The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1909-08-05
CITY COUNCIL AND WATER co.

II was to be expected that severe
unfayorable comment should DC
heard from water consumers gener.
ally Yesterday, upon the action of the
city council Tuesday night, in refus-
irg To adopt a resolution requiring
the Cairo Water Co to obey the ordi'
nance which makes it the duty OF that
company TO nut in and maintain the
service pipes from Its mains to the
lot lines. at its own expense and not
at the exper Sc of property owners as
it has been doing all these years.
Criticism was to be expected be.
cause the action on its face, appears
so utterly rnjustifiable from any point
Of view in which the interests OF the
people at large are ut all considered;
and the reasons given for the action
were so very weak.
The objection that any attempt TO
enforce this service pipe ordinance
would interfere win street improve
ments can not be admitted, because,
surely, the success or confirmation Of
public improvements depends much
more upon the favor OF the people
than upon the favor of the Cairo
Water company. II not, then we are
TO ne pitied
The other objection that the ordi.
nance requires the water company
TO put /. a service pipe AT every lot
no matter whether II Is occupied or
net. or even when single house oc-
cuIses several lots. Is not good. be-
cause the ordinance does not require
this. II declares that the company
shall put in a service pipe for each
Tor OR PREMISES" A premises
NAV comprise forty lots. Doubtless
the matter Is optional with the prop
erty owners. or with the city council
or with the water company Itself how
many service pipes shall be put in.
The important point is that when the
service pipes are put IN they shall be
put in at the water company's ex
pe1se. The gas company seems toI
have had no difficulty OF this score
and there is no reason at all why the
water company should encounter
trouble or regard II as a hardship.
The objection that the ordinance is
not legal and can not be enforced
sounds rather presumptuous inI
face of the declaration by the city's
$500 per month special counsel, who
declares positively that it is legal and
can be enforced.
The Bulletin does not believe that
airy or all these objections influenced
the council to take. the action IL did
on Alderman Neflis' resolution. II
feels sure that a very decided ma
jority Of the members want to see the
ordnaflce enforced against the water
company and will place themselves
on record that way perhaps at the
next council meeting One or two
members voted against the resolution
because they believed it was not the
business of the city council but of the
executive officers Of the city. to see
that ordinances were enforced One
or two others voted against il because
they were new members and had not
looked into the matter thoroughly.
Then there was a Division on the ques-
ton of referring the matter to a com
mittee for a conference with repre-
sentatives of the water company be
lieving that more could be accom-
plished in a peaceable way than by an
open declaration of war. A few may
have been Influenced by political or
personal considerations. But it seems
entirely safe to say that on the main
question in the abstract, whether or