The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-10
LETTERS TO EDITOR
The Water Question

To the Editor of The Age-Herald:
 "It is sure sign Of a worthy and
 generous spirit whom honor amends, ana
 as in nature things move violently to their
 proper place, and calmly when In ther
 place, so virtue In ambition is violent, ana
 in authority settled and calm.
 The amendment of that part of the
 schedule of water rates which relates to
 the sprinkling of the private lawns of
 the citizens by our friends, the commis-
 sioners, is proof of the generosity of spirit
 with which they are actuated, but their
 generosity is still on the wrong slde or
 the question: Aristotle says that justice
 is the other mans right, and there is not
 a citizen who doubts that the commlsslon-
 CTS lean to the man opposed to the water
 works company in their afectlohs ana humor of justice; but their figures are stlii SO far awry that we must beg them to have their Michael Cassie recast his cal culations. or take his reckoning all over again.
 = Michael seems to have gotten the square yard as a unit of calculation into ms mead and like MT. Dicks "Memorial or King Charles" it sticks to him with despera- ton akin to madness. The amendment of the schedule of water charges provides that the waterworl<s company may charge
 cent the square yard for the privilege of sprinkling, according to the area sprinkled'' and the charge for sprinhilng that same part or portion of this ter raoueous sphere to which the writer was constrained to refer in his last commun- ication on this question. minus that part thereof covered by the structure there on by which he is protected rom the four azure minds, of heaven, will be Sl9, as against an annual charge annually during | the past 20 years of S5, an increase Of ' .-- --f.. tc GAT~ 1 tainly a very, very, very simple matter, I and should not require the offices of a Newton or a Kepler to straighten it out If the commission will just rid itself or Fixing Charles Memorial-this square yard
 as a unit of calculation with which it is possessed-its calculations will be simple I and the end to be achieved will be achieved; but if they persist in the square yard as unit they must needs adopt | some other monetary system than that ob- l taining in the United States, for the charge the yard must be so small that
 it may as we'll be expressed in absolutely 1 foreign terms if the rate is to be lowered as they evidently intended originally, 16 2-3 per cent; for, although the charge would
 be aboutS2 mills the yard to accomplish
 their evident purpose, yet the use of the
 mill in calculations is quite as unknown as would be the use of the reis. l.. The front foot as a unit might work
 great inequality, as all lots are not of
 uniform depth. and the expression used l Cor its equivalenD 'sare sprinl<led,' will ] be a needless cause of diseontent and end-
 less contention. Get rid of this Memorial of King Charles-this square yard <. as the unit--and come to something intelli-' | gible. The English language is deficient ! of terms in which without offense to char acterize the efforts so far made to reduce l the sprinkling charge; but to say the least, the efforts have not been brilliant | A. LATADY.
 Birmingham, March g, 1912.
 l FavOrs Viaduct