Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-05-09
LOCAL COMMENT.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

| Davenport is another city that is dis
| turbed over it's water rates and g
| committee Of the council has reported
that the water company be required
to reduce its minimum rate from 81:
| per year to 50 and allow consumption
of $4,000 gallons of water at this price
The lowest price at which Davenport
| ers can use water from the mains is
now $12 per year. while the minimum
! rate to citizens of Marshalltown is
ls4. AT the Davenport minimum the
rate per 1000 gallons is SO cents but
the citizen must pay for $4,000 gallons
a year at this rate. The Marshalltown
rate for the consumption of that much
water is SIS cents with a reduction OF
8 cents if paid promptly.
The change in proprietors of the Pill
grim Hotel is matter of great pub
lie interest to Marshalltown. The right
kind of man can make that institu-
ton as valuable to the city as a factory
or new industry and hotel affairs in
this city have not been what they
should be for a long time.
There is general regret locally that
Marshalltown men did not secure the
Rhoades-Carmean factory for it was
understood that a new buggy company
would have been organized to operate
the factory permanently. Some of
these days we will have another Com
mercial Club banquet to answer the
question What is the matter with
Marshalltown?" and the usual replies
will be made but the fact remains that
the real answer will never be heard I'M
til local capital grows less timid. The
only permanent prosperity that can
ever come to town must come from
the activities of its own citizens Towns
that grow are built up by their own ef-
forts. There is local capital here ready
and willing to invest in buggy COM
pany to operate the Rhoades- Carmean
factory. Who will organize it?
Citizens Of this town should make
their councilmen understand that they
will not be satisfied until the water
supply is SO improved that none but
the water from the wells can enter the
city mains. Water direct from the
river has not been admitted, to be
sure, but water from the old gallery
under Pierce's Park has been used
constantly and while this supply an
alyses perfectly pure it is believed to
be a source Of danger and should be
permanently shut off from all con
nection with the city mains. This gall
lery is drain 1900 feet long laid under
Pierces Park % feet below the sur
face. 1t is constructed OF perforated
IT. e.. u
layer of rock and another of sand filter
on top and is used as a supply reser-
voir into which the water pumped from
the wells is allowed TO back up for
use when extra amounts are forced in
to the mains. Much water unquestion-
ably seeps into the gallery from the
outside and 1t is somewhat eXasperat-
ing to Marshalltown citizens to learn
that they have been using wafer from
this old gallery when they had been
led to believe that none but the water
from the drive wells had been adj
mitted to their service pipes. The pres
ent council is in no way to blame but
1t is face to face with a duty to rem
edy the situation and nothing but
prompt action will be accepted with
pleasant face by its constituency.
Councilman Webster's protest against
more saloons to open in this
city is thus read by the Mason City
Globe Gazette:
If Marshalltown isn't in the grasp
of the saloon power we don't know what
city in Iowa is. Not long ago the
conditions We're such that even some
good people really thought that the SAL
Don would be an improvement. They
We're not the first good people deceived.
Now, they are so thoroughly the slaves
of the saloon business that to throw 1t
off is improbable, to prevent further in
of the curse is impossible.
Councilman Webster, who was a sa-
loon advocate, had a tilt in the council
chambers last night. The council is
of saloon men. Natural for
where you find saloons you find the
city council unusually controlled by the
saloon vote. Webster fought like a
tiger to keep back the gradual en-
croachment of the evil but he was so
badly whipped that he hardly knew
himself the next morning. He had
only two votes on the council and one
Of them was his own. You could read
between lines in this mornings Tines
that they are disguised
with the holiness and the arrogancy
this oligarchy has so quickly built. |
could have read history
to advantage"
The above is somewhat inaccurate |
as the comment of an outsider is likely |
to be. The purport of the article is to |
show that Mason City is better off |
without saloons and the T.-R. will not
question the wisdom of the opinion Ii !
IS also true that there are councilmen |
rom certain wards in Marshalltown |
afraid of the political influ-
ence of the saloon element, but the |
average citizen here knows that ma |
ority of our councilmen can act and do
let without fear of the saloon vote.
The objection Mr.. Webster had to the
of more licenses was that |
here We're saloons enough in the city |
llready and that more would mean adj
led competition with greater tempta-
ion to violate the laws in saloon oper-
,tion. AS rule Marshalltown saloon
have kept within the legal reg
llations but the more there are scram-
,ling for business the sooner will they
De straining at their halters for more
liberty 1t would be well for the city
the license should be doubled and the
lumber of permits reduced by one half.
The fewer saloons we have the better
or the community.