"citizen" Kicks

Ei. CouRiEii:- Permit me a few words relative to the water works question, now agitating the people of tltia city. I ara in no sense a professional man, but contrive to get alunjr comfortably by mini tin my own business, and were It nor tliat tliis water qoettlon may considerably affect what little property I have here, Í would hold my peace. Last Monday niht, I nnderstand, the Common Council directeil the Recorder imt to igu the present contract, and appointed a committee to "confer wilh Judge Cooley in relation to th legal ispéete of tlie contract, and confer with some competent hydraiilic engineer, iu relation to the contract." Consider for a moment what this contract means. Ie means that this is a contract- is no fair day experiment- bat is to continue for tliirty years, and tliat the city jrives awiiy a franchise of which t can only be repossessed by parobaM or expensive litiTHlioi). It means that there is no guarantee that the witer worlcn sli.ill tbr ow a str.-ain at any hight. except at two jxiints, uil else about it is assumption and guesswork. It means that there are four miles of four-inch pipe, and no (rnawitee thit further pipe to be laid shall be of ny particular sizc, and upon thi-i Imlrants are to b placed- while every respectable hydraulic en tri neer knows that fuui-inch pipe is not adequate lor lire prolection. . It means that there are nn pipes to be laid on Washington, Liberty and other principal ptreets, unless tlie city pay $40 per year tor evcry 700 feet. Itineanstli.it if hydrmntl or pipes are llowed to freeze, nr tue works shutdown for a week or month, by moa' s ol some accident wblob the oampany deern au " iinavoidable accident," tlie city ha DO redress whatever. It nicans that wliether such works are shut down by "unavoiduble accidenta" or not, tlie city pays all the sume, whether it has the water or not. It ineans that tlie city of Ann Arbor baa got to pay f4000 j.er ycar for water after the works are in, wliether it gets the water or not, provided the company deern the delay caused, by au " unavoidable accident It means that if there is any failure on the part, of the company to perforni iny part of the njrreenient of the contriict, that the city has no redress whatever- except byexpensive lawstiits. It is bound to take the works and pay tlie money, or !w tCitizen. Shrtly after the Ore alarm tilín forenoon anj'one who turned on the water wouM have lounü that the water workH compmiy hail up a heavy flre pressiire. The water was of a deep yellow color and evldently unflt for household use.- Adrlau Hecord. Now the que3tlon naturally BUfígestí itself, "How long before Ann Arbor newpaperi wlll be havlng In similar Items reapectlng her water works?"