The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1909-01-21
The Special Town Meeting.

|
the contract with the Skowhegan
Water Company for hydrant rental,
and incidentally to listen to the re-
port of a special committee on fire
protection, came to order in Weston
Hall, at the appointed hour, two P
NJ, on Saturday afternoon last.
Town Clerk G. Milton Lambert read
the warrant and called for ballots for
moderator, Lyman L. Walton, Esq,
/ being chosen for this position. After
Mr.. Walton had qualified for the
duties of his Office by taking the
prescribed oath, a motion to accept
the report of the special water com
mittee was passed under the first
article of the warrant.
/ These formalities being disposed of
i the real business of the meeting was
j taken up, under articles and 4, the
first of which provided for the ac-
| ceptance of new contract with the
Skowhegan Water Company and the
second embracing the matter of APP
/ plcation to the legislature for a
charter, under which the town could
build its own system for municipal
and domestic purposes. The two
articles bore such relation to each
other that they were discussed to-
! gether. The matter was brought
formally before the meeting by +. P.
/ Pennell, who stated that he was not
sure that he wished his motion to
prevail, but in order that it might
come up for discussion, in definite
! form, he would move that the town
accept the proposition of the Show
hogan Water Company for twenty
years. contract on the terms proposed
in the printed report of the Special
Water Committee.
A full discussion of the whole
matter followed. Most of the
speakers were disposed to be critical
in regard to the manner in which the
water company had performed its
duties under their contract now about
to expire and the general sentiment
the agreement for hydrant rental.
OF course such stockholders in the
Skowhegan Water Company as were
present were exceptions to this rule,
but, with the exception of s. w.
Gould, Esq, they had very little to
say about the matter. Mr.. Gould
chose an opportune time and made
a speech which was studied defense
of the course which the water COM
pany has pursued. He went over
the ground from the earliest history
of the corporation to the present day
and endeavored to show that the
enterprise was entered into by its
promoters chiefly through the pa
triotic desire to benefit the COM
munity. He claimed that the stock
holders had received no return what
ever on their investment and they
had been unable for want of funds to
do many things which they had
wished to do to keep their service
more efficient. He did not claim
that the contract with the town had
been fulfilled, in fact, he made
statements which in effect were ali adj
mission that the agreement had not
been entirely lived up to, but he
assured the meeting that plans were
on foot to so improve the property
so that the new contract into which
they wished the town to enter, would
be faithfully kept.
During his remarks, Mr.. Gould was
questioned to a considerable extent
by various citizens present and one
questioner asked IL the speaker
would put price OH the plant of the
Skowhegan Water Company for sale
to the town. Mr.. Gould declined to
do this but stated that the Company
would sell at fair price. This
question of the sale of the plant to
the town and probably also the
likelihood that the company might
make a more favorable price for
rental than they had embodied in
their printed contract lead to a
motion by Lewis Anderson that two
members be added to the special
water committee and they be in
structed further to investigate and
report at a meeting two weeks hence.
After this motion had been made but
before it was put to vote a motion
was offered that the town vote to
renew the old contract with the
Skowhegan Water Company, with
the terms formerly prevailing, for a
term Of two years. In Offering this
motion it was explained that, as the
water company proposed, through its
speaker, Mr.. Gould, to make certain
improvements that would enable it
to fulfill its contract with the town,
the town could enter into an agree
ment with them for two years, dur
ing which time it could be de-
termined what kind of service could
be depended upon from them. This
motion for a two years. contract
seemed to find some favor with the
meeting but there was combination
of elements against 1t. The stock
holders of the water company did not
welcome the idea at all of making @