The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1903-12-02
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1908
=" u ;" IT. y" TO THE PUBLIC
Candidates for the Different City Of
fices on peoples Ticket" State
Grounds Upon Which They
Ask Support.

ed by some that the present municipal
campaign involves no issues, the candi-
dates for the various offices on the So
called Peoples ticket deem it best to
publicly state what they consider the
questions are which the voter will de
ride when he casts his ballot on the st!.
of December.
The action of the present mayor and
city council in extending to the Yakima
Water, Light & Power company, for
more than generation, certain privi-
leges and contract rights, is deserving of
/ the most serious consideration on the
part of every voter. At the time of the
last election the city had contracts for
its water and light supply which would
not expire according to their terms for
II period of twelve years. The obligation
of these contracts was respected by both
parties thereto. No citizen outside of
the manager of the company referred to
and those in his confidence had the re.
hottest idea that the city officials then
elected would be called on to deal with
the water and light question or to incur
obligations which in their entirety ag-
gregate more than two hundred and fif-
ty thousand dollars. This action was
taken without consulting either voter
or taxpayer and not only in utter disre-
gard of their wishes in the matter, but
without any reference whatever thereto.
! Will the voters sustain this action?
If the city continues to grow, as we
believe it will, it will probably at the
time that the old franchise would have
expired twelve years from now) have
a population of twelve or fifteen thous-
and people; if so, at that time this fran
chise which has been given away twelve
years before its expiration. will have a
value at least equal to the annual
charges which the city must pay for wa
ter for fire protection and other pur-
poses, amounting now to three thousand
dollars per year, and increasing on a
sliding scale, as the population of the
city grows.
| Assuming that this franchise is valid,
the extension thereof greatly increases
the value of the entire plant of the Wa
ter and Light company; should the city
at some future date desire to condemn
the plant and to become the owner there
OF by purchase, as it very likely will want
to do, will not this action of the council
compel the city to pay a much larger
price therefor than it otherwise would
have had to pay? In time the best in
terests of the community will probably
demand that the plant be purchased by
the city; at such time it will become
clear that the extension Of the franchise
has greatly enhanced the value of the
plant, and the city will then be called
upon to pay for what it has now so gen.
erously and without reason given away.
Inasmuch as it is seriously questioned
by many of our citizens, including attor-
neys, as to whether the franchise will
be upheld by the courts, because grant
ed an unreasonable period before the ex-
piration of the old one, and because the
length of time for which it was granted
is unreasonable, we are in favor of a
thorough legal investigation as to the
validity of the ordinance; and if the
same can be repealed we are in favor of
repeating it.
We further contend that if the fran
chise should be held valid, the city still
has the right by ordinance to fix the
charges that shall be made for water to
users thereof, and that this right should
not have been and cannot be bartered
away
| We contend that the Water. company
has no right, and should not be permit
ted to, control the politics of this city,
and we claim that the nominations of the
| Citizens convention were dictated by
this company and that it is making ev-
| cry effort to elect them
We maintain that if the Water COM
pany wanted any further privileges
from the city, it should have asked for
them openly and "above board" that
there never has been any disposition on
the part of our citizens to treat this com
pany unjustly; every contract obliga-
| ton with the cOmnanv has alwavs haan