, 1906-02-26


Some Personal Experiences.
But let us see how it affects the man
OF small means. AS l do not sign my
name TO this article you will excuse the
personal reference. as 1 feel that it
serves as a good illustration. Several
years ago l was learning a trade, at
the time receiving SIS per week. con
ceived the idea that it would be nice
to W a home and finding one in the
then outskirts of the city that could be
had for $500, ] waded in. The Wyo-
ming Loan ard Trust company con
cluded my purpose was honest and
bought the place for me, allowing me to
pay for it in monthly installments.
There were three of us in the family
but with The aid of the old Gov and a
dozen chickens we got along very
nicely. But | had to carry water two
blocks and soon tired of this. Some OF
the neighbors consented to go in with
me and we laid Il two-inch pipe to our
premises. My proportion of the cost
was $50, exclusive of putting the wa
ter on the premises. At the highest
rate | have heard proposed under the
bond issue, so cents per month, or even
twice as high as John Symons' bugaboo
of 5 mills with the property returned
at 100 cents on the dollar, would have
had fourteen years to pay for what
had to pay in one lump and that, too, at
a time when | could least afford it.
But | hear you say, you 10Y have the
water and it would be unfair to make
you pay for a new system Not so.
The people more %favorably located
have long since appropriated so much
of the water that during watering hours
the hydrant on the premises referred
to does not yield enough for domestic
purposes. The $S6 is gone and like
wise. the water a good share of the
time. Again you say, We on Grand
avenue have all the water we need and
n you want us to be taxed to help
supply YOU Just so. You have never
paid one penny for laying mains or tap
ping. You are the only people in the
entire city who have had free water, or
nearly so. Are you all as selfish as the
man who has two taps IN the main pipe
Tor one lot who eXclaims, II paid for
my water, let the rest Of the people do
the same as | did?" The rest of the
people simply want the same privilege
as he. Put the water down our street
and well pay for putting it on our lots,
and help pay the taxes too And then
did l 10 help pay for the boulevard
that makes your location popular.
Time for All To Boost.
We hear the cry going up on all
sides for a bigger and more beautiful
Laramie" How can we hope to have
a bigger Laramie if We are so afraid to
even have a sufficient water system to
afford ample fire protection? Do we
simply want the beauty of Laramie to
be limited to Grand enu and posi-
bly, a couple of blocks on either side?
If our present system is so inadequate
that bankers, lawyers, judges, preach
ers and laymen along the main pipe
have to use water contrary to law,
what show has the poor devil' who
lives on the short end of the pipe?
Let us rise to the emergency and for
once quit counting pennies. We can
have nothing unless we are willing to
work and pay for it. Let us not be
like the young Boer of South Africa
who, when asked why he did not come
up on the splendid road built by the
English. simply replied, "This road was
good enough for my father and | guess
it's good enough for me-"
The spirit of the times is advance
ment. Even Hettie Green or John d.
might figure out that they cannot af-
ford things, but the citizen who is most
valued in the community is the one
who can and does.
We Need New System.
II we lulh uoWn lue water question
now by defeating the bonds, when will
We again have a council that will feel
justified in reviving the question? We
are all agreed that we need a new sys-
tenn. 1t will not cost as much to build
it all at once as to dribble along over a
period of years, and even though it did,
the better water service and fire pro-
lection is worth more than the interest
We would have to pay for the money
borrowed, and we would have to pay
for it just the same whether We do it
little at a time or go at it in q bust.
ness like manner
Release your strangling hold on the
American eagle, grant hat "all men
are innocent Cor honesty until proven
guilty" and vote for a bigger, better
and more beautiful Gem City of the
Rockies by putting your cross opposite