Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1905-02-03
OUR TOWN

Councils Treatment of the Con
selidated Water Power { Pape
Company.
This is our town. 1t is not M
town. the assessors town, the alder
man S town or the mayors town. /
is our town. BY ''Our" | mean ever
man, woman and child in the town
limits. The success and welfare, th,
honesty and integrity, the moral anC
spiritual attitude of the town is tina,
tOf its own citizens. We make oul
town just what we wish it to be anC
If iJ is not successful or honest we
are alone to blame and each is person.
ally responsible because it is not
successful and honest. A man gives
his word to perform an act and it will
be accepted the first time. If he
keeps his engagement he is couuted
Trustworthy. 1t is the pride of every
one to say his word is as good as his
F.! bond" No man will suffer his honor
on that score to be attacked, many
make pretenSe in a wordy defending
| of it when many times there is nothing
| in fact to back; it are we that kind?
We are part of the whole that makes
our town and it we as a whole re-
pudiate our word given in good faith
| and SO accepted we are diSgraced in
the eyes of our neighboring towns,
but more so in our own. This brings
me to the situation that appears to
exist and to a self examination as to
whether we are no more honest. and
are we to be so little trusted and is
our pledged word of so small value
as that which member of the CITY
council has for the time being placed
upon it by obtaining the consent of
the council to repudiate our pledge
given to the organizers of the Con-
Solldated Water Power & Pa per
Company.
l do not wish any one to attribute a
personal motive, or interest, for the
Consolidated Company, or against the
gentleman of the city council who is
lighting the Consolidated Company.
do not intend either to attribute
any motive to that gentleman's action
neither by quoting the current gossip
of the street or supplying motive
myself. This matter has resolved it,
self not into a question of who the
parties are but into one of right ia
which we as town have given our
word and have now repudiaued that
sacred pledge.
| The city council agreed few years
ago with the organizers of the Con
SOlidated Company of which the late
}. ID. Witter was prime mover, to
remit certain portion of their taxes
providing certain manufacturing
establishment was built on the falls
at this place. On account of unfor-
seen delay the time was extended SO
that it would be in operation during
the years of 1903, 1904 and 1905. Last
year an order was drawn and the
Consolidated people received what
they were entitled to recover. This
year one member of the council pro.
poses that we do not pay this money
to them and has started suit TO re-
cover that which was paid them last
year. In the history Of the town we
have made three such pledges and
each and every one of these pledges
were kept, and no one will deny but
that the Centralia Pulp & Water
Power Company, the ObeI beck Manu-.
featuring Company and the Grand
Rapids Lumber Company have been
and still are great benefits to this
town. | do not believe either that
the action OF the city council in re.
pudiating this pledge is the will OF
the citizens of this town and If an
Institution were to come to US to.
morrow and ask for a similar pledge
with the assurance that three quarters
of a million dollars or even less would
be spent that on popular vote there
would be found very great majority
voting in it's favor. On account OF
the pledge bcing one purely of good
faith and clear case of honor it
places us all in a position where we
should see this pledge more carefully
redeemed than otherwise. There is
nothing giving cities authority to de
these things and still it is and can bt
done providing no one objects, making
it clearly a case of good faith. The
time to object to an action of thi.
kind was when it was first requested
and not to permit the Consolidated
people to believe that we would treal
them as honestly as we had othel
institutions and carry a dirk up oul
sleeve until some later period wher
they would be entirely at our mercy
especially when it turns out to bs
of such poor quality.
The justice of a proposition of re
funding of taxes has good deal II
sustain it. Something like Is pei
cent of all the property owners in tn,
town, are owners of small places o
individual homes and that comprise.
all they possess. Most of this large
| norcaotauo Of Sanarato ounorc uay