The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1901-03-11

IA rarg, to Select councilman 'hittehdeh on
the question ol water pressure We give
hcre"l'h III ialrness tne 'dtteI r'Py as eo"-
tanned IN lctter IN saturday iIncs'
water COMPANY gas lC't'r w your ,s'uc Vi
inc ON INST IN the usual i'n'''h''h'"''N'.o"s'
ahd'd-n'Mr 'hlttendeh s'yle s'ti'c's NY "''c"'
ton not only from TIC lact that my name ap'
pears III ABOUT every other me- out also thdl tue
gas as usual ldus 10 liluili''
The case hrleny stated Is ms ihe water com
pany recently notified the city councils that the
water contract at so,Wo per ahhum was dbro'
gated. committee OF councils met the COM
pany and was gracl0usly informed tlaL III the
future the compdh! would permit llSeit 10 aosnlb
Sl2Wo ot our scaht revenues instead OF Slooo
per annum WhyD We tired to beg OF by
Offering to pay meter rates Tor water used ana
promising TO wash as llttlr as possible. we were
denied because with much waving OF the hdndl
we were aholded by the COMPANY mysterious
something called fire protection. Then came the
Llckawanna avenue hre with mlSerdhIe water
pressure at the start, WITH ruinous losses To old
established firms, insurance rates adNnlIced To
point that soaks our cltileils at rougn e''lmatc
Sso,oo per ahhum' linen the 'oi''''''ec started
TO find out what hre protection was
%
The city's definition was sercntyhNc or eighty
pounds pressure Oh plug stream The water
oompanys seems 10 DC running water 'h a pSrIc'
ference to the city IN TINS httle divergence IN
views is that ten engineers anu NtokclS must go
on the permanent pay roll, adding 5000 year
salaries and 500 incidental expenses 10 clly eN'
penses and accepting the statements OF the IRE
men the lack of good hose pressure has caused
in the past and will probably cause III the in'ure
the loss Of thousands unnecessarily. Now why?
The committee obtained no reasonable eXplana-
tion The compdh! ASSERTS lnd' 'hc Iuil Na''r
but by that uncertain and archaic device OF par
TALLY closed gates they give MS about toltN'hHc
pounds, but they won't give us seventyhNc or
eighty pounds or guarantee any pressure or do
ANYTHING hut fill barrel. Why! The company
seems to have heard of pressure valves but deny
| using them. Why? This simple device would
probably obyiatc all criticism. II the motive Of
the company is that intense and pinchng econ
oniv that is the parent OF waste, the city can
well AFFORD 10 pay the costs To the company
! in addition to the Sl2,o00, This whole thing
| 1. a puhlic matter and not a small one, and
| il has some strange sides II the water works
| were a city department II would get rakCd fore
| and aft Tor its hull headed stupidity aud greed.
Not being A corporatiou, which hv It's Icvies
| ou every citizen, has grown from a useful ser.
| vant tn an imputlcnt master of the municipality
;ts Stumbling ordinations aud clustering ulti.
mat,ms are accepted by press aud citizens in
| a,yed silence. WHY?
| %
| As a city father hclicyc The water pressure
| op Iackswauna avenue and the adjoining portion
| nj WyompC avenue should he increased and rcgu.
lsteI by pressure valves. IL possible, by special
| rc,crvoir il necessary. bv the company, it they
have good sense, by the city with it, own water