The Marietta journal and courier. (Marietta, Ga.) 1909-1918, 1910-10-14

HyuIdul, anu the MUST DuIueu uOWu.
What has been done to- improve this
situation? Nothing. Did you ever
hear of the Paper Mills shutting down
that the firemen might have water
to fight fires with? The water works
proposition to the City of Marietta
has been mere incident to the Pa~er
Mills. What has been received iron
the City on that account has been
about 80 per cent profit. Figure, if
you will, the cost of water that has
been used in fighting fire in the City
of Marietta at &c per thousand gallons,
the price named by the Trust Com
/ pany for water for the paper mills?
The Trust Company has enjoyed a
sinecure so long that it hurts to give
it up.
OF course, nobody will take SER
| iously the statement that "$135, 900
have been invested in. the present
water works system" The Paper Com
pany refers to Perpetual Fran
chise," evidently using it for the pur-
pose of leading people to suppose that
they have an exclusive franchise for
water works. There is no truth in
such suggestion. The petition for
the franchise under which this system
of water works was constructed, ex-
pressly stipulated that the petitioner
for the franchise does not ask the ex-
elusive right to put in a system of
water works. The City itself may
erect a system if it desires, or author
ize others to do so. =
1t agrees that it will not charge citi-
zens and the public including corpor-
atoms, factories, mills, etc, a greater
amount for water than the minimum
charges for like and similar service
OF any water works system in the
State of Georgia of substantially the
same population as Marietta These
stipulations entered into and are part
of the franchise which the Paper
Company calls perpetual.
1t is quite true that since the CITY
has been building it's own system of
water works, the Paper Company
mas proposed to extend its own sys-
TEN; but before this, pleas and en-
treaties for eXtentions and fire protec-
ton fell upon deaf ears. These peo-
pie could not be moved, and it was
only when they saw that the City was
going to furnish it's own protection
that they proposed to lay a pipe along
one street. If they want to appeal to
the people of the City on the line
OF improving their service, why not
clean out the pipes that they have in
the ground? Everybody in the City
knows that we have no protection.
The proposed extention was nothing
except for the purpose of show. At
lanta street was practically blocked
with the laying of the sewers along
it, and the Paper Company all at once
/ got very anxious to lay a water main
along that particular street.
| The Paper Company says it is the
biggest tax payer in the City of Mar
ietta. 1t evidently feels that it should
| be given large credit for small virtues.
1t has been returning for taxes it's en-
| ttresystem of water works in the CITY
of Marietta at $1,000 This Board
offered them $4,000 in cash for their
water system in the City of Marietta,
not including the main from the stand
pipe to the paper mill, nor that part
/ of the main between the stand-pipe
and the reservoir. 1t has been return
ing and paying upon all of it's proper
| ties situated in this County at a val
uatiOn of $4,000 to $4,000. 1t paid
$3OO,O0000 for them at Receivers sale,
and has since incorporated them at
! S6OO,O00.00, and now complains at the
officials of the City because it saws
that they are preventing this Com.
pany from earning a fair interest on
| its investment" These returns are
made in Atlanta, not to the tax receiv.
er of this City and County Paper
mills, vacant lands, are all included
under the proposition of public ser.
VEGA misnomer in this instance
J Why not have the tax assessors of
the City to value their properties like
they do yours and mine?
The remarkable document of the
| oPSA company says tudI Inc DeSt
chemists have pronounced the quality
of water supplied by us to be abso.
lutely pure" Wouldn't you like to
see that chemist? For three months
of the spring and early summer, the
water was so muddy that the fish in
the fountain could not be seen. Ere.
quently it was as red as a clay bank,
and it is anything but clear at this
present time. And mind you. this is
good filtered water! A beautiful sys.
tenn of filtration! One side of this
City drains into the reservoir of the
Paper Company; and yet this muddy
dirty. green looking stuff is absolute.
ly pure That chemist must have his
headquarters about the Trust Com.
pany's building. Yet this is the sort
of stuff that has been furnished the
people of this City for the last five
years.
The Paper Company complains at
what it calls the unfair treatment ac.
corded it. Let's examine these walls