The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1906-10-16
Wake Water Company
Earns Dividend on
$204,044 of Wat
cred Stock and
Bonds.
IMPOSITION Is PROVED
The Report Of Experts X~indicates the
statement Of the News and ODD
server and Points the way
For City Ownership and
Cheaper Rates.


Cheaper Rates.
The News and Observer has served
the public wca1 in many ways saio
q leading citizen Of Raleigh yestef-
day, but never in Il way that Aas 50
coneDiciously demonstrated its WISDOM
as in its fight for city ownership OF
water ana in its contention mat the
Wake Water Company was hafRln&
the people extortionatc prices Tor
water in order to earn HlVi'ehds on
,.9tarcd Ionds and Watered stock.
The report Of he capable experts that
. c~ornpIcte system, as good or better
than the present system can now be
installed for $142,956 is full AND COM
rlete vindication Of the contention OF
the News and Observer and r1futauon
of the special pleading by those VINO
have been trying to unload the system
on the city for more than twice It's
WORTH, or get q new franchise that
would enable the to continue
to charge 1t at least twice
rs much as necessary in order to earn
~JiyidendS Of Watcrcd bonds and wat
cred stock.
Il do not beIieve.' continued that
gentleman. that as much as one hum
dred thousand dollars of outside
money has been put into the plant,
but that al in addition to that sum
was provided from the earnings of the
But. if il is admitted that
it cost SAB $50 to put in this plant
twenty years ago. when material ana
labor was much cheaDar than now.
we stiu have the fact that for twenty
years the Raleigh Water Company
(~changed some years 9 to the
Wake Water Company for some reason
that was not in the interest of the
pubIic)-has been charging high
rental in order to pay interest on
dividends on $204.044 of Watered
bonds and stocks. 1t was bad enough
to charge high rentals to pay divi-
dends on Watered stock. 1t is an
outrage that Raleigh people should
be made to pay two prices upon the
prime necessity of life to enable u
few men pocket interest regularly on
$2.104.044 Of Watered bonds"
That statement sums uo the whole
water works question. 1t proves con-
Clusively what this paper has long be
lieVed, tO-Wit: that the water company
was making pay eXorbitant
prices on Watered bonds and Watered
stock. AS to the stock it has been
known that it "represents nothing on
the earth or under the earth or above
the earth except a desire to get some
thing for nothing. 1t is We'll known,
too, that the stock was given as a pres
ent. or sold for a song. to favored
persons in Raleigh, though of course,
some of the holders paid as
much as twenty to forty cents in
the dollar for the stock in recent years.
They We're the victims Of Il game of
bunco, and when they lose their in
Vestment they will have q right of
action on the men who have ole
for alu white paper certificates that
represents nothing except the right to
tax water consumers in Raleigh for
twenty years. But thank 0 that
twenty year franchise expires next
month, and the right to rob consumers
Of water for the ~nrichmen of the
holders of Watered bonds is ended
forever. Raleigh Will never again
submit to such extortion as has been
imposed upon it.
IWenty years & Il company applied
to the city of Raleigh for a twenty
year franchise to put in a system OF
water. 1t was composed of Northern
CAPITALISTS. Nobody in Raleigh had
any accurate information about water
systems in those days and there had
hppn no talk of citx N,r,.,.I;> VI
franchise was granted. coupled with
the provision to satisfy the honest
aldermen that at any time Raleigh
could buy the system at q price to b.
fixed by arbitratOrs. 1t looked like
such a provision amply protected the
city, and if the men to whom the
franchise had been granted had is
sued no waterad stock on
bonds, that provision would have beer
protection, if there had been a bro
vision permitting the Board of Al.
dermen every five years to fix the
water rates at a figure that woulC
give the owners a reasonable
Naturally, ignorant of the opera.
lions Of water companies, the Alder
men insisted upon no such provision
and if they had insisted upon it tn,
applicants for the franchise woult
NOT have acceded to the request.
As soon as they got the franchis
the Raleigh Water Company went t
work to put in the system, and tn
epOrt of the experts show that whet
they began to spend money to put i
+,
~