Waterbury Democrat., 1902-03-07
STAND PIPES IRE | LUXURY
Those Who Enjoy Them Should
 Be Willing to Pay Extra.

City Put to Enormous Expense to
 Build Reservoirs and Pipe Lines
 Bound to Keep Them Full and in
 Repair-Interesting Question Now
 Before the Public.
 The talk about the price of auto matic sprinklerS in factories and stores has revived the discussions which took place on this question when the com mittee on additional water supply was planning for the Branch water system There came near being a riot between some of the members of that board and the city government as to whether we should provide d water plant which would enable the factories to maintain stand pipes or content ourselves with system that would meet all ordinary requirements of q municipality and let private property owners and corporal tions pay f5regular insurance rates or provide ways and means themselves which would put them in position to take advantage of the special rates al- lowed by the insurance companies on property protected by sprinklers. After a good deal of discussion it was finally decided to lay thirty-siX inch pipe from here to the Branch instead of q thirty-inch pipe. as originally intended, at an additional expense of $150,0O0. At that time the man who would say that concerns ever would hint that they should not be asked to pay anything for maintaining sprinklers. would be mobbed. But it seems that they have changed their minds and are now of 10 in hat 11y1 i'm sA the efficiency of the fire department and consequently they should not be assessed for connecting them with the water system. No one will argue that they do not add to the efficiency of the fire department and no one, with the possible exception of those who expect to profit by the game, would care to deny that they are not big money savers for the concerns using them, so that when the matter is looked at from an impartial standpoint it will be seen that tie users of sprinklers want to hold both ends of the stick. The city charges the small sum of $5 per hun dred heads for Sprinklers. considerably. less than some people think they are worth. but far in excess of what those maintaining them regard as reasona- Die. AS matter of fact they don't want to pay anything.
 Supposing the city allows people to maintain sprinklers and private hy drants without any charge. where will the deficit in the water rents come from? Out of the pockets of the fel- lows at the bottom, as some folks term men of moderate means. who are al- ready paying more than their share for the maintenance of the water depart ment 1t is nothing short of a direct attempt to shift the burden from the rich to the poor, and it is astonishing that the scheme could have been even suggested without bringing out strong protest from those who know that tn ir water rents are too high at present and who have been laboring for years to have the large and small consumers pay on more equitable basis. Several attempts have been made to change the schedule of water rates in Waterbury buy about the only thing the deliberations that took place revealed was that the large consumers. the factories. were getting water at an outrageously low figure compared with what others had to pay. Waterbury has always tried to do the right thing by it's manufacturing concerns and on this account the water rates were made out to them at the lowest notch. and while the city has lots of prodding rom owners Of private property re- garding it's alleged discrimination in favor of corporations. still no water board ever thought of raising the price on them. If we all were rich. or the rate of taxation low, then it might be all right to exempt the shops from taxes Af cOrt h11t 1on man who owns anything finds that he has all he can do to make ends meat 1t does not seem right that those who are best able to face the music should be supplied with water at the expense Of their less fortunate fellow citizens.
 IT this move succeeds the next step will be to have the city furnish ap- paratus for the factory fire companies. and put their special cops on the city payroll. Why not? It is admitted on all sides that stand pipes strengthen the efficiency of the fire department. and 1t Is on this ground that those who have installed them set up the claim that 1t IS manifestly unfair to tax them Tor these ire extinguiSherS Wouldn't the same argument hold with reference 10 the lire companies and the special police officers at the factories and other places. It is said that the nrI vate fire department of the Scoyill Manufacturing Co., under the leader ship of John Fl. Moran. clubbed diff ferent budding blazes into submission during the night of the big conffacra- ton which occurred here on February and thus saved the regular firemen from having to perform service there. VIII anybody say that this company and others of its kind are not valuable aids to the Waterbury fire department. and yet if anybody should say that the city ought to provide them with ap- paratus he would be laughed at. The other question appeared about as ab- surd to the committee on additional water supply when 1t was said that day might come when the shops and owners of other large buildings might think they ought 10 have the water free and muster up strength enough to compel their neighbors to shoulder all the burden, It might be a good plan to let this water question alone. The plant Is maintaining itself and more than that, notwithstanding the state ment that real estate is taxed to foot some of the water bills. If every cor poraflOn that is doing something which . ra1TpQa f11a s.ffuniraor