Hutchinson gazette., 1902-02-20
TOO MUCH.


From present indications the water
works proposition will not be submit
ted to the voters of Hutchinson, The
general expression Is that the COM
pany wants too much for It's old junk
All the opposition to the present city
administration Is against accepting
the water company's proposition, and
very lagre part of Its supporters.
The claim is always the same, "too
much". Nobody seems to openly
antagonlzc the principle of city own
ershlp, though secretly no doubt
many have their opposition rooted ON
that ground,
There are two views Of the PROPOSE
ti0n. That which the people who are
opposed to the proposition take Is
that the city should buy If at all Just
as II would buy Il horse on the market
10 get the best for the money. They
say the price for 1t may be had Is too
much for the old material. They
say that the engineers report was too
rosy, that in allowing only five per
cent for deterioration in ten or ili-
teen years Is manifestly too little,
Some even say that 1t Is usual to al
low five per cent year for dcterora-
tiOn of pipes, mains, etc. That you
may dig down and scratch till you
find the iron and from all you can
tell that way they will be or appear
all right. But dig one up and 1t may
be ready to fall in holes. These
mains haze been laid something like
fifteen years and on the five per cent
per year basis have only five years
more till they would have to be re-
placed. On the other hand 1t Is as
serted that no such deterioration Is
10 be expected. Some of the plum
bers say the pipes should be good in
forty years from now, So with these
diverging statements what Is com
mon clod hopper going to doY
On the other hand, the friends of
the proposition say that the value Of
such concern on the market Is al
ways determined, not by what IT.
would cost to duplicate the plant, but
on It's earning capacity, They claim
to figure the city out Of the holesand
with the water plant paid for in a
few years by what the plant will
earn. The people scout this idea, be-
cause they say the city could build a
plant Of its own for less money and
earn Just as much. But when they
talk that way they ignore the fact
that the city is already tied up In
contracts that will compel it to pay
the water combany at least six thou
sand dollars a year for fifteen years
whether it has a plant Of its own or
not. This is where the company has
the city at a disadvantage. And
what is more, the contract is so cum
ningly drawn that there seems to be
very little show Of being in any differ
ent position for twenty or thirty
years to come. OF course 1t Is the
verest foollshness that the city
should have given the company this
monopoly and bonus that is provided
for in these contracts, and now pay
IL a hundred thousand dollars or such
Il matter, to get back part of what
was given. But 1t Is no use to cry
over spilled milk, and what the city
wants to do is the best thing for IT,
self. II it does not make the pur-
chase. it means that the city must
either litigate the validity Of these
contracts to the United States SUI
preme court with the chances against
it, or go on paying the eXorbltant
rates and poor facilities of the past
and at the mercy Of the company en-
tircly.
There are lot Of people who have
made up their minds on the value of
the material in the plant and all
about 1t, that do not know any more
about it than the ground hog docs
about the weather, In fact the pe0-
pie who do actually know anything
about this are very scarce. II has
been proposed to employ another en-
gineer by the city, alone, to make an
appraisement, and verify the report
of the other engineer, but it is doubt
ful whether he would be any better
believed than Evans.
Marriage Licenses
The following marriage licenses