The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1902-03-20
unless of course the people foolishly vote
their rights away. The nrima usa of

unless of course the people foolishly vote
their rights away. The prime use of
streets and alleys is to aid the commerce
of teams with vehicles "hauling corn,
hay" coal, store goods. etc., and not for
any purpose whatever other than the
fullest benefit and largest accommodation
of the whole people, and no monopolistic
use should be tolerated, granted or allow
ed. "To give the people of Leon cheal,
nish it at a sacrifice, eh? Well guess not
much; at least, not according to all past
history of franchises.
The mere election for voting franchise
would not cost much, not enough to cavil
over but this is not the point; but what
may it cost the people in the future to
satisfy the holders of the franchise in un-
reasonable rates and exactions and later to
get rid of and abrogate the privilege back
to the people as has been the case in a
thousand or SO of cities.
A team and wagon has first preference
in the streets over any luxurious monop-
oily. The people first in all things. Spec
less in some rare cases and then there
should be full money consideration paid
to the people. No man nor no set or COM
bination Of men can or will and never did
and never will furnish water to town or
city anywhere near so cheap as the people
eau luTllSu W themselves Dy COGtn.
selves. No man and no combination
would ask such privilege were there no
easy dollars in sight. The few gentlemen
who would sell or give away the light
plant and with it the towns water system
as now developed but not yet completed
show themselves very poor financiers for
the people in that they start every one of
investment is bad, no good, no value, it
don't pay, it's running behind each and
every month and that it can't be made to
pay and the town ought to sell it for q
song, and whole lot of similar twaddle,
not thinking that the advertising they
are giving it tends only to destroy all the
inducements that any prospective pur-
chaser could have for investing in it. II
it is 80 awful bad as property of the town,
who with any sense of justice would want
to unload it onto one or more men to
crush them in financial ruin, The very
thought is heartless. We ought to har Dor
higher idea of Justice. 1t would be
some innocent man or men. As matter
of fact the towns investment is light and
water facilities is a prime good invest
ment, all things connected being consider.
ed worth no less than twenty thousand
dollars, aud yet it seems that some men
had the gall to ask the purchase of it at
less than one third of that sum with con-
ditions that would compel the people to
pay that back to them in very few
years.
The enterprise of Mr.. VIM. Biggs in hts
efforts to develop water is laudable and
his expenditure of time and money should
be and is appreciated, notwithstanding
his work in that direction was done right
at the same time and to all appearances in
competition with like effort on the part
of our town authorities, but yet there
should be extended to him privileges suf6
not the purchase by the town of his plant
after it is certain by proper test that he
has large and lasting supply.
Ed. Il. PITMAN.