Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-03-11

moon Is made OF green cheese.
The water rent paid by the city COR
hydrants amounts to about $4,000 a year.
The tax for this rental has been levied
and collected from most taxpayers and
is presumed to he in the city treasury, but
in reality It is in banks, deposited at ,
per cent When Judgment is rendered by
the courts against the city, we will have
to pay per cent for the time while the
water rent has been in the banks at
per cent. That is all. We have had about
four or five decisions of the federal court
already that the contract made with the
water company in 1881 is valid and bind
ing. and that we are Obliged to pay the
rent. but we repeat and repeat these
costly law suits just In order to enable
the special attorneys OF the Water board
TO earn thousands of dollars in fees.
city Bound by Contract.
am one of those old-fashioned people
who believe that a city is in honor bound
to observe and live up to all its contract
obligations just the same any private
individual-just the same as any private
corporation When the city Of Omaha
made the contract with the water company
in 1881 it bound itself to pay the hydrant
rental for the period for which that con-
tract runs, and until that contract expires
two years from next September-until we
acquire the works by purchase, the city is
bound by the conditions of that contract
as much as the water company.
| Had we done what we had right to do
without the Intervention of Howell and his
compulsory purchase bin we would have
appointed appraisers for these works and
could have taken possession of them under
our charter. three years, two years or even
1 sN.r
for the mayor and council to appoint seven
appraisers to appraise the works and If
that appraisement was not deemed satis-
factory for the city, it could have been re-
jected and a new set Of appraisers APP
pointed, and whenever II was satisfactory
the city would have had the right to vote
the bonds and to tender the purchase price
to the water company and II the tender
was rejected by the water company the city
had the right 10 take the works and operate
them and the company would have been
compelled to seek redress in the courts. but
under the present arrangement we are tied
hand and foot. The appraisers can take
their own time and they aret taking time
beautifully, and when they get through we
are bound by their appraisement unless we
can show fraud corruption. The result
will be that we may be compelled to pay
from 31,OOO,OoO to 100000 or even 100000
more than the works are worth. "a voice :
That's it, And IL we refuse to vote the
bonds they will simply ask the court to
render judgment against the city and
Omaha will be in the same fix that Eliza
beth, n j., and Memphis were at one time
= There will be judgment hanging over
I Omaha so large that it practically would
be like bankrupt debtor-its credit would
be nothing and eventually it would have to
come to terms with the company. That is
/ precisely the condition in which Benson's
campaign manager, Howell, has put us
Tale of Gas Franchise.
Now, let US go back to the gas business
because there is an awful amount of gas
! TO be let loose in town and we may as
well deal with that question fairly and
without eauivocation. Fourteen years ago
( the gas franchise of the old Omaha Gas
company and United Gas company each
swallowed the other like Aaron's snakes
swallowed those other snakes laugh
/ teri. Their franchise was about to
{ run out and the city council deliberstely
/ and recklessly voted a new franchise to
the company fof fifty years, at s1.65 per
| 1000 feet without any royalty or rebate.
Just think OF it-hfty years! In order to
! thwart this high-handed scheme engaged
/ John L. Kennedy and William s. Popple-
I ton to institute proceedings and enjoin this
! action before it was consummated
I desperate effort was made by the gas
1 company to carry its fifty-year contract
through, but we firmly planted ourselves
| in the position that the franchise should
be reduced fro, fifty to twenty-five years;
second. that the company should reduce its
rate OF gas from t165 to S1.35; third, that it
should pay a royalty Of 5 cents for every
1000 cubic feet of gas sold to private con-
sumers with a graduated reduction in the
price of gas, according to the amount
consumed. That ordinance after a long
/ fight was finally passed.
II Is amazing, however, that some gentle
men, who are now clamoring for dollar gas
and the abFogation of the contract. were
in that council and voted for a fifty year
franchise at S1.65 per loo and no royalty.
! a Voice: BILLY Saunders OF the Fifth
ward'O. Billy Saunders. the assistant gen
eral manager and the guide, philosopher
! ana friend for Mr. Benson Billy is an
\ ideal manager. He Is opposed TO all graft
= and grafters, can't think OF the name
! of man in Omaha, and l remember pretty
nearly everybody that has served in the
city council, that was a worse CRATER.
Applause and laughter) II the people OF
Omaha would just look back and see what
happened when he was playing watchdog
OF the city treasury they would realize
what we may expect in the way OF reform
with Billy as chief steerer
WestberE as a watch Dog.
| That brings us squarely in front OF an
other candidate on the BensOnian ticket
who also is planted on the anti-graft plat
form and for a strictly honest and econom-
ical government. That gentleman was act
ing comptroller OF the city Of Omaha at the
time when the biggest defaloation that We
ever had In the city treasury occurred, and
he insisted before the investigating COM
mittee that the defalcation would not ex-
coed 5000 When Gle investigation was con-
cluded II was discovered that it amounted
TO $4,000. The name Of the gentleman was
John wsstberg. a voice; Don't tell
about a.. He is a safe man, Now / al
ways admit that a man is liable TO error,
but $4,000 OF an error in the comptroIer's
once Is a pretty big error TO make. In the
final settlement made some years later that
error cost the city $500 clean All we got
back OF the $4,000 was $500.
Now. going back to this dollar gas let me
say that l want 5O-eent gas and l would
like 10 have SO-cent gas II we can only get