Show MOMENTOUS QUESTIONS I 1 THE proceedings la in the city council en an tuesday evening were more than usually interesting the question of the right of way for the utah western railway was discussed and the prete protestants stake seem to have given up the contest on the condition that the road out of town be placed on fourth west street objections to that route did not appear to be very numerous or formidable the that occupied most of the time and abid attention of the council cil was the water question several projects for increasing the sup ply were mooted and referred to the water commission the public are anxious that something be done quickly in this direction and inconsiderate people expect important measures to be decided out of hand in a moment too great haste often results in serious mistakes and it will be far better for the city council to be sure they are right before the go ahead even in the matter of water supply than make a blunder for which the general public will never forgive them no matter matte how much they may have been urged to hurried action the letter of lawyer brown on the subject of the powers of the city council presents a grievance which needs attention and if possible a remedy but it seems to ignore a very important limitation of the authority of the municipal government while it is true that the city council is authorized to control and distribute the waters flowing into the city for the use tise and benefit of the inhabitants thereof the prior rights of the original claimants are protected by special provisions and this qualification affects the legislation by which chartered powers are granted in the act of 1886 granting further powers to the respective cities in regard to water taxes it is provided that nothing herein shall be construed to interfere with the water rights accrued by priority of appropriation pria tion the act of 1888 in defining the powers of city councils has the following sixteenth to control the water and water courses leading to the city and to regulate the water courses and mill privileges within the city provided that the control shall not be exercised to the injury of any rights already acquired by actual owners etc these prior rights to the use of water acquired m miny iny years ago are and should be protected by law and no chartered powers conferred by the legislature upon city councils have ignored them or attempted to ove override rilde them the right of the salt lake city council to control and distribute the waters then does not take away or diminish the rights of prior appropriators and mr brown should take this into consideration in giving his legal or personal opinion on this important subject the report of the committee on water works and irrigation contains some admirable suggestions and recommendations the temporary relief which will be afforded by the turning of the waters of city creek into the irrigation ditches of one district and then into each of the others in turn until all have received their quota will be highly appreciated by the owners of plots of ground which are now parched and dry as powder beds this may save thousands of fruit and other trees from threatened destruction the conveyance of the water through the pipes to the fire hydrants will be far preferable to turning it into the ditches in the canyon for this will save the evaporation which would greatly waste the water before it reached the gardens to be irrigated ri we explained this proposition in a recent article and believe it will be made effectual if the local water masters in each district personally supera supervise ase the distribution and see that each owner obtains his bia lawful share it often occurs that persona living at the end of an irrigation ditch are robbed of their quota of the precious fluid because of leakages or mappings tap pings of the e stream at points above them in times like these water stealing becomes a crime of more inore than ordinary magni tude and the loss of the water to Is not made up by the prosecution of the thief who stole it the un watered soil remains just as dry whether be b 3 is properly punished or not there g fore measures should be taken t to prevent the evil rather than to fine fin those who axe are guilty of it the proposal to credit on th ej water rates persons who have beet beed taxed four mills on the square foot of ground owned for the extension of 0 the water mains maids in their vicinity seems to be as equitable an adjustment of the difficulty as can be made mad under the circumstances the error occurred in the begin ning of the establishment of of tb waterworks water works for this the preset present city council is not responsible TO part of the city where property ow ers era were the beet beat able to pay a local loca tax for the local benefit was supplee lie at the public expense an attempt was made to correct this when the two thirds voluntary payment aw was adopted of amount to be credited 00 0 the water rates but this was fouad boub to be inequitable because object objector oo to paying in many iastan instance reaped the benefit of the pay made by others the last method adopted beep is very unpopular was considered the most equal plan and was de signed to do justice to all the fla leesment aee ses however upon the so of ground occupied has proven vel unsatisfactory ory and the complaints have been long and loud since its inception the crediting of the amounted paid upon the rates for water supply will put the pay payers rs on the same footing as the class that voluntarily paid the two chiris expense because the four mills assessed only covers two thirds of the actual cost of laying down the mains and applying the street hydrants in the locality taxed there were three methods by which the extension of the water service wa vice could be effected under tinder the latest legislation first by th the area plan second by assessing according to t the frontage third by ine meeting eting the expense out of the general taxes the last named would have ased a storm from sections of the city ty that could not be supplied at any y rate for a long time to come they roey would object to be taxed for that was only of benefit to t others and it would only be a petition of the error committed in the first place the frontage plan plad would be inequitable to owners of cortier corner lots who would be doubly ed so the first named method was aa adopted as apparently the most suitable equitable the allowance of the amount of the tax to be on the water rates will remove one great objection to this method the most important consideration w is the best means of increasing the supply so go that in years of drought that way may come again this city may 1101 ot be in the present condition these means will not be found or bened by senseless growling or odust faultfinding let it be remembered that the canal which was pecked ejected to meet the very difficulty orader der which we are now suffering was built upon the vote of the peo we let au all who voted for it take their hr share of the responsibility for its construction whatever that may 13 fie and not complain oi 01 men who no more to do with it than they and A nd furthermore who can dispute that hat the canal has been of great the city aff e repeat what is wanted is a sweater greater supply not grumbling deficiencies the becom on of mr W a ike r Is to the oot let others make practical cat ions the city councilors councillors Counci lors willing and anxious to receive hein if anybody can offer better avs for present or future action n those such adopted plans we ate cert certain gAu will receive due atten there will be some sense in at way of procedure but those join in the howl being raised by political tricksters trick to foster their own ends manifest little wisdom and show small consistency sis tency if wrongs exist point them out and suggest a remedy if mistakes are made show a more excellent way but do not blame men for the action or non action of the elements nor echo the libels and slanders of the enemies to the true interests and civil and religious liberties of the cople of this territory |