Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1906-10-05
WHAT WILL BE THE OUTCOME?
Result of Next Fridays Meeting caus-
ing Much Speculation.

/ Public interest now centers in the
special village meeting (which will be
+ held in Festival hall next Friday even.
+ ing al 5 o clock to reconsider the vii.
I lage water question. The warrant for
the meeting contains three articles:
First, to see if the village will vote to
purchase the Sunset Lake and Chestnut
Hill systems for $4,000, which the pc
tition says is the price now charged for
them: second, to see if the village will
vote to instruct "Our town representa-
tive to take measures to secure prop
or and sufficient legislation TO enable
the village to construct or purchase a
system Of water.works. also to rescind
the vote, taken at a former meeting, to
instruct the water board to arbitrate
as to a price which the village should
pay; third, to see if the village will
vote to buy the two systems and arbi-
trate as to the price.
Although public opinion seems to be
divided as to the advisabiity of pur.
chasing the present systems, there are
a large number of people who regret
that the water question has been re.
opened after a supposedly satisfactory
adjustment of it had been reached in
an agreement between Mr.. Crowell and
the water board to arbtrate as to the
value of the Chestnut Hill and Sunset
Lake plants Many feel that the board
has already placed the village in a po-
sition that will result in litigation of
an expensive nature in case the village
rcscinds its action taken at the special
meeting early in the year. There seems
to be a growing sentiment, however,
in favor of dropping the entire matter
and allowing Mr.. Crowell the posses
sion of his systems for the present at
least. Not few people have become
disguised with the municipal owner
ship idea on account of the trouble ac-
companying its consummation. Wheth-
er the voters next Friday evening will
go so far as to express themselves in
favor of going ahead with an independ-
ent system without further dealings
with Mr.. Crowell is a question open to
some doubt, but it is apparent that peo-
pie on both sides of the matter are dis
pleased with the water board and be-
lieve that its dismissal is necessary to
a satisfactory outcome of the dispute.
This displeasure does not manifest it
self against the members of the board
but seems to have grown
out of the apparent inability of the
to work tremendously.
Three members of the board, James
T. Hooker, L. E. Holden and G. E. Gil
man, have this week issued a state
ment which appears in another column
of this paper. In it they question the
of Mr.. Crowel S system for
a municipal plant, both on account of
the quality and quantity of the water,
and state that they have exhausted ev
cry effort to arbitrate on the matter of
price They further say that the agree
ment reached last July between the
board and Mr.. Crowell placed the latter
under obligation to stop work imme
diately and arbitrate within two
weeks, and that Mr.. Crowell violated
both of these conditions There seems
to be a misunderstanding in regard to
the latter condition. The text of the
agreement made public at that time
contains no provision relative to arbi
tration within two weeks although it
does say that the time taken for evil
dence shall not exceed two weeks by
each party,