Our Man About Tows

I beard yesterday tbat the street railway will be bogun immcdiately and before the snow íhea the cars will be running to the university. Good enough. One of our representativo men made this remark one day this week, when the question of impuro water was broaohed: " I think if there was lesa beer drank and more water, it would be better for all ooncerned.' I have been told that if one would dig trenohes around his trees and keep them well watered that it might do some good and save them, which is a simple thing to do, and well worth a trial, for Ann Arbor's beautiful shade trees must be saved if possible. I am told farmera are immensely pleased with their wheat erop, the yield is far in advanoeof what they dared hope. One man said off frora one field where he expected 200 bushels of wheat he found, af ter threshing, he had 340 bushels. In fact they all say the orop is from 25 to 50 per cent. better than aDticipated. This is good news indeed, as it will tend to make all kinds of business good, and will insure better prices in everything. I am told by a prominent man that Prof. Chute analyzed some water out of the spring at the foot of State street, and found it to be most impure and poisonoos. This spring has been thougbt to be perfeotly pure, and people from all over the oity have gone there with their little paila and carried it to their homes blocks away for domestio purposes. I think the best thing one can do is to shut his eyea and drink the water wherever it comes from and say nothing, or else boil or filter it, and then one is certain we have killed or caught the animalculae which is to be found in all waters. One of our prominent physicians came to the office of The Demoorat one day last week, to thank the editor for his bravery in coming out and speaking the plain unvarnished truth about the wrong seen and done upon the streets. Hesaid: "Your article on cruelty to animáis will, perhaps, stirup toaotivity the society organized some time ago for the prevention of cruelty to animáis, uniese that sooiety is no more." How this may be I do not kuow, but it seems to me that something ought to be done. This man, and he a physician said "It is cruel to drive some horses tbat I see upon the ut reet." .Se veral ladies have also remarked of the brutality shown to horses, so you see The Democbat is not the only one who hes noticed this inhuman treatment of dumb brotes. Hydrant water is the all important subject just now. Have you ever thought how soon a community will be up in arms when impure water is supposed to be used? Now undoubtedly there is a great deal of truth in what has been said by our board of bealth, and whioh has been confirmed by tbe committee appointed to investígate. Probably Ann Arbor has as good water as any other city, which, perhaps is not ssying mucu in its favor, but it might be a great deal -worso . One of our leading citizens told me Tuesday, when asked his opinión of the water, " We never use it. I have always oondemned it, and although I have it in my yard, I do not think it is fit at times to even water my lawn." Another man said " I think the board of healtb ought to build an apparatus out there to boil and filter it before it is drawn from the pipest then they might think it fit to use." lie said he " had been out to the water works frequently, had found things all rigbt and he was willing to drink the water." otner saia: " aon't ime ït. I tbink at thia season of the year all water ought to be boiled before using, and every morning there are a dozen or more air tight bottles, filled witb boiled water, plaoed in our refrigerator which we use entirely for drinking purposes." So it goea. One man tbinks one tliing and one anotherIn my opinión I tbink it a good thing that the board of health is investigating, as it wtll necessanly make them more oareful in the future, and probably will cause Borne improvements to be made by the water company. 1 bear considerable feeling hos been stirred up among the stone and brick masons of this city, on account of an article in last week's Dbmocrat. What was said of a few masons ought not to have oflended the great body of honest workmen, and I do not belicve it has. The bulk of masons are too intelligent to deny the criticism made in last week's issue, and several of the latter class have admitted to me that the statements were just and true. An honest workman is the-noblest work of God. The Dbmoobat has al ways defended his cause and upheld his rights, as against monopolies, trusts, tyranical employers, grasping corporations and other enemies of free and enlightened labor. But The Demoobat, while doing all this, is not blind to the f act that there are men in all departmente of labor who are unreasonable in their demands. These men have been scored repeatedly by the head of the great labor organization ia the United States, T. V. Powderly himself, and why should they not be? Such men have precipitated useless strikes and complications which have thrown themselves and thousands of otbers out of work for nothing, and to resume where they left off beoause the unreasonableness of their cause hus disgusted the great bulk of their fellows. If you want instances I can givethem. The point I made last week was that while hundredsof men are working twice as many hours a day for less than half paid the masons of this city, while others refuse to work ten hours for 83.50. 80 I say if these men come to want while they might avoid it with ease, and without any hardship to themselves, no sympathy should be wasted on them, and very little will be, I think.