felld
such property from interference It
was further alleged that there was
great excitement OF the water dispute
m Ogden during March, and THAI there
were rumOrs to the effect that the wa
ter company intended to turn OF the
water OF delinquentS by violence, be-
ginning with the members of HE city
council. Accordingly, 1t was stated. the
regular and special police officers we're
ordered to watch for trouble AMI 10