Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1905-07-13

WATER AND SEWERAGE.

By invitation OF the city council
Professor William j. Roberts, Of
Pullman, Wash, is here TO furnish
plans and specifications for q sewer
ago system for GrAngeviIIe and 70
assist the coundI In acquiring :
wassr syststn. That the ides Of
municipal ownership Of public
utilities is now dominant in Amer
lea cannot be questioned, and is no
longer On experiment, but . veri.
fed fact. Last Friday, while adj
dressing the Washington Bar Asso-
citation in their annual meeting in
Spokane, Judge Whitson said:-
''There is a growing sentiment in
favor Of municipal ownership and
control Of all public utilities that
the agitation will continue until all
public utilities in the cities shall
have passed under the control Of
m municipalities to be operated AZ
public concerns cannot be doubt.
ed" That they are constantly
passing from control Of private
parties and private corporations to
that of municipalities is Of itself
sufficient argument, but we desire
for the edification and instruction
Of our people to submit q few fig
ures along with the facts. 1t is
not our intention to assail the
present owners Of the GrangevilIe
water system. The people Of
GraDgeville know that they have
the finest water on earth to drink
and with which to sprinkle their
lawns. They also know that the
present system, being . gravity
system, 10 the cheapest that can be
constructed while they as citizens
and consumers Of the water are
paying more for their water privi-
leges than their neighbors who
in cities or less favored locali-
ties, and that they are paying in
taxes IN annuity Of one thousand
dollars for fire protection which
the present system fails to furnish.
Is il not now time for the people
to wake up to the condition OF
things? Or shall they wait for
twenty years longer, as they have
been doing for the railroad, and
themselves and children to
be tied hand and foot by private
corporations. and private greed?
We believe that the time could not
be more o~pportune than now for
the city to take hold Of this matter.
and Moscow each owns
both their water system and their
system, and the people
Of Grsngeville have not forgotten
how that Lewiston had to buy her
water system from . private oor-
and now, under munich
pal control, . citizen Of Lewiston
gets for . dollar and . quarter
what he would have to pay two
for in Gfangeville, not
withstanding the fact that the
people are under the
necessity Of keeping up expensive
pumping machinery TO obtain their
water supply.
A water system, on first thought,
may seem to be an expen sive piece
of property, but 1t must be borne
Ia mind that rs soon as it ia install
led II will pay interest ON the
price and more than keep
up . sinking fund besides; nor will
The issue Of bonds to buy or build
! water system interfere with the
plans Of the council to put in a
sewerage plant, a. the rev enue to
pay for q sewerage plant will be
raised by q tax on the property
and does not in any
manner enter into the bonding
question.
At the Dalles, Oregon, q water
system was installed az early as
1865 by a private corporation. In
1890 the system was extended and
sold to the city for $50, 900. 90, the
Of the Dalles at that
slime being $500. Since that time
The system has been improved and
extended by the city at a cost in
The aggregate Of sl35, 600. Now
The population of the city is $500
and the water system is paying
he city II, 100. 90 per month, or
b13, 10000 annually.
- - ~ 4E#
The Colfax system cost sos, 900