Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1906-05-16
CITY WILL KEEP THEM.
Citizens at Mass Meeting Decide to
Retain the Water Works as the
Property of the City.

OOAA AAOoOS AC%ON L AAaCIJ III
the purpose of taking some action
on the water works question was
we'll attended.
L. M. Axline was made chair
man of the meeting and Jerry Gano
secretary. By the request Of Mayor
Shaw, J. N. Tincher explained to
the citizens in a general way, the
proposition of outside parties to
take out the present water plant
of the city and to install in the
place thereof a we'll and standpipe
system.
A motion was made by G. M.
Martin tha it be the sense Of the
meeting not to turn over the pres
ent water works system to any
man, set of men, company or cor
poration. Mr.. Best being present
was called on for more definite
explanation of the proposed propo-
sition from outside capitalists. Mr..
Best said that outside capitalists
were willing to put in good we'll
and standpipe system and also an
electric light plant to be run in
connection with the water works,
the total investment to be about
$4,000. This proposition to be
contingent upon the hearty good
will of our people and the gift to
the new company of the present
city water system, not including
the ditch. The various phases Of
this proposition and the motion
not to turn over the present water
system to outside parties were pref
ty thoroughly gone into by G. M:
Martin, DR.. Stout, Steve Garrison,
w. L. Bragg, Samuel Griffin, ]. N.
Tincher, Fred Wadsworth, ]. B.
Stockstill and Mayor Shaw. The
vote being taken, the motion was
carried unanimously not to part
with the present water works sys-
tenn.
In order to meet the yearly def
cit of $625 it was declared to be
the sense Of the meeting that all
water contracts be raised IS per
cent after July I, 1906. The Su-
perintendent of the water works
was instructed to enforce, strictly,
the water contracts in regard to
the hours when the hydrants should
be allowed to run.
Notwithstanding all that was
said and done at the mass meeting,
the fact still remains that the pres
ent water works plant is not sa It's
factory to the people of our city.
The quality and the quantity of
the water are both lacking but not
seriously. 1t seems, however, that
we will have to worry along with
the present plant until someone
can show the city how to finance
better proposition. If the city
fathers had the money, or legiti-
mate way to raise the money, the
citizens might rest assured that
they would get better water and
more of it.
The situation has afforded those
who have a prejudice against mu
:, nicipal ownership to score a point,
and yet the conclusion is not war
ranted by the facts. The writer
was not in the city at the time Of
the meeting but we are informed
that the principal reason for the
p decision was the fear that under
private ownership rents would be
SO high that many would find it
impossible to use the service, and
they got their cue from cities in
which the system is privately
owned, consumers paying from S.
to $40 per month.
The Medicine Lodge system was
built hurriedly and by inexperi-
enced, incompetent men most of
whom had no interest in the city
and are now gone. There is no
dispute that had the city put In a
we'll and stand pipe in the first in
stance the cost would have been
less, the cost of operation less and
the service better. Barring the
dam and ditch expenses, the pres
ent rates are self-sustaining and
were there no ditch to contend
with there would be no occasion
to raise the rates. 1t was simply a
blunder from the start and is. nc
-.er..n,ar,f against Inrnicina