Imperial Valley press., 1910-01-15
Mass Meeting Orders Trustees To Respect Public
 Interests
Citizens Back Up Advisory Commit tee in Efforts to Advance Munich pal Water Project and Tell Minor ity of Board to Attend to Business or Get Out of the Way.

Public opinion expressed emphat- ically at mass meeting called by the Chamber of Commerce and held last Monday night at the city hall, has been at least partially effective in raising the blockade established against municipal water works by a minority of the City Trustees at in- stigation of discredited small poli tician. The hall was filled to the limit of it's capacity and the citizens made it so plain that they would tolerate no more obstruction to public busi- ness that the director of the blockade hastily raised it to head off demand for the resignations of two members of the board. The meeting was a regular session of the Chamber of Commerce, to which the City Trus- tees and all citizens interested in the water works question had been in vited
 For the information of citizens that were not present at the special meet ing last week, the report of the Ad- yisory Committee to the Chamber of Commerce was read. H. C. Griswold, a member of the committee, said the committee had gone as far as it could and it was up to the people to say whether or not they wanted water works. If there was no more to be done the committee wanted to quit.
 Judge Cole, for the sake of start ing something, asked if it would be possible to get work done before hot weather, even should the board make a start. He had heard it suggested that things would go better after the April election.
 City Attorney Smith said it would take about three months to reach the point of letting a contract
 Dan Noland thought he could get nearer than Judge Cole did to what the people were there for. The Ad- visory Committee had reported an i'm pediment to progress, and the meeting was called to hear why Pearson and Blackinton were standing in the way of the progress and development of El Centro, if they had anything to say in explanation of their attitude.
 Blackinton repeated. the excuses he had made in print. Pearson attempt ed to show that the city engineers plans were better than Sonderegger's impugned Sonderegger's professional conduct, asserted that there was no problem in the installation of water system requiring the services of an experienced engineer and made it plain that his chief concern was to keep the job of engineer for his son. He said Judge Smith, speaking for the Advisory Committee, had declar- ed that there was no fault to be found with the city engineers plans.
 Judge Smith declared that he nev- CT said anything of the sort. At the time referred to by Pearson, the con- mittee had not been supplied with
 
 sion. The committee asked for writ ten estimates and definite statements concerning proposed power and no response was made to that request for two weeks.
 A long rambling discussion of pipe lines, hydrants etc, followed Allen Kelly pointed out that the discussion of details of plans was only dust kicked up to obscure the real ques- tion; that the excuses concocted for the two trustees were afterthoughts; that Blackinton had accepted the Son deregger plans and estimates, agreed to the location of the plant on the Balcom tract, made no offer of site on his own land, raised in the board not one of the objections since made for him. and that Pearson's sole req son for refusing to vote for the res olution of intention was that the city engineer was not to be employed to put in the system. The resolution had no relation to pipe lines and did not commit the board to any detail of construction. The board could change the pipe lines and make any other alterations 1t pleased after passing the resolution. The only question wa whether or not two men were to