Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-06-20

earth that ever studied the ouestiop of
purifying a polluted system of water
twho would advise the use OF alum iuice
when running out a reasonable distance
such magnificent ponds and lakes could
be reached, as surround the city of Au-
gusta. Just which lake. inst which
pond is a question of business and of
/ engineering which the best skill will
work out at the proper time. The first
thing that we Will do, when we come
into the ownership of our own property,
and when we show by our votes that it
is time to stop this Portland ownership
and to manage our own property, will
be to leave the Kennebec river an. get
a supply of Gods water somewhere.
There is the business part to consider.
I hear n great many men say 1T will
cost too much!" And some men. per
haps in good faith and others | know in
bad faith, go about these streets circu-
Hating the most senseless stories regard
ing the way in which this property is to
be appraised and paid for. Why, gentle
men, it Is not a complicated process at
ALL 1t is not difficult thing to under
| stand The Augusta Water Company
under this law, is entitled to receive
| and it should receive Just what it's
property is worth, no more and no less.
If the city of Augusta should seize
my house for schoolhouse and we
could not agree upon the price, the Su-
preme court would appoint three men
| to fix it. and it would be their duty to
/ give me just what my house Is WORTH
i no more and no less. My house may
| 7 S,,t
gage upon it of $4,000. 1t makes no
difference how big the mortgage is; if
1 have succeeded in swindling the
holder of the mortgage into loaning me
| more than the house is worth the pub
|'lic is not to pay any more on that
| account / have heard some very in
telligent men in this city, acting in
good faith or possibly acting in bad
| faith, go about these streets saying
| that if we buy this property we have
got to take up the bonds and stocks
upon it. which would make quite a
high valuation. There are three sets
of bonds upon this property. The first
mortgage bond is $250,000, 100000 of
| those bonds are locked up in the safe
| of the trustees, the Portland Trust
| Company, never to be issued until the
Augusta Water Company goes to Hal
| lowell to supply water. Not very
probable thing, because the people of
! Hallowell from the very first refused
to have anything to do with the Au
| gusta Water Company, and four or
five years ago went through precisely
what you are going through, bought up
| the Hallowell Water Company, went
| hn hills an1 tOlaU
| blessed with an abundant supply of
pure water. Now the first mortgage
| bonds issued are, $210000, the second
mortgage is $4,000. 1 will assume
| that all those bonds were sold for
about $2S5000; JUST how many bonds
| they have issued since then will never
be known until we get their books be-
| fore those three appraisers who are to
| sit upon this question. The last issue
Of bonds, for the purpose of running
| the new pipe to Togus, was 100000, and
| certainly cannot have been more than
$4,000 or $50, 900, so that in round num-
| bers there may be 1925, 900 to 1876, 900 of
outstanding bonds. SO there is APP
proximately $325,o0o or $685., 900 out
standing bonds. / have since eX-
amined the registry of deeds. The total
| bonds outstanding are $685., 000-H. M.
| HI On top of that this company has
| issued $250,000 worth of stock that
never cost the holders of it a penny, as
| will be proven before the appraisers.
| Now, gentlemen, you needn't worry
about those bonds Every bondholder
| will be paid 100 cents en- a dollar, and
what is left will be divided among the
STOCKHOLDERS. If they put nothing in
| they can lose nothing. l cannot un
| derstand how any fair minded man
can go out among the people and say
| that the rate of valuation here is to be
I based upon the stock and the bonds.
| l have here few sheets of a Maine
| ReDort, which have not yet been
| bound. Lawyers have the advantage
| of getting their law early. We get the
| advance sheets and sometimes bind
| them ourselves, thus saving n little to
| help pay our water rates. This is the
| latest decision and contains the opinion
| of Judge Savage, in the Waterville
| district case. The people of Water
| Vile secured the same law substantial
| ly as ours but not so good. They voted
almost to a man to accept it. l do
not remember exactly, but | should say
| there We're not more than fifty votes
against it. They voted to buy that
| great plant of the Maine Water Com
| pany. Three appraisers were appoint
ed. They are to get their water sup
| ply from China lake. nine miles away.
They have no large contracts such as
| we have in Augusta: the Soldiers
| Home, the $500 contract with the
| State House, the large contract with
| the postof1ice, with the Insane hospital,
and other large contracts, are some of
| the revenues that can be counted on
here. There are many of these in this
city Waterville has only one large
| contract, the Maine Central Railroad
shops, a few thousand dollars COM
pared with the great revenue that you
have in sight here from these public
institutions. There are no public in
stitutions in Waterville. WaterVille
is about our population with not the
chances for water revenue that we
have, and that city voted to take
plant that is worth substantially what
this plant of ours is, and voted to go
nine miles to China lake that they
might have pure water.
Here is Judge Savage's opinion, and