The Cairo bulletin., 1909-12-17
OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS OF THE
City Council.
Council Chamber, Cairo, Illinois, De
cember 6, 1909.
Especial Meeting.l

Kelly koehier, Mcdaniel. Magner
Meehan. Neilis. Seullin and Williams
Absent. None.
The mayor stated the meeting ha,
been called to receive and eonside
q report OF special committe of tho
city cornell on water rates and ser
vice and TO receive and consider any
ordinance that may be presented OIL
recommended by said committee and
for general bushes.
The mayor stated the National
Rivers and Harbors Congress was to
meet in Washington this week and
that the matter of raising the sum Of
$3.50 30 toward the support of this as
sociation had been discussed by the
commercial bodies of the city and that
ii had been decided to request the
council to vote said amount for the
purpose indicated.
The mayor called upon several citi-
zens present to speak and Mr. E. A.
Smith. Mr.. W. b. Iluette and Mr.. w.
IT. Wood spoke upon the subject urg
ing the council to appropriate the
amount mentioned.
Alderman Greaney moved that the
sum OF two hundred and fifty dollars
be allowed for aid in support Of the
National Rivers ana Harbors Con
gress,
The motion was adopted by the fol-
lowing vote: Aye-Burke, Cannon,
Davis, Ferguson, German, Greaney,
Kelly, Mcdaniel. Wagner, Meehan,
Nellis, Scullin and Williams-13. Nay
= Koeher-l.
The mayor placed in nomination |
viii P. Egan as police constable to
succeed Ed. p Magner.
Alderman Nells moved the nomina-
ton be confirmed. The motion was
adopted by the following vote Aye
Burke. Cannon, Davis. Ferguson, Cor
man, Greaney, Kelly, koehler, McDan-
iel, Magner Meehan, Nellis, ScuIlin
and Williams-14. Nay-None,
The special committee on water
rates submitted the following report
which was read at length by Alderman
Greaney, chairman of said committee
which report was accompanied by a
comparative table Of rates charged in
the cities Of Nashville. st. Louis, Gin.
cinnati Kansas City, Louisville and
Cairo. and by an ordinance to govern
the rates to be charged in the City of
Cairo from and after January l, 1909:
Cairo, Illinois. December 6, 1909
To the City Council of the City of
Cairo Illinois.
The special committee on water
rates and service appointed under your
resolution adopted October 7th, 1909, ,
makes report as follows:
The committee first employed Mr.,
G. r. Gallagher to assist it in obtaining
and arranging the facts necessary to
consider the matters referred
to it under your resolution. Detailed
information was secured as to the
water rates and charges paid by pri
gate consumers in the cities named in |
section seven Of Ordinance No. tSS,
to-wit: Kansas City, st. Louis. Louis
Vile, Nashville and Cincinnati. A copy
Of the tariff of annual rates of the
Cairo Water Company, adopted in
1886 was also obtained. A tabulated
statement has been prepared by the
showing the annual rates
in the printed tariffs of each OF the
five cities named. the average Of r
these rates and those shown in the
Cairo tariff and this statement is
herewith presented as a part Of this
report.
The committee also received much r
Information from numerous consum-
ers of water in Cairo and the com. 1
mittee finds that in many instances
the rates OF the Cairo Water Com
pany exceed those shown in its print
ad tariff adopted in 1886. We also r
find that for several years past the {
Cairo rates as to new consumers
lave been steadily advanced.
1t appears from orr investigation Il
thdt LIE rates mere dl6 III many cases
above the average of the five cities l.
named. Much of the information OBJ
aimed by the committee was received
upon blanks printed in the Cairo pa.
oers and filled out by the consumers.
careful examination of these shows c
hat there is little uniformity in the
rates charged in Cairo and numer
Gus instances have been discovered in
Which there WIS variation OF from l
twenty-five to fifty per cent in the !
rates for the same seryice-anl in ,
some cases even more. The Water :
Company apparently has followed no &
liked standard OF rates whatever 7
Since its investigation began the s
committee has had some correspond J
snce with the Cairo Water Company i
md most of this correspondence has .
llready been published in the city a
newspapers
The Water Company. in its letter of
November 6 1909, stated that il hal Il
secured through experienced and com.
letent experts tabulated statement c
hcMing the tariff of hriees charged
L..