The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-09-18
RESOLUTIONS VS.. ENGINEERS.

RESOLUTIONS VS.. ENGINEERS.
With few exceptions, every year for
more than a decade has seen a short
age in tile water supply Of Salt Lake.
Tor at least fifteen years plans for Il
larger supply have been discussed.
Until Mayor Morris was elected, not
once in all this period has any actual
work been done that promised relief
10 mayor and council have yentured
10 undertake the one remedy most
feasible-au exchange Of Utah lake wa
ter for Big Cottonwood water. and the
construction Of the conduit AID other
works necessary to put the water into
the city mains.
rive years ago the people voted $3.50
600 OH the promise that the water sup
ply would be greatly Increased. a cit
liens committee and the city admins
JTation urged the approval of The bond
issue, specifying the Improvements
that would be made. Among other
promises was one to investigate and
an implied promise 10 utilize the Lib
erty park wells. Not only was the
money spent without securing the
promised increase in water supply, but
the Liberty park scheme was aban-
doned, rightly abandoned, because it is
not practicable, Now come a number
of prominent citizens and i'm the face
of adverse opinions from such trained
engineers as Mr.. Dorcmus and Mr..
Bacon, adopt resolutions on the sub
iect Not one of the men who talked
50 glibly in favor of the we'll water
at the Commercial club meeting Is an
engineer, not one had the technical
training emitting him TO speak with
authority, and not one had studied the
matter practically; yet they presented
and carried a resolution urging upon
the city authorities "the utilization of
The artesian wells as a good and avail
able resource already demonstrated TO
he sufficient in quantity, desirable in
quality and Immediately available at
small expense
The engineer who has studied the
question carefully and gone over all
the data available for months says the
supply is Of doubtful quality, and cites
the fact that two out of six analyses
show the presence of impurities. He
declares the supply has not been dem
oustrated TO be sufficient in quantity"
20 afford any zeal relief. and he says
il is not Immediately" aVaila BILE.
Moreover. he says the cost of Liberty
park water per gallon, pumped, would
be about ten times the cost per gallon
of bringing i'm Big Cottonwood water
by gravity.
4 knowledge Of MI Doremus' pro-
fessional ability and acquaintance with
his subject, as compared with the opin-
ions of the prominent citizens who re
solved" leaves no room for discussion
us to the weight of authority Add to
sir. Doremus' views the opinion OF
George Nj. Bacon, engineer in charge of
'l'N ''eANN+ ANNANAoAAr anu iAo NuAlilllAtEt
of engineers in the country would hes.-
tate TO accept their judgment as final
Certainly they would not hesitate as
between Mr.. Doremus and Mr.. Bacon
on one side and, say Mr.. Ewing and
Mr. Snyder on the other.
We believe the $4,000 or $4,000 SO
jauutily proposed as an expense for the
Well scheme would be wasted, and the
added cost Of pumping worse than
wasted, because it would be thrown
away deliberately and entail a needless
perpetual charge against the city.
The political motives behind Satur-
days meeting need hardly be pointed
out, they are so obvlous. some few of
the men interested were possibly ig-
norant Of the politics in the game, but
the moving spirits We're more anxious
20 discredit the city administration
than they were 10 learn the truth about
the water question and act honestly on
IL. Most OF these men saw the same
conditions produce a water famine in
the Ezra Thompson administration and
had 10 word of blame for Thompson or
for the men who spent quarter OF a
million dollars for the city without
adding q gallon of water 20 the supply.
Inspired BY political soreheads and
applauded by obstructionists. they seize
upon the opportunity offered by a phe-
nomenally dry season and attempt TO
make political capital of II.
The resolution adopted is worth con-
sideration FOR just so long as it will
take TO refer it 10 a committee Cor
burial. II has no facts behind it mat
entitle it 10 serious discussion. and not
one opinion in favor of 1t from any
man whose knowledge of the subject
is worth talking about.
Having planned and carried through
the preliminary negotiations necessary
for u permanent and adequate water
supply. Mayor Morris and the council
can afford TO complete the work and
trust 10 the results for their vindica-
lion. Every great public improvement
develops kickers and obstructionists,
and this is no exception. Bahled in
The attempt to prevent the sale of wa
Tor bonds defeated i'm a sfIIv effort m |