Williams news., 1911-07-22
About Profiting From Other
 Peoples Past

that or many another GUY III tne west that has failed to look ahead and be prepared for future growth and made provision for it's public utilities - water, light, sewerage, and street car franchises.
 But Williams, at this stage, may scrutinize the recorded experiences of other cities and profit largely thereby.
 As to the water matter, for in-
 stance: Years ago, when Denver,
 Col, was but the beginning of mu-
 nicipal existence, there was formed
 a water company, and this com
 pany secured a franchise from the
 then village of Aurora, as Denver
 was named
 In the first years of it's existence
 the Denver water company pleaded
 inexperience, lack of capital, extra
 ordinary expenses, and the hun
 dred-and-one other spacious argu.
 ments framed by come.on corpora
 ton attorneys, precisely as our
 water company is doing. The peo-
 pie were patient and put up with Iexecrable servi>e.
 ] While the people were in this
 forbearing mood the water com
 pany proceeded to establish a polit-
 ical slush fund, to subsidize city
 councils of either or both political
 faiths, and when the people awak , ened to their danger they fund , themselves, 9 giant. like Gulliver ! ar ong the Liliputs, bound hand and foot. Water rates were raised
 extortionately;> lntolerable restric-
 tions were placed upon the amount of water to be used and the hours for using it, and redress for these impositions were impossible to ob- tain from indifferent and bribed officials.
 Like Frankenstein, the people
 had of their own hands raised up a monster to destroy them.
 It required nearly twenty years of time for the people of Denver tc Q see the futility of fighting a com ] bination of political knavery, off
 cial trickery and downright com
 lmercial robbery such as the Denver water company had brought about 'I The sole salvation of the people as they found out, was municipa ', ownership of the water service. A board of appraisers, after monthl
 of negotiations, placed a valuation
 of 14,500,0 ,000 upon a franchise anc
 property of the water company V worth, at the most fanciful figure :. probably $4, 100000.
 II When the water commissioner . elected by the people to protec
 them from this stupendous rob
 bery appealed to the courts for re l. dress, the courts, claimed to be par V tial to the water company's wishes ,f decided for the water company an( d for the $14.50O,O00 appraisement e In all those years Denver ha Ie spent millions of dollars in tryini
 to secure the merest right as city
 has been robbed of millions more E and today stands whipped by tn @. water company unless the highe 1t courts come to her aid and yindi l. cate her in her struggle agains Id corrupt corporation domination. ir Williams may follow this lead
 or she may take the water com
 pany in hand while she can and in ,e sist, vigorously and without letuI a. that it carry out it's contract W t pr the city. The more forbearing tn 8. people are the more arrogant an ly overbearing finally will be th le water company; and if it can "ge 'i- by" with it's present puerile an O. spacious excuses, it will be easy Fe have a new set of excuses each tim 'y it is taken to task by the people fc CT it's derelictions.
 to Municipal ownership of ever IS. public utility in city that eve v hopes to become big and prosper A ous is the sole solution of thes