The Somerset reporter., 1905-08-03
Important suit


hogan Water Co. against The Skowhegan
Village Corporation for the rent of 80
hydrants for the period of six months
ending July 1st, 1905, the amount
involved being s1,038 so This suit
comes about from the Corporation
Assessors refusing to make the usual
semi annual settlement on July 1st,
Offering to pay for five months rental
only and Withholding the amount due
for the month of May, under the claim
that the Water Company had not fulfilled
its contract ITO maintain good and
sufficient pressure" during that month
and citing the conditions prevailing at
the Anderson Mills fire on May 18th, as
proof of this fact The Water Co,
would not accept the pay for the five
months as offered and have therefore
brought suit for the whole amount.
The contract between the Skowhegan
Water Co. and the Village Corporation
was entered into In August, 1889, and
""o Api iht lOuhdi Va ~ All
which the water Co. was to receive
$1,000 payments to be made semi
annually on the first day of January and
the first day of July. For each addi-
tional hydrant, SIS per year was to be
added, and as five more have been put
in, the rental is now SPOTS per year.
RriaHu atofaI ha Of ha
are that the Water Co. is ito maintain
sufficient pressure at all times for the
extinguish of the fres." Claim
has been often made that it has not
done this. A little over year ago the
assessors of the corporation withheld
for a time the semi-annual payment to
the Water Co. but decided after brief
consideration to make the settlement in
full, although it WAS then claimed that
they could have rightfully refused to do
80 At the last annual meeting of the
Skowhegan Village Corporation the
following vote was passed:
"Moved-that the sum of s2,o75oo be
raised and appropriated for hydrant rental
the ensuing year, to be paid to the Skowhe-
gan Water Co, only upon the conditions that
the said Water Co. fulhlls the conditions of
their contracts with the Skowhegan Village
Corporation by maintaining at all times suf-
hcient pressure at all or any hydrants where
water may be required for prompt and i'm
mediate use for the extinguishment of fire;
and in case said Water Co. fails at any time
to have such sufficient pressure for efficient,
prompt and instant use by the fire companies,
the assessors OF the Corporation are hereby
instructed to Withhold payment of at least one
months rental for such delinquency"
While without this vote on the part
of the Inhabitants of the Corporation
the Assessors might have seen fit to
withhold portion of the hydrant rental,
under it they feel obliged to do so.
They claim that it was matter of COM
mon knowledge that the pressure at the
Anderson mills fire was ineffective, and
that the actual number of pounds shown
by the gage at the engine house, as OBJ
served by one of their number at the
commencement of the fire, was but so
lbs , and this declined to IS lbs. while
the fire was in progress. The assessors
claim that a full standpipe will show
nearly so lbs. pressure in the business
section of the town and at least rs lbs
is necessary to maintain good and suf
ficient pressure" They therefore feel
justified in assuming that the contract
was not fulfilled at the Anderson Mills
fire.
Gould & Lawrence are attorneys
for the Skowhegan Water Co. The
action will come up for trial at the
September Term of the Supreme Ju.
icial Court.