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Parent Issue
Day
6
Month
May
Year
1885
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

That " Eternul viilance is the price o safely," has been clearly proven within the past few weeks, In respect to the water trorkl proposition. For, if it had not been for the vijrilance of u few level headed and fearless citizens, who man fally stood up for the city's safety aainst what was tin ii the popular clamor, we should now liaye been bound hand and foot at the mercy of a monopoliziifg Corporation. Tlie people wanled water u-niks :inil iliil not care liow tlitv were obtaiued They trusted in the mere verbal promiaes of a gentleman they had never bef re seen, and this, too, on queslions iuvolving thousands of dollars. The council accepted the contract and ordered it sigued after hearing it read only once, aud no one had wen it before it was spiuug on them. Only an accidont Faved Ihem trom a íatal blunder which would have brouglit down upon tht-ni the lile-long censuie of the public. The govi-nior failed to sign the aniended city charter, thus giving time for consideration. The bixlh ward aldeimen, Martin and Bi;gs, made the first public protest, and for it their motives were mallgncd by the thouühtless ciowd. About the only active b;ickin: they had for ¦ UDg time was by Alessrs Dem, Keecli, Kempf, Kinp, Drs. Kmith, Breakey and K:ip]). The Couriek was the only paper whioh daied to denoui.ce the attempted Fraod and to stand up for tlic iuterests of the CitJ'. Last week we publisked some of our objections to the iniquitunus contract, and since then we have hart the pleasure of secinj; tliDse points ratiried by Mr. Hank, the elimineer to wlinni it was reí rr d, and they are now mostly piovided lor by the QhftQget made Tuesduy There Is stlll one very serious objec tion to It, and that is tli.it we are in dan ger of beinj; put off with the filthy water froni the river. This is not fufe for the pnblio health in driuking or cooking Only ¦ few about town are Sati.-(iel with such an arrangi-ment, since they do not use niuch water anyhow. As a further sample of what a ridicu lous contract It wan, the city agreed to pay $4,000 per annum just for the privilege ot putting Ín a hiuidred hydrants, without any provisión! beinL mude for getling water ftom them for fire pur poses. So whenever theie niijrbt be a tire we ooold not liave luid water without paytng tur it whatever the couipuny miglit see fit to charge. Tberefbre, while the contract lina been patched up n a sort of left-hauded way, it is probahly as good as can now be obtaiiifd imder the circumstances. Wliat should lüive been done was, for the city council to have nvestiirated tlie Water coiitmcts of other citiei-, and from com petent, legal and hydnuiüc engineering advice, gotten up just ,uc!i a contract U they wanted. Thcn they could have obtained bids fiora vaiious companies, and undoubteilly, this woold huve 8aved the tax-payers ruatiy dollars in public and private charjresiind in luw fiiits, tor, even as the piesent contract stands, tlie most bat been dictated or written by Mr Goodhue, repreenting the Coiiipauy.

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Subjects
Ann Arbor Courier
Old News