Arizona republican., 1903-04-15
CITY WATER BONDS
 CAMPAIGN CLOSED
Mass Meeting at Doris The
 ater Last Night
City Attorney Wright of Tucson Tells of the Experience There With Muni- cipal Water Works-Other Speeches in Support of the Bonds.


 called by the citizens committee was one of the largest ever held in the city. The lower part of the house was crowded and the gallery was well filled. The greater part of the audience was held to the close at half past ten o'clock
 Dr. William Duffield was the chair man of the meeting and by a happy manner lent to the enthusiasm oi it and kept things moving during the two hours it occupied. It was further enlivened by the Emanon quartette which appeared three times in the pro- gramme and every time was called called back by hearty encores.
 In calling the meeting to order Dr. Dufield found in the audience sub ject of congra tulation. He regretted that hitherto so little attention had been paid to municipal affairs but he believed now that the voters had awakened to the necessity of taking the mana cement of affairs cut Of the hands of mere politicians. There were, he said, various classes interested in the struggle which would end today. One was the water company, it's attorneys and agents, politicians who were in debted to it for past favors and friends of the friends of the company. Then there was the municipal owner ship class which he believed was al ready in the majority. Lastly. there was the good citizen class. in favor of municipal ownership but who might be inclined to think that the time for municipal ownership had not yet come. It was for this class that the meet ing had been called.
 Eugene Brady O'Neill delivered a spirited address in the course of which he presented the figures prepared under the direction of the citizens committee and which had already been made pub lie at the time the committee submit ted it's report. It was shown by the report that the proposed municipal sys- tenn would cost a little less than S3C0,- 900; that the running expenses would be a little more than $15,000; that the interest on the bonds would amount to the same sum; the receipts of the pres ent company amounted to about S44,- 900 and that while no estimate could be made as to the receipts of the muni- cipal system they would certainly
  tenn thus assuring to the city hand some profit.
 The chief speaker of the evening was City Attorney John B. Wright of Tue son, who had been sent for to describe the experience Of that town with 2 municipal system. He went over the | history of the water works business o1 his town beginning with the inadequate | nf hn he town began the movement for pub- i lie system it encountered many ObSta- cles. one of which was threatened liti- gation but all those obstacles vanished as they were approached and now that | people would not abandon it. He pre- sented the figures showing that the net profit of it amounted to more than s1200 a month. That was an income which could be confidently counted upon and it aided in the making of | many other municipal Improvements The service was all that the citizens demanded though they found ways from time to time of making improve | ments in it. They were proud of it be- cause they owned it. He believed that the sense of proprietorship in public utilities increased the efficiency of those utilities and at the same time creat- ed q more patriotic citizenship. At the conclusion Of his address some one ir | the audience said, He is a chip of the old block,' by which reference was | made to the late Judge c. w. Wright | his father. At the close of the meet | ing a vote of thanks was rendered MT | Wright Before concluding his speech | he offered a letter from Mayor Schu- | macher of Tucson urging upon the peo. | pie of Phoenix the adoption of a mu- | nicipal system.
 l Walter Bennett was asked to speal of the legal aspect of the case. His l address was brief. He said that par Of the discussion had been gone ovel at earlier meetings and inasmuch a:
 no legal argument had been offered l by the other side against the bonds i was hardly necessary that one should | be made in their favor. He would say | though, that there could be no possibl, l legal obstacle to the issuance of tht
 bonds and the construction of q pub ! lie system. The threat of litigation which had been uttered from time tt ! time he did not believe would dete good American citizens from doin; what they believed would be the bes | thing for the community.
 The last speaker of the evening wa Chairman Adams of the committee He alluded to the personal attack
 which had been made upon him b, | these who were opposing the bonds
 They were not. he said, after all. per sonal attacks, but were meant to diver
 attention from the main question or t
 obscure it. He referred to his life il
 the city and to his service as mayor
 He asked why his record in that offic
 had not been brought out.
 The whole question, he said, did no
 involve the personality Of any mar
 So far as the public was concerne
 neither he nor MT. sherman was to b
 considered. This was a business propo
 sition which the character of any ma
 who had taken part in the discus , sion could not affect.
 MT. Adams presented several tele
 grams which he had received yesterda
 from towns where the municipal sys
 tenn is in force and has been for som
 time. One was from Mayor Wells c