The independent., 1903-04-02
RESCUED A COLLEGE
And Then Use d That as n Lever for Prying
Loose ali Kinds of franchises

the editorial page, is given the his
tory of man who bought coal
mine" | want to give you a part of
the history of man who found col
lege In a financial strait and came to
its rescue. 1t was located in town
of about 1000 people; he paid off the
debts. put up with the help of others
very extensive buildings, he putting
In nearly as much as all others put
together did. His college was soon
named after him. Soon he asked the
city council to give him the franchises
Of the streets for railroad purposes for
ninety-nine years. This was done.
1t was not long until he had mo-
nopoly in the electric lighting of the
city-and the price was put very high.
Soon after he got monopoly OF the
ice business and the price OF ice was
put two or three times higher than in
other cities. Then he got monopoly
in the furnishing of milk for the col
lege Soon he must have been get
ting eight or nine thousand dollars
per annum from these sources. | have
not the exact figures at hand. Well
sometimes the college failed to pay
running expenses. and he generously
came to it's assistance. One year re-
member he put up nearly three tho;-
sand dollars besides giving house
and lot and some other things, and in
the meantime the city had put up a
system of water works, owned and
operated by the city, of which all its
citizens were very proud; but this
public benefactor, having mOnop-
oily in everything else, soon cast
coyetOus eye towards the city water
works. Finally he thought his chance
had come; he found a board of alder
men, majority of whom were cor
rlIpt or else he corrupted them with
his immense wealth, and he proceed
ed to lay his proposition before them.
Soon they had the contract signed,
sealed and delivered, and, Mr.. Editor,
right here | want to ask you to vouch
for my veracity, for | have to give
facts The records of the city clerks
Office will show which no man with
an honest impulse in his heart can be-
lieve unless he Is assured of the hon
esty of the man who tells them. What
are these facts? lid he propose to
accept the city's system of water
works as a gift? Not he. Did he Of
fer to take them as gift with the
addition of 100 thousand dollars add
ed? Never!
Now bear in mind the city was
pumping it's water from an artesian
we'll and he had system of water
works about one mile from the well.
His offer was to put in pipe from
his water tank to connect with city
water works and to pump the wate-
for them for 20 cents per thousaul
gallons for period of fifty years.
Now, do not forget that the city was
then pumping its water at an average
cost of about cents per thousand gal
Ions. The city was to keep up its
pipes and extend them and renew
them when necessary, collect the wa
ter rents and pay him this price at the
end OF every month.
Now, am somewhat of an expert in
figures, and as | figure it, if he had
put his income from this contra@ at
interest at s per cent as he took it in
from the city he would have had at
the end OF the fifty years more than
670 thousand dollars, sum far in
excess of double the amount of the
assessed value of all the property,
personal and real, in the city as shown
by tax assessors books. Now, for
what the taxpayers did at a heavy ex-
pense they went into the courts and
obtained an injunction estopping them
in this villainous affair-because the
mayor of the city did rot sign it.
Did the old man stop there? No, he
makes new contrt ct with the cor
rupt majority of the board of alder
men worse in some respects than the
first one. The mayor, to his everlast-
ing honor be 1t said, vetoed the thing
Then the philanthTopist got ''one-
horse" lawyer to try and get the coun-
ell to pass it over the mayors veto,
but it was no go. AT the next two
city elections a desperate effort was
made to defeat this honest mayor by
the 'one-horse" lawyer, but he won
out both times.
This philanthropist poses as
Christian. God save the mark. So do
the Rockefellers, end perhaps the
Morgans; of this last, however, | am
not sure, as | see he is reported to
have gone to sleep at the funeral ser
vices of DR.. Curry; and again | see
he gives man 250 thousand dollars