New-York tribune., 1905-04-21
MAYOR TO SEE GOVERNOR.
WILL DENOUNCE AGENTS.
Their Efforts Here and Work at
albany To Be Discussed.

Mayor Mcclellan will go to Albany the first
: of the week TO see Governor Higgins and the
legislative leaders with reference to the water
bill, which. in the opinion OF the Mayor, de-
prives the city OF the inalienable right to sell
its water or its water power as it pleases, once
1t has built reservoirs to store a supply.
AS stated in The Tribune yesterday, the
Mayor will accept the water bill as it comes to
him from Albany because he thinks the city's
needs for an immediate reinforcement Of its
water supply are paramount. It is expected
that he will tell Governor Higgins about GER
tain agents who have called on him at the City
Hall and certain representations that were
made to him with reference to the unwisdom OF
the city's attempting to utilize the water power
OF the Esopus watershed after the City's dams
are built 1t is said that the Mayor has dis
covered that the agents who made these repre-
sentations to him are those who brought about
the amendment to the water commission bill.
The Mayors attitude on the water bill draws
attention to rather peculiar situation In Tam
many Hail. Charles F. Murphy. leader OF the
organization. on the one hand is very friendly
to the Consolidated Gas Company, and Is not
disposed to do anything which now or at any
time in the future will deprive that company Of
lighting the city Of New:-Yorz at practically its
own terms
The need OF votes IN November has compelled
Mayor Mcclellan and his immediate colleagues
to pay heed to the growing sentiment in favor
Of municipal ownership. The Mayor is COM
mitted to a municipal lighting plant. He knows
that 1t will not amount to much unless at some
time In the future cheap power can be obtained
to make electricity. The water power flowing
over the prospective city dams in the Esopus
watershed is the power needed, in the opinion
of the Mayor, to make municipal lighting
lighting and power interests on end OF the
argument and Mayor Mcclellan on the other
end, the average Tammany man is asking:
(which wins?"
Discussing the status Of the water bill yester-
day Mayor Mcclellan said:
By the proposed amendments to the bill
shall not get what wanted at all We were
precluded from going into Suffolk County by the
Burr act and from entering Dutchess County by
the Smith act, and that left EsopuS and the
Hudson River to draw from. We went ahead
with the idea OF getting additional water supply
from EsOpus. and intended to build water
shells at Rondout, on Schoharie Creek and in the
Catsklls.
source and that is in Esopus. We have built.
or, rather, intend to build the AshOkan reser-
voir there, which viii be the largest reservoir in
the world 1t will be sixteen miles long and
from one to four miles in width. When this is
completed IL will give the city an enormous ad-
ditional water supply. hut, at the present rate Of
the city's growth, in my opinion 1t will be only
ten years more before the city viii need moro
than that affords.
think it great misfortune that the city
cannot use the potential power Of the water
falls for its own uses for lighting purposes. If
we were allowed to use the power generated
from the fall OF the Ashokan reservoir, which
will have drop Of six hundred feet we should
have probably enough power with which to
light the entire city, according to experts, it
could be easily transmitted to the city from
there. I understand that we have still the Hud-
son River to draw from II need be- but this
privilege is based upon the stipulation that We
shall have all our plans completed then and that
the State Commission shall approve.