Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1915-04-10
A SITUATION AND A STORY.

Honolulu j. "ui"lnI" it, annual experience
with shortage Of water in Nnuanu valley.
Irrigation j. rr-trirt"I, IHW ~ are. burning ny,
yards dusty, Tire cant trirkI" Of 80 called
''drrking water" in th" pipes i Of til" Inn" of
coffee and tine CONSISTENCY Of poi and a NIGH!
howl rrvcrbrratc~ about tn" ear OF III" new
supervisors.
buSinr~>ru man aid t" Iii" Star BuII,'tin the
other day:
"What Honolulu ought to Ito j. t" turn the.
watprworks over (" a private corporation. TIN"
corporation could tower tine rates, furnish de-
cent water, stop the present scandal and insure
a supply for tn" future. Why should W" pay
so dearly for tho priv i"gr OF owning our own
waferworks?'
The answer to this is contained in the fol
lowing story:
J.. p Snyder former mayor Of Los Angeles
now one Of tine Los Angeles water commissions
ers recently visited San Francisco San Fran
cisco it may be said, has been getting ready
for an election upon the proposal to buy the
Spring Valley water system, and Snyder
interviewed by the Examiner on the situation.
Here is what he said:
"On general principles water and lighting facili-
ties should be owned by the municipality.
a Los Angeles paid $2,0OO,000 for WORKOUT dis
tributng system-pand it in 1901 and paid $4,000"
more than the pipe was worth. The city always
owned the water itself.
Since 1901 have:
"Reaid every mile OF pipe and have more mile
age by Jar than san Francisco.
-GIeared profit of ut least $IyOOO,9OO a year.
Reduced service rates nearly One-halI.
Reduced meter rates more than One-half.
"Created a thoroughly up-tO-date water system
that any city the size Of San Francisco and Los
Angeles would be glad TO- have.
if San Francisco decides to enter the water bust
ness by taking over the Spring Valley property the
citizens must insist on these conditions:
That no political considerations must be allowed
To aHya influence, in the affairs of the water
THAT the works must be operated the
Il principles as any successful private business
THAT the city must be prepared to buy the best
engineering and administrative brains to be found.
Les Angeles has been especially fortunate in haN-
ing William Muholand as engineer
THE citizens must have pride in the work San
Francisco is proud OF the record OF the Ceary street
railway 1t is success. The water plant can be
made equally successful But the waterworks will
not be a success unless the honest, decent men and
women Of all callings and avocations stand firmly
to the proposition that politics must never be al
lowed a single inch of room.
I'VE have solved problem. The city system
is a the Owens river aqueduct is a success,
and with such an example. San Francisco ought not
to hesitae-always provided San Francisco is will
ing to bar the politicians and the incompetents he
concluded
Honolulu can make its water system suttl-
cient and efficient by barring politicians and
ineompetents Doubtless one of the reasons
why this brunette liquid is served up to Nuu-
anuites as water is because politics is part of
the mixture
What howl there would 60 up over pro
posal to bring from the states high-class mu-
nicipal engineer-a malihini-and give him
authority to create the water system for Greater
Honolulu! -
. This city will not get the water problem!
solved until the citizensfwho now suffer in 81
lence-or with an occasional indignant ont
burst-go to the front and demand real bust
ness government and Observation-Disclosures ac
cept their part of the work of getting it,