Perth Amboy evening news., 1918-09-20
TAXING PERTH AMBoYs WATER

un - fbis section Of the state it has been found that Perth Am
how &c the ONLY city that has anything like what might be called q
sU IN "a wafer The intimation from these engineers is that II the
city does not willingly sell for government us a supply - -
S S"%lti at CoIonia a $ well, the government will come in and take
over the water plant, using what it wants, the city taklng m -
left left - "' T.. demand. Of
the government in this respect the city viii nave veto to spe sneta ,0i ~ the he
fifty thousand dollars, for while there may be plenty OF wafer IN u ue
vicinity of RunyOn, facilities must be provided for getting " 70 'S
~ But when the city goes before the Capital Issues Committee, the
Government body that passes on all bond issues these days, that com.
is declared that such work is not compatible with government inter
ests. yet the very work that is proposed to do is made the more nee
essary by the governments demand ater
Could anything be more inconsistent
Being denied the privilege of issuing bonds, the water depart
MONT must resort TO its ordinary income to meet the expenses OF the
additions to the water system in order to supply the water that "a
sor mater rates here because of the increased expenses that the
department was under. Now, we understand, there is a question
whether the government will pay the increased rate.
We cant see why it shouldn't e
As a matter of fact, Perth AmbOy is not going to sell the water
the Middlesex Water Company that among other places now sup
plies Woodbridge and Raritan townships We understand that me
government is to pay the Middlesex Water Company a cent ana a
half more per gallon than the water company will pay the city OF Of
Perth Amboy. In other words, the Middlesex Water Company WIZ
get a clear rake-of of a cent and a half Oh every ganon OF wa'er' ~
the city of Perth Amboy furnishes for the use of the government. AS
It is expected that eventually the government will require two or
three million gallons a day, the profit to the Middlesex Water Com
pany will amount to quite a tidy sum-
Now, the point is, if the Middlesex Water Company is to be per
mitted to make a profit of a cent and a hif on every gallon why
should Perth Amboy be expected to furnish the water below cost, or
the other concerns working for the government have a profit guar
arteedi AS Perth Amboy will be selling water to a private concern
kO lHAI lHdL GOuItlh may hlhAN q ItOhD INV BAON W tC NOD(S1G
should be at least the same as the price paid by the large industries
that are supplied by the city.
War may be war, and it may be necessary to put up with a great
many things because the country is at war, but the arbitrary manner
ia which certain officers and representatives of newly created bureaus,
men possessing no special intelligence, but having pull enough to
land in responsible positions, go about giving orders that cannot be
disobeyed under the severest penalties, certainly gives us a taste OF
what Prussia with her overlooking officials class must be like.
But we hear very little complaint on the part of the people, who,
for patriotic reasons, refuse to offer objections and take It all with a
grim determination to see it through. They are doing a vast amount
Of thinking, however, and, once the war is won, it will be a case of
get back to the first principles of a democracy, which are that the
people shall have forced upon them only such laws a are absolutely
necessary for their safety and well being-that too much law and
regulation is worse than too little. We will have had enough of gov
eminent regulation and government ownership to last us for several
generations, at least. -
There is some satisfaction in knowing that Perth Amboy is so
well off in the matter of a water supply, but it is not going to do the
city much good if the government is going to cOnfscate it all. OF
course, we are glad to do everything we can to assist the government
IN winning the war, but the arbitrary and dictatorial attitude is some
what CALLING.
We al see some reason for Camp Rarian at Germantown be-
cause of the shipping facilities which must be had for a terminal
whether there is potable water o r not. But in the matter of the base
hospital at Colonia, somebody must have Numbered terribly to have
established such an institution in a locality without first making sure
that there was a water supply adequate for all needs. But then, con
sidering all things, it is not so surprising, after all, that the hospital
was established first and the water supply given consideration after
ward.
The fact that concerns Perth Amboy right now is that her water
supply will have to be carefully guarded in the future to see that
thereis enough to go around.