Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1912-07-30
The Wausau Spirit.

Inc W6uS6u spirit.
The Wausau spirit was never bet
ter demonstrated than during the
recent flood and since then. Every
thing possible was done to lessen
the damage and to protect life and
property possible to be done at that
time. While the city was without
fire protection everybody seemed to
feel that upon him lay the response
bility for preventing an outbreak of
any nature, and if the general pub
lie would feel this way during the
whole year there would be but few
conhagrations, and it is safe to say
that one-half of the fire alarms now
turned in would be made unneces-
sary. To the owners of the Most
nee water power who rendered the
city the use of electricity, to the
city officials, to the officers of the
Wausau Street Railway and Light
ing company, who took such prompt
advantage of the situation as to
make return to kerosene unneces-
sary, we are all under a debt of
gratitude.
Since the catastrophe, which for
tunately did not embrace any loss
of human life, there has been no
sitting down and wringing of hands.
The waters had hardly receded be-
fore everyone was on the alert to
not only remedy the damage, but
to make provision against a similar
happening in the future.
Manufacturers who lost logs and
lumber are getting ready to have
the logs gathered up and brought
back to their mills. What lumber
can be located is being picked up
and again put in piles. The debris
and litter of the flood is being col
lected and removed. The railways
companies have large crews at
work making temporary repairs, so
that traffic can be resumed at the
earliest moment, and making plans
for the replacing of the destroyed
bridges and other work that can
not be done Immediately. The
owners of the guardlock have de-
cided to replace the present struct-
ure with one of concrete, and so
designed that there will be no dan
ger of the water escaping around
the end and sweeping over the
tracks as it did. The city council
has already met and authorized the
of the tannery bridge and
the making of necessary repairs to
the high bridge, and the matter of
providing bridge for the north
end of the city will undoubtedly be
soon taken up and disposed of. All
mills and factories are again start
ing up as fast as circumstances will
permit and business in general is
moving along in it's usual channels.
Wausau has suffered d great
property loss. 1t has met and faced
a calamity, but her citizens have
faced it like men, without whining,
without effort to shift the blame
upon other shoulders, with a deter
mination to learn a lesson from the
past and to make a recurrence i'm
possible.
The city proper is called upon to
face an unexpected outlay of money
that will mount into the thousands
of dollars, but the council is free to
go ahead with the work, knowing
that in this expenditure of money
they have the endorsement of the
taxpayers generally, and if it does
entail some additional burden, it
will be borne uncomplainingly.
Misfortunes of this kind are not
wholly without their compensations.
The losses of one set of men have
awakened the sympathy of Others.
Helping hands have been reached
out from everywhere. The bond of
good fellowship has been strength
ened, love for the city increased and
its institutions better appreciated.
1t has brought to the surface the
best traits of our people. 1t has
made us stronger, more courageous
and with a firmer determination to
help one another and to help the
city as whole. We have learned
lessons that will be of incalculable
benefit to all of us. We have
determined to face the future with
courage and with increased faith
in Wausau.
FIRST the Republican party di-