The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1906-03-30
oppossD 70 .FRAncHrsE.

| note two articles in Wednesdays
paper in which you favor granting the
water franchise to Chipley & 1Rey-
nolds. / am opposed to it, and since
you extend the invitation, I will tell
you some of my
You admit that the schedule rates"
are so high that few could afford to
use the water. but you say the meter
system offers a remedy for the exOr-
bitant schedule charge, by allowing
the user to buy his waite by the 1000
| gallons and use it as and when he
| sees ft-You say the contract permits
| this-but does it? l doubt it very
much-you say you think it does be-
cause al alderman had it pounded
into his head that it mea that.
Now, in fixing a minimum meter
charge (which perhaps is JUST why
did they not say that the minimum
charge should be $50? Instead of
that they first confne the term Resi-
dence' to the water used for drink
ing. cooking and washing, by espec-
tally excepting every other use-even
the bath. Then, in fixing the mini
words For residence"-In Section
Is they further especially provide
that where a consumer is placed on
meter service The minimum meter
charge shall no be less han the mini
mum schedule rate" All the way
through the ordinance the term
schedule rate" is used as opposed
TO the term meter rate; Now, if
they intended to sell a man water by
the thousand gallons, let him apply
it as he p~leases, with a $3.50 mini
mum rate, how could they hold him
to the minimum schedule rate? No
wonder they had to pound it into the
head of the alderman aforesaid.
You say further hat the Mayor and
board of Aldermen understand it hat
way. Now, as a business man you
certainly must know that if ever that
thing became a contract by the vote
of our people no man will be permit
ed to go into a court and say what
he thought it meant; but it will be
construed according to the language
of the contract. This is not the prin-
cipal criticism, as you seem to think,
but is in fact the slightest objection
to the proposed franchise.
The very worst objection is the fact
that we are asked to obligate our
selves by popular vote, which prac-
tically places a mortgage on all our
homes and every dollar of city proper
ty we possess, for the payment of
$4,000 yearly for h~ydrants, based on
six miles of mains and a pumping
station. Now this $4,000 pays interest
sidering the security we are putting
up) on $4,000, while l will venture
the assertion that $4,000 will cover
the whole cost of construction up to
this point. Now, mind you, for all
extensions beyond the original six
miles they must have an extra n.y.
drant and an extra forty dollars per
year for every 4S0 feet venture to
say that 480 feet of 4 inch pipe, inciud
ing the hydrant, can be put in for
less than $500. 00-there is Is 13 per
cent interest on, the whole cost for
the fire hydrant alone. If they get
the money at 5 per cent. there is 8 1-3
per cent per annum n whatever
they get from private consumers on
all extensions that is clear velvet
Again, these people are authorized
to ~excavate and lay pipe and dig up
the streets and alleys and this ordi-
nance provides that if they do not
fill up the holes in "a hours after the
work is completed they must be given
notice in writing, and then if they
pay no attention to the notice the city
may have it done at their expense.
Now if h city undertakes TO do
this work for them, it is bound in
law to use all reasonable diligence to
do it at the lowest practicable price.
In other words, we must keep one
man hired to carry them notices and
another hired man to superintend the
work and see that it is lone for their
at a reasonable price. Ii they
should want TO take a Summervaca-
ton it looks like they might. / mere
ly mention this feature to show how
the carelessnesS with which this ord
nance was permitted to be presented
approaches the ludicrous. A penalty
such as one of US taxpayers would
have TO pay for a like neglect, would
have been the proper thing, and il
would have kept the bitches and holes
filled up.
| Section 3 says these people are to
hold the city harmless against dam
| age suits. etc, growing out of their