Water-works Meeting Etc.

An adjourncd Works meeting was hele at the Court Jloosö on Friday evening last Mayor Douolass in the chair, and J. Q. A. Ses SIOX9 ofneiating as Secretary. The chair announced the following resolutions, offered by Mr. Skaman, as beiug beforo the meeting, the sanie being moved as a substituto for a raotion to adopt the majority report of Citizeus' Coramittee, for which see anotlier column : Jlisnh-erl, Thut it is oxpedient to tako the water imt oí the Huron Itiver abovu the city and not below it. ttnmved, That the water should bo elevatcd lirat into a reservoir and ftUowed to settle before ïtis delivered to the citizeus for uso. Forthwith n question of " order" was raised by distinguished parliamciitarians, who scemed to kiiow very little about the practice of legislative or delibérate bodies, after which the resolutions wove laid on the table. R. E. Fkazf.r, Esq., then oftered the following resolutions as a substituto for the report : Rtwlvtd, That it is the opinión of this mestui; that the introdiu-tion of water into the city for fire and donicstic pui-poses is expedient and ïecessary. Resolved, That in view of the great divereity of opinión BI to the best mode of iutroducmg water, and tlie iiiouy dinicultiws attending its in;ioduction as a pubííc entei-prisc, it is not expelient for the city to nter upon the construction ot water-works. lleaolced, That this meeting reeommend the yOnunon Council to iinthori.e the forination of a coinpanv for the introrluction of water into the city for "fire and ilomegtic purposes ; that. the Common Council advertise for bids for the ereotion and maintenance of watcr-works, md keep the same open for 90 day ; That the partiea bidding sliall agroc to build and naintnin water-works which will throw at rast fivr Mttvams at cme time frum moh nozzles at and over the L'ilion School building in this city : that the Common Council shall reserve to the áty the right to purchase the water-works at hèir actual cost, at any time they see tit, with anaddition of ló per cent; That 110 sueh bid shall he aOcapted unless the xirty bidding shall enter into bonda in such rum is tlie Commou Couricil shall direct for the faithul perfbrmanoe of their contract; That the Common Council shall have the ower to reject all bids at their option, provided he city sháll determine at any time witain 30 ays atter tlie opening of tlie bids to build the water-works itself. The discussion of the resolutions was neither emperatc nor practical, the opponent discoverng a " nigger in the fence," that the city was to e sold to Dr. Douolass or a grinding monopoly f a company, and many other terrible bugbears ; and this in the face of the reservation in he rosolutions of the right to reject all bidg, also f the right of the city to determine within 30 ays after opening bids to build water-works on te own hook ; and, also, of the statutory pro isiona giving all cities and villages thfough Council or Trustees control of water rates when nd where the works are constructed and operaed by companies. A singular claim was also put up in behalf of ie report, that the committee had done its level est, and that the meeting in ail courtesy, and os oomposed of gentlemen, was under obligaïon to adopt it and let it go to the people. This laim that a meeting is under any obligation to adopt a report is both eiitirely uew and very thin, and should not be repeated at the next meeting. The question was fmally put on Mr. Frazkiï'9 esolutions, and on a división of the house they ■ere declared rejected. The pending question then being the adoption f the majority report - Holjy vvoiks to be built, wned, and operatcd by the city, using the Buneer power below the city - a motion was made a refer the report back to the committee with istructions to so amend the same as to provide or locating the works above the city. And gain tho parliamentarians raised a point of orer. The chair held the motion in order, when vithout reaching a vote the meeting adjourned o this eveniug, March 21st. - We are in favor of water-works and we are very little whether they are built by the ty or a company, though we believe that in the ong run it will be cheapor for the city, as a cornration, to buy its water for üro pui-poses of a ompany than to build its own works. It' it seems to take a lare snm to pay for a supply ot 50 or ) hydrants annually, it will take a much larprer sum to pay the interest on the investment - say #100,000 - and the operatíng; expenses, aiul ie sum to be received frora private consumere ïll not, in our opinión, wipe out the differcnce. ut we are willing to waivc our individual jinion and go in for works to be owned by the ïtv. We are, however, anrl alirnys liare been, oposed to taking water from the Huron below the ty. To do so would be to viólate the universal usfcotn - a custom founded on the laws of hoalth ud commen sense. But we aro told that a well ml not the Huron is to be the source of gupply, nd the questions are, who will guarrantee the npply and ia it safe to oxjjend 100,000 on such continencyr A well can just as well be relied pon attocc the city as beioir, and then if