Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1910-05-03
SAYS il Should Have Been More Frank
to Public.
POSITION OF WATER COMPANY
Manager Fairfield Gives Els Views Of
Situation
NOT ANXIOUS FOR MORE SUITS
CompRp, JnoIlliHE SO Invest None,
- VIII Have 20 sue the Ga,
- Recover in
rhc Enc

Lur.arrrs and Others familiar r1N trr
building OF street mains estimate that g. ...-
stall second water main from Florence
10 1sFa street would cost $3.50 Usl ir ROUND
fry"os. if rr -ev MAIN be brought o.
Hamilton street the cos; would probably
rur fo S5oe 0s
This expense coutCuplBtes a EfA-y-.nCt
steel main. hutt lofut and Teel iiH,ted
The present man from Florence rs thirty
six IuCl OF cast iron and these is much
more friction thsu There would he Boz n
steel main OF the Cuarscter Of construc-
uou noted. The S.Nty-inrh main would
carry Just three times the amount q v8ter
the present main is capable Of delivering
f So--e men, and among them al least one
q member Of the water board, are Of the
opinion Jnst the cngt Of the main 10 Lake
street would be close 20 500 0gH hut work
inE engineers say this estimate is too high.
Iptcrest IHVoIvrd.
: Interest on Ssel 600 at per cent would
amount TO 3, $40 month. As il would re-
E qujre several nuuths-possihg from now
until next January 10 complete the second
main. with dI,chiug machines doing the
digging. the people Of omaha would have
10 figure ON paying interest ut pcr GEM
arrangement can be entered into between
the water company and the Water board
for the immediate construction uf d second
main.
ON the matter Of extensions ordered hy
the council and the Water board in wears
past the innate Is 500 10 S5ee per A6o
feet Of pipe and hydrsut This is amply
hiEh because some engineers say the eX-
tensions can be laid for ~ cents , foot Of
siX-inch main. Thus each new hvdrBnt
put In would cost the City S24 10 $40 year
interest Al per cent For hydrants now
in the water company receives $40 a wear
Tor 25e and $50 year for the balance %
the 58O hydrsuts.
Efforts 81 Compromise.
Some members Of the Water board.
among them r. e Howell. are nov in-
clineo 10 admit that The busro has not
taken The public into its confidence a.
much rs il should have done from time
10 time. Certain things that have been at
tempted 10y the board or it, attorneys have
never yet been publicly told. II IS now
asserted that some six months ago one OF
the attorneys for the board appros chcd the
. Water company officials in Omaha with
view 10 Escerraiulug whether a Compro-
mise was not possible without waiting The
outcome Of the suit on the spprHisemeut
3 Members Of the hoard intimate the pro
possl made by the attorney was along
D the lines indicated by The Bee as the
visest 10 be pursued. They also assert no
reply was ever vouohsEfed To the tentative
offer Of thc attorney
j is also now known that Messrs. Bar
s low and Congdon Of the Water board, later
? made trip to New York for a special cal
I on President Woodbury. of the Wafer com
r. psny. Whatever offer they made did not
meet with favor, and is said TO have
e brought forth no reply Of any kind from
M. Woodbury. 10 the board as 3 body.
Manager FHirfieId's Statement.
Z. NJ. Fairfield, general manager Of The
Omaha Water company, Says ne has no
recollection Of & VISIT from the Water board
d attorney 10 talk over the possibility o. q
cOmpruIuise agreement that would end the
d suit M. Fairfield admitted thar he knew
. Of the visit Of Messrs. Barlow and Cong
\ don but Of the alleged offer for d COM
q promise ne said
That is al rot, Those gentlemen did
offer what they were pleased 10 cali q
compromise but which bore no earnark,
Of being mutual in its nature. il WAS al.
\ together one El5ed, and Involved nothius
l. but a material scaling down Of The sI.
- TrEiseneut 10 the water compBuy for il.
plant"
- Talking on the extension question. Nj
Fairfield said. 1t is quite easy for law.
yerE 10 say that the courts would AWarr
the Water company judgment for ans
money il might eKpsud for new mains OF
5, betterrnents- but we know that 10 set uul
il money we would be compelled 10 60 into
e court, IS We have hTd 20 60 in il7s case Of
the hydrsut rentals. II 90 would cost .
large percentBEe OF the totHI TO collect IN,
I money due, where would be the use IN 60
| ing ahead with extensions The c1uuErs
| mas never wanted 10 buy another Law suit
and thEts what We would have gotten IN,
1 der any such proceeding
| on the probable cost Of & new main from
| Florence Nj. Fairfield said he believed al
estimate Of ssOoBB 10 s5O0.O0O for forty
| eight-inCh main would be conservative u.
SAID The company had never planned for ,
slKty-Inch main and could not give a.
estimate q probable cos, on that size
Mr.. HsweII's Contention.
| T. Z. Howell, discussing the ngdrsu
| RENAL question and the resistance Of psE
meut had this 10 say.
| 'DnlB HB D. now paying more than ara
other city IN the United states for hg
drsuts, Denver for example. where IN,
| city iE nov RgitHting the purchase of tr
plant pays bot 81 per hydrEut EEEInsi yu
SCI and So. The reason for fighting "a,
payment Of hydrBut rentals was thar 10,
company has mol lived up 10 iis cai.trsc
with the city on that p0ini. and has rr
fused 10 extend its hydrants when ordered
Judge Munger held that The company ne,
not compiled win the terms Ct its con
tract a. 90 hydrants, but the court q sp
| IeslS reversed that finding, on ths Fr0uui
/ NM ELn-. TIE CIV n.LLr--. La. a--.-----