Show FREE WATER DEBATE I Messrs L E Hall J J Corm H W Lawrence A J Orem and John Stubbs engaged in a debate on the question Resolved That the water supply of the city should be arovided by general taxation L E Hall spoke In the affirmative and argued that such was both justice and for the welfare of the people and quoted Governor Plnuree as advocat ing that sylstem Water should be free City Creek ran free before the region I was settled The water belongs to the people and in the citys early history I what water system then existed was maintained by taxation on the DTOD arty The water rate plan started a > I the system became more perfect At I first the rates were light now they i are quite heavy The revenue last year from water rates was JS3000 and the expense of maintaining the system was but 21000 making a net SIn sysem to the city of 62000 J J Corum in the negative said the subject was really a subject of taxa tion and the desire was to adjust that taxation equitably among all the pea ple The city owns the waterworks The city laid the pipes and broucht 1MS the water in and the expense of list work was defrayed by the city and the city owns the system The city has no right to tax parties for water when those parties have not got iiie water I would take 3000000 to pipe the water Into the houses of all the Inhabitants si is now the big users of water pay for the water they get under the proposed socalled free water the big users would pay very lit tie not quarter what they pay now while the poor people who use little or no water would be paying for what the big consumers use A free streetcar street-car wstem would be better and more sensible than free water socalled socaled Mr Lawrence In the affirmative urged that water was a necessity like light and air and should not be monopolized mo-nopolized The city is the people and J < the people should not be deprived of the water because they cant pay for I I Is a necessity and they must have It The streams rivers and the oceans are free to all I Is altogether wrong for the city to make a revenue out of a necessary article Many fam ilies are deprived of water because they cant raise the 5 or 10 a year to pay for It Water should be supplied suppled at bare cost so should light Luxuries are the things to raise money from taxation and municipalities should curtail their expenses like individuals < Free water will not come this year but i should be agitated The city should own the street cars the gasworks works the electric light wonts and should supply the people with these necessities just at cost O J Orem thought the only argu 4 ment advanced by the other side worth answering was that It was vrong to iI exorbitant prices for necessi ties The answer was that he water rates should be reduced to cost It is contrary to the genius of the epublic to tax people for anything they iont cont get and the property of peojle vho get no water should not be axed to pay for the water used by other ieo pie pleMiss Hurlburd read an article > n the place of municipalities In gjv rnm M deprecating the presence of politics in municipal affairs Owing to this mu nicipal l T government was the one faluire or the United States system of govern ovtn meat Cities are wore governed in America than anywhere else In he world because the worst classes con trol and the more the population grav hates to the city the more absolute will become the control of the vious classes because the population In cities would exceed that of the rural districts and the result would b that Instead of these classes controling the contrlng municipalities munici-palities only they would control the entire government of the country JOHN STUBBS GRIEVANCES John Stubbs was lot n the pro gramme but that made 10 diT rencf As a selfstyled representative of the laborIng classes he waaed to raise his voice for free water and notvithstaml ing an evident disinclination on the part of the chair to recognize hIm Jphn got the floor and probasly vould have held it the i remainder of the even ng I he had not been requested 1y J J Corum and others to resume his seat John said he had been ursfuirlv treated In the matter of ware Hf was called upon to pay S a year water ta but couldnt get any water until he had fought singlehanded and lone and finally conquered the whole city ouncil with his tongue Pat Moran had deeply insulted Mr Stubbs on one occasion Moran insisted that Stubbs hadnt paid anything for extending water mains that he only imagined he hadbut John said he promptly silenced the Irishman by informing him that he Stubbs was not nearly so big a fool as Moran Free water was the only salvation fr the working men and Mr Hall and his free water scheme were all right The fire Tnimtfpc th Ur thf lhit nn speeches having expired the chair rapped for John to sit down Corum and others backed the chair and John sat down with the remark that they all objected to him and a workingman lad no chance anywhere John at the last meeting chinned in when the hat was passed and he felt very sore at not being allowed to give full expression to his pentup feeMng TO MEET THE POLICE COMMISSIONERS COMMIS-SIONERS Mr Smith inquired if any steps had been taken with regard to a commiiee from the league meeting with the no lice and fire commissioners for the ur pose of outlining some plan of campaign aign against saloons gambling nd other evils He was informed that he committees had not yet been named and then the meeting at Dr Silvers if flee mentioned at the beginning of this rcle was arranged for Several new members were admitted and each member was urged to use his or her best endeavors to obtain remits re-mits of a desirable kind and it was greed that any member proposing a person for membership would be requested quested to vouch for the character and sincerity of the applicant The meet lag then adjourned for two weeks |