Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-02-10
EVENING Session.

Evening Session.
| Mr.. Baker in opening for the Maine
| Water company spoke as follows:
| Mr.. Chairman and gentlemen of the
committee, l will say Il word merely IL
opening just to define our position, and
| think nothing more than that in the
| opening. Our position has always beer
| the same in this matter and it is this
| If the people of the town of Brunswick
or the people of the city of Bath, OF
| both OF either are of the opinion that
they would do better under municipal
ownership, we have, no. objection to
their having municipal ownership. II
they will do as the people of other mu-
inequalities. so far as | know hitherto
in the history of the State have done,
namely, arrange to suit themselves in
their own way their water district and
take our entire system in these two
places which are bound together ineX-
tricably, we are perfectly willing that
they should do so. and we should Of
fer no opposition to such a bill. We
will take the same position here that
we should and do in relation to any
of our other properties-that if the peo-
pie of the localities think they will do
any better under municipal ownership,
that they may have municipal owner
ship so far as we are concerned, and
without any opposition on our part.
AS long as that matter has been be-
gun we have no objection to its going
on In every other case the people OF
the different municipalities wherever
they have really desired municipal
ownership have faced precisely the
same problem as here. l believe that
| am right in saying without excep-
ton. that so far as the properties of the
Maine Water company are concerned,
that each one of them represents a
system and no one of them is confined
to the limits of a single municipality.
They have plants where two or more
towns lie and are so situated with ref
erence to an actual water supply that
they are destined by nature to be sup
piled from that particular source, and
they have stepped in and have made
such a unit--a unified system, at large
expense and have endeavored to give
the best water that nature had pro-
vided within accessible distance.
And wherever that has existed the
people in that district, whenever they
have come to the conclusion that they
would rather have their own plant
and they never do that until it is in a
| fairly profitable condition, as is their
right--they have got together among
| themselves and by process of elimi-
nation and combination to suit them
selves have arranged a water district.
And whatever the number of towns
composing the water district, provid-
ed they are one or more, they have in
each case determined that for them
| selves and in each case have taken the
| entire system, including not only the
| towns that We're to run the water sys-
tenn and the new water district but
| included all the towns supplied.
| Now. if these gentlemen will do that,
| then they can have any form of munich
| pal ownership that they desire so far
| as we are concerned. Anything that
will be approved by the committee VIII
| be approved by us. And we have ac-
| cordingly drawn bill here on precise
| ly the same lines as the Waterville act
or their own act which they have
drawn. which, as / understand it, is
substantially a copy of the proposed
Gardiner act which is to come before
you, and to which we shall make no
| opposition, where the city of Gardiner
| has faced exactly the same problem.
| They had a water district which sup
piled not only Gardiner but several
| other towns. The other towns did not
care to come in, and the city of Gar
diner has stepped in and assumed THE
l th,nU nd ic n AXE that entire
| system. and the bill of the city of Car
| diner has been substantially copied by
| our friends here.
Now. in order to put our position
| properly before the committee we have
| drawn a bill practically identical in
| terms with the Gardiner bill which Is
| itself the Waterville. or what is called
| the kennebec Water District act, with
some few notifications which the Gar
diner people adopted and which the
| Brunswick people have adopted ano
| which we have adopted in ours. W.
| have drawn a bill, and this bill we viii
hand to the committee, and which We
will offer asour proposition. 1t says thai
| the city of Bath and the town o.
Brunswick and the towns of Woolwicl
and TopshaG. or the cityof Bath alon,
or the town of Brunswick alone, or an,
two or more of the four combinations
just exactly to suit themselves. shat
have the option to purchase under tn,
ordinary commission way this entir,
system and that option shall extern.
until they have voted in the differen
municipalities at any time until ii
fist of January. 1904
That is our position. and the thin;
that we object to here. and no evidenc
as I shall call to your attention late
has been introduced upon that PROPOSE
ton at all. and that is to have thi
! system dismembered, because, we say
5 so far as we are concerned, it canno
: be operated except as one syster
: without most serious financial los.
l and for reasons which we will expla;
later. and which do not dwell upon i
the opening. that it will be matter a
: the gravest injustice and incapable q