Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1907-09-03
More About the Water Question.

Il "aVaV AVOob SuS VoSSI X00SthVu'
The following figures are taken as the
result of a house to house canvass, and
are approximately correct:
Number Of houses having private water
Number sapp 81 NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. houses having nothing but q
Number Of houses si having water supply. "
besides Norway WATER ~,
Number Of people In Corporation. 5000. ISL
Number OF people drinking Norway -,
Amount o, money money paid to Norway Water "
Co. at present prices as nearly as =,
Increase Of present prices over last
years prices as nearly as can be
l estimated $llOOO(
The above figures are the result OF
careful work and are given by the
owners or the tenants of the houses, and
while do not guarantee the exact cor
rectness of them, think that they are
practically correct and safe to make es.
Inmates on, for the use of a new system
of water works, if the people of South
Paris wish to do so. During the last
few days the visit of an expert hydraulic
engineer has removed all doubt as to
there being sufficient amount of water,
and suitable place for reservoir, high
enough to give us the desired pressure
of 100 pounds. ALL we need is for the
people to say that they want new sys-
tenn, and are not satisfied with the pres
emit arrangement.
One of the first things that child
learns, and one of the simplest things in
the world, is that water will run
down hill. 1t is also as plain that it
costs money to pump the water back
again, and any water company 80 situat-
ed that they have to pump water, cannot
compete with those who use the force of
gravity to work for them. The first
thing for any water company to do is to
find water that is high enough, and I'M
less it is an absolute impossibility to do
so, they should never resort to pumping
water. Pumping water up to large
reservoir is expensive business, and the
tendency is for a private water company
to place their reservoir too low, as large
pumps and large water mains mean
heavy expense, which is not settled at
the first cost of installment, but is a
constant and daily expense as long as the
company is in business. This means
that the people that buy water from
such companies have to contribute their
share to pay the expense, as no one is
going to do business for nothing, and the
more the expense the higher the rates.
PUBLIC OWNERSHIP.
In a letter written short time ago
and published in this paper, l said some
thing about public ownership, and
want to repeat that we do not want to
consider anything else, until the people
have voted intelligently, and said plain
ly, that they do not want to own their
own waterworks.
am convinced that there is money
enough ready to buy the bonds If the
corporation vote to do this, or to form
new water company to be run as
private company. Private water COM
panies are inclined to be too anxious to
pay too high dividends for the good of
their customers, and to charge much
higher rate for water than is necessary
in order to allow them to make fair
Water should be brought into our vii
lage and sold Just as low as is possible,
and no one allowed to speculate on this
necessity of life. For this purpose it
should be under the control of the cor
poration from the start. A private
thinking only of the cost
with the income, will be too
apt to install too small pipes, too small
and will be more apt to think
more of the first cost than of the service
they are going to give. This is the case
in great many water works, and it is
more apt to be so than otherwise. The
greed of human nature is as much to be
expected and allowed for as the laws of
heat and cold, and the force of gravity.
It began in the Garden of Eden and will
last as long as there is a man left on the
earth, and any business enterprise that
leaves this fact out of its calculations,
will be as sure to find that its plans mis-
carry as the sun is sure to rise in the
morning and set at night.
While there might be such thing as
IN honest water company and there are
a good many of them,
believe that We shall have better service
IL the corporation own their water
works. We might have water COM
pany formed of men who have
only the interest of the village at heart,
and are looking for only fair and legiti-
mate rate of interest, but we should have
a water system that will outlive all the
men and women now living, and We can
not tell into whose hands it may fall,
forty years from now. 1t may be that
the people who shall then have control,
may do it better than we, but unless
human nature changes great deal more
than it has, we shall probably have peo-
pie here then, that are anxious to get all
they can ont of their water stock, and
the public will have to pay.
see no reason why the South Paris
should not be able to get its
fire protection, its water for school
houses, park and cemetery, for nothing,
absolutely free, if we own our own water
works. As we are now paying the Nor
way Water Co. something like Sl400 for
water for these purposes, and which is
nearly the interest on $4,000, it seems
to me to be very unwse to hesitate at
the cost. We can as we'll pay this money
for interest, as to the Norway Co. and
we should then have the rest of the in
come to pay the interest on what other
money is needed, if any, and to reduce
the debt. l see no reason why the
water works put in properly, with a
gravity system, should not be able to
pay a large profit on the amount of
money that will take to install them, and
the fact that we shall undoubtedly have
a large income from the water, more
than enough to pay the interest and the
certainly ought to convince
any reasonable person that We are justi-
fed in going in debt to the full extent
that the law will allow us, for this pur
pose. To hesitate because we could not
afford to pay the interest, would be like
a man refusing to marry his prospective
bride because he had suddenly found
out that she was the owner OF large
fortune. To be sure he would have to
pay the minister and assume some re-
sponsbility, but the chances are that he
would be reasonable in the matter and
take her for better or worse, money and
all.
THE INSUFFICIENT PROTECTION THAT
WE HAVE.
Since writing the article that was pub
lished short time ago, 80 many people
have told me of the poor pressure that
we are now having that cannot help
referring to the matter again.
While | did not see the Norway fire
myself, l am told by the firemen who
were there on that day, and who did
their best to save the village from burn
ing, that house after house went down
because there was not sufficient pressure
to throw the water on to the roofs of