Omaha daily bee., 1906-07-20
OUR LETTER BOX


OMAHA, July is.-To the Editor OF The
Bee; The suggestion OF MIR. Dumont for
compromise with the Water company on
the valuation OF the water works would be
a step in the right direction Il compromise
were possible. But there is a higher ques-
tion, IL seems to me. which should be FIRST
answered, AS everybody knows, two out
OF three Of the most eminent engineers in
the United States. whose special duty Il
was, have fixed the valuation at S626SOoO.
II is reasonable to believe that. Il COM
promise were now sttainable. that Il could
not be bought below S5.OOo,OO0 DO the peo-
pie Of Omaha want such an investment,
with the hazards OF municipal ownership
added. at any such cost? This, think,
Is the primary question.
Something like eighteen months ago I
had been impressed by certain information
that l had gotten from the late Captain
Reynolds and from Mr.. Stockton Heth
about the cost and valuation OF our Omaha
water works. ! brought the subject to
the attentions OF Jrhe Commercial club in
some remarks in which l strongly urged
that the Howell law should be allowed
TO die a natural death. and that Omaha
should Immediately open negotiations for n
release OF the water plant on a fair basis
for water rates. 1 was told afterward that
It was held that nothing could be done
until the award was made by the ap-
praisers on the valuation, the very thing
l was anxious to avoid. II was said that
we must wait We waited. l thought then,
as every man of sense and candor must
see now that II is entirely reasonable to be-
lieve that even n compromise were now
possible which, in my opinion. II is not.
the valuation could never be brought be-
low S5.000.0O0. Captain Reynolds had told
me that the water company had expended
more than 100000 at Florence, and an
| other OF equal responsibility had made It
plain to me that the piping Of the great
plant alone, one OF the best in the world
the piping being, under ample tests In a
state OF perfect preservation and prac-
tically as good as .new-had cost SS,OO0,OO0
My earnest plea at the Commercial club
was that negotiations should be opened
with the Water company for a release OF
| the plant before, and not after the award
should be made. My fear was that the
| newspaper engineers were certainly mis-
| taken In placing the valuation at from
| g, 600 900 to $3.5O0.000 and that 1t would be
/ nearly twice those sums. 1 also feared.
( and often said to Governor Boyd, Mr.. Wat
ties and other citizens that l was greatly
| fearing that the Water company, acting
within its rights under the law might
| seek to compel the purchase, whether
Omaha wished it or not. This is precisely
what has happened ] think 1t was Addison
who said that when man was worth only
e1OO nobody had any respect for his opin-
ion, but one worth e15,OO0, which was a
great fortune in his day. was esteemed to
1 be full OF wisdom. I am but too apt to
forget that the philosophy OF Addison Is
| as applicable to these times as It was to
those Of Queen Anne. But with something
akin to contempt for 1t, I asked the Com
mercial club to take few days notice of
its responsibility in the case. The COM
panies and the executive committee were
very courteous in the matter indeed as
they always are to me, and kindly filed
my communication in a trunk.
have had some experience in this town
with wars upon corporations which made
its existence possible. and l am not in
favor of these wars. therefore will, from
my old place at the feet OF those whose
right of control In the larger affairs oi
Omaha nobody questions. beg to sub
nit TO them, this motion:
Get together and appoint a COMMITTEES
. OF seven from your own number, whos'
duty It shall be TO confer with Preslden
, Woodbury. and the water company for
J release OF the water works on fair ant
honorable TERMS
Omaha did a thing like this once witt
the Union Pacific Railroad company an
my distinct recollection is that It resulte'
to its advantage.
GEORGE L. MILLER.