Valentine Democrat. (Valentine, Neb.) 1900-1930, 1909-12-09
WATERW0RkS
CONTRACT LET

contractors, to build a dam
80 feet high on the Minnechaduza
near Frederick's Peak and estab-
lish the Valentine municipal cleo
trio light plant and water pumping
system, to- construct a steel tank
of 100, 600 gallons capacity on the
hill north of town, put down two
wells just below the old spring,
lay an eight inch pipe to tank and
six inch pipe from tank to town.
The contract price is S41, 900.
Glad we-didn't vote any more
bonds than we did," remarked one
Of our business men the other day;
they'd have spent it ALL"
The people generally will be
much better pleased with the pres
ent contract if the details are cor
rectly arranged SO that we get the
value of a big share of the money
spent in a substantial dam and
light system. When the citizens
can again get at their rights they
can roll the steel tank down the
hill (if it is placed near enough
to the verge) and dig out a reser-
voir in the hill, wall it up and con-
meet the pipes thereto.
If the price of the tank is all we
lose we shall not feel so badly ov-
crit, if the remainder of the work
and material shall represent some
actual value of a permanent char
acter that will be serviceable for a
considerable time, even though we
pay dearly for what we get.
Ben Franklin shelled out all his
pennies for a whistle without con-
sideration of value. He had never
before had so much money to
spend and be had never before
been offered such a whistle. 1t
was education to Franklin. Let
us hope that our whistle" will
be a none such"
When the proposition came up
last year for voting bonds we
looked upon a blue print of a res
ervoir which was kept on display
for several weeks and nearly ev-
cry citizen or voter in the city
gazed upon the picture wistfully,
eagerly longing for the time to
come when they could 90 to the
polls and cast their votes for such
a reservoir and believed that plans
were already under way for such
a reservoir.
Good wholesome pure water was
a vital point and like Ben Franklin
we went to the polls on election day
and gave all our votes for the prop
osition to bond the city for all we
could legally bond for, with the
understanding from a statement
issued then by the village board
that only such amount as would be
required would be issued and sold
and only az needed. and that as we
knew not what amount would be re-
quired that it was safe to vote the
full amount that we could bond.
Tt caught the people for they
were athirst for pure water out of
a reservoir built in the hill and
their interest seemed to center in
that proposition.
We voted for it solid then. but
if a vote could be had on the
proposition NOW there wouldn't
be a third of the votes in the city
for the present contract. The
people have been deceived. After
an all summer delay in which
nothing was done that we could
learn, excepting a few weeks ago
that W. X. Palmer & Co., had
been promised $1,000 I'VE had lots
of money, you know to present
plans for the work, and we never
heard of any advertising for bids
on this work. There was surely
none made public around Valen-
tine until The DEMOCRAT sounded
an alarm a few weeks ago of the
consideration or intention of the
village board to erect a steel
tower and tank in town, after
which time we had our attention
called to a proposal for bids upon,
a sheet of paper and pinned to a
calendar in the Donoher hotel.
That was all we saw and we don't
believe many people saw that un-
less their attention was directed
to it or that they happened into
the hotel.
It was freely talked that the La.