the well fails and the river is resorted to the pumpa vill nit furnish the ref use and drainage of taneties, breweries, slaughter-houses, gas-houses, ewers, etc. Agxin, we do not beüeve that that the Bunker ower will prove BllScient every day in the year lid every hour in the day -year in and year oat - to fn Holly Water Woiks and furnish watei' or ordinaïy consuinption, to say nothing o% afording protoction certain and reliable agaiust re. The engiues of the Kalamazoo works are ated at 1 2(1 horse power, those at Jackson the irae or greatef, and at the latter city 80 horse )ower is actually used for tire purposes. Can 0 horae power be relied on at the Bmker power, under the 7 feet head claimed, and every day in the year and every hour in the day, or. even with a wet season and a full stream. That is the question to be determined before a dollar should be expended in works at that point - for if steam is to be used works can be located nearer the city center. We inay be told that by using other than Holly pumps, as the comruittee proposes, less power will be required; but to do this will involve costly law suit the Holly Company claiming patente covering the systom of " direct supply." Suits have already b3en commenced by such conipiiny, at Rahway, ï. J., and othcr places. Besides, if practical niillers are not at fault, millers who have had many years experience ou the Huron, who assure us that even with eight feet head they are irequently unable tocommand more than 40 horse power, the Dew pumps propose l cannot be relied upon to Work tbc Holly systeJn. We are confideut that the Holly system meana steain power in the end, and stcaiti iower isvery expensive to opérate. Besidea, the frequent ïewal of machinery made necessary by the ïeavy straiu renders the annual cost of repairs uormons. In view of these facts we are confileilt any unprejudiced person would choase tho eservoir system, espíicially where such a head is offered as that to tho northwest of the city'. - Mr. MoiiOAX, a cousulting engineer of Chicago - see letter in another columu - states that a 65 feet head at reservoir - at the proposed location, 7,900 feet from the Court Houso Square - will raise a stream from a hydrant at the Court House square and through.a one-iuch nozzle 120 feet high at the University grounds, 98 feet high ; ind the same height for as many more streams as the pipe will supply, or cight. Increaaing the sizo of the pipe from the reservoir to Main street Torn 12 to 16 inches, at a fraction of additionnl cost, would both increase the elevatioii and the numb? r of streams. What do reservoirs do in other citios ? One at Salem, Mass., 115 feet elevation, threw on a test, 42 streams over any building in the city, - or so saya the engineer of the Toledo WaterWorks Trustee. Frovidence, R. I., also shows equully favorable resulte with the reservoir systcm ; also Zanesville, Ohio.1 And the concurring and universal testimony of hydraulic engineers is in favor of the reservoir syrtem where the elevation can be had; nud as agaínst the Holly sys tem the staud-pipe system is fast becoming pop ular. Thfise being the facts our citizens should hes itatc long before adopting the Holly system,- even with Holly pumps dropped out ter please a committee over sensitivo tand unwilling to st.'iiu by its own recommeudations, - especially wheti such works aro proposed to be run by a dry wa ter power or one not to bü relied upon in a dr SOüSMM. Building works aliovo the city tlic reservoi ■ad Holly Bystems con bc conibinod if found uo ceisary. Aml ly using the McMahon power at or near the plank road bridge instead of at the dam it would be largely iucreased in value, and the use or lease of it for mauufacturiug purposes would more than pay for operating reservoir works. "We also think that a great saving in the letigth and cost of pipe would result. To determine these questions in dispute we suggest the employment of a disinterested, competent, and practical hydraulic ongineer, to make surveys anil recommend a plan. Meantime thero should be a cossation of peity jealousies and personal denunciation. A little conciliation and common sense are both needed, and without them our city will never secure water-works, or make any other great advance "Wind and noise and personal abuse coirot for less than nothing. The Reqistw of last Weck copied an old rnport to the Common Council in favor of Holly Works, taking the water above the city, and the Argtjs coniments on the same, and makes a lamo ittempt to prove us imlorsing hoth the Holly systefn nul tho purity of the water taken at the 3unkcr dam beloir the city. Horse logic that. Resides, if the Register had noted that littlc, significant letter s, on the end of the word reser'oir(s), it would have seen that the Arous was contrasting the Holly system, then rocommended by the committoe, with stroot-corner reservoira or cisterns, and not with an clevated reservoir urnishing both head and power suflicient to do away with steunen or hand fire engines. If the Abgus then aecepted or " seemod to favor " the lólly Bjfstem it never favored taking the water lelow the city. Try again, neighbor.