Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-03-17
DAILY KENNEBEc JOURNAL Il TUESDAY, MARCH II 1908
said tbat that amendment was defeated

by some of the influential water COM
panies of Maine. He also gave the
history of the formation of Watervil,e
and Fairfield into water district I'M
der the leadership of Harvey D. Eaton
of waterville, who drafted the bill for
that purpose, and explained in detail
the decision of the supreme court that
the bill was perfectly constitutional,
as the 5 per cent. limitation applied
only to the city-that it did not apply
to the same people if incorporated as
another and distinct kind of municipal
corporation to be called a water dis
trict. This opened up the way for cit
les and towns to acquire their water
works by incorporating as water dis
t1icts.
He explained in detail the machinery
of the present bill, which is framed on
the lines of, a similar bill drafted by
Mr.. Heath for the city of Gardiner, and
the various steps to be taken under it.
The vote is to be taken by the people
on the fourth Monday of June. Ward 5
is excluded from the bill for purely le-
gal reasons, and to avoid all risk of the
act being declared unconstitutional, as
the court has never yet quite decided
that it would take the exact geographic
cal limits of city and incorporate that
as a water district, though it allows
the incorporation of a part of mu-
nicipality, or of the whole of two or
more municipalities. Under the bill,
after it has been voted upon, the whole
management of the question is to be
put in the hands of three trustees with
nominal annual salary of $500 each
to be chosen by the mayor and alder
men. one for three, one for two and one
for one year, and each year one man
to be elected to serve for three years.
1t the trustees cannot agree with the
company upon fair price for the wa
ter works by the sixth day of Novem-
Der, three appraisers, one of them q
lawyer, are to be appointed nominally
by a justice of the supreme court, but
practically, as in all such cases, by
agreement of the parties. The APP
praisers have five months in which to
hear the case end make uo their re-
port to file with the court. So that the
hearing will undoubtedly take place in
January or February of next year, the
time allowed for the various steps be-
ing reduced to the lowest limits which
experience has shown is practicable in
cases of such great moment. s
The decision of the appraisers upon
everything except questions of law is
final and without appeal. 1t is theil
duty under the bill to determine the
fair value of the property and fran
chises of this company.
Mr.. Heath carefully explained the
elements which would enter into such
a computation and the elements which,
would be excluded. To his mind it is
10 Il certain extent immaterial whether
the plant will cost 100000 or 100000
or 100000, for this reason: A private
water company here and everywhere
is properly managed upon a per cent
basis. We propose to do this, and will
float our bonds upon a .
IL per cent. basis. Under this bill the
works will be operated on a purely CO.
operative basis, without the idea OF
profit. Out of that l 1-2 per cent we
expect to work out the results of pure
water and cheaper water for the mer
who have to work so hard to pay for il
This water district will have no powel
to levy taxes, so that no man need feal
that his taxes will be increased. The
ii is true, but when a district has the
power and is required to levy water
Rates high enough to pay the interest
and the operating expenses and 1 pei
cent to the sinking fund, no man need
fear that any. holder of those bonds
will ever attach his house. Putting the
property of the city behind the bonds
simply gives them a great markel
value.
No man need fear that unde, the
machinery of this law these appraisers
will award to the Augusta Water Co.
more than they justly and fairly ought
to have. Every man will say that
whatever is their just due that they
should have. Under the ownership OF
the Augusta Water Co, Mr.. Heath ex-
planned, private consumers had been
charged the prevailing rate charged by
private water companies, and the city
has been given a very low rate. They
have given us, as rule, with some
such as the freezing of the
hydrants on State street-and these
things are accidents-as good fire SER
vice as there is in this State.
But if we own our own water works
q d co business upon a cheaper per
cent. basis than they do. we can cheap
en- the water rates, because we are ut
work for ourselves, and more than
that, the Augusta Water Co. could not
change their source of water supply tC
a purer one without putting out so large
a sum of money as to do itself finan-
cial injury. 1t would be the eXpendi-
ture of very large sum of money
with no addition to their income. We
can do it, because we have the power
to borrow money cheaper and to op-
er ate the works cheaper, and to get the
results which Auburn got. No people,
no city, no town, is justified in allow
ing a great necessity of life to be in
the hands of private owners when :;
has an opportunity to own it itself.
(Applause).
Mr.. Heath hoped the people of this
town would never be deceived into be-
lieving for a moment that there is any
system of filtration or otherwise that
can purge the water of the Kennebec
river, impregnated with sewerag e
which is bringing down, this year, the
eXcreta of from 200 to 800 cases of ty
phoid fever. You can, get engineers 10
testify either way, no doubt, but the