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Show CONDEMNATION OF WATER RIGHTS. A plausible argument In support of the right of the city to condemn for' public use, such water rights as the city may find It necessary to have, was made by Christopher Reed, Esq.. in The Trlbuno of yesterday morning. His position po-sition is that tho right already ex!sl3, and may be exercised by this city; the effort lo pass the bill to confer such right explicitly, which failed, having been merely to clear away all doubts. It seems to us that Mr. Reed makes a good case, and one that Is worth while to proceed upon. If his position Is correct, the city can proceed with the condemnation of the water right at the old Granite paper mill site; and then the Light nnd Railway company may put in its claim of that right and demonstrate dem-onstrate its ownership If it can: and afterwards, if It can mak6 this claim good, it can resist the condemnation proceedings by setting up the lack of authority lo condemn if It chooses so to do. If It establishes its right-, arid then can defeat the process of condemnation. It will be merely in the position it claims to be now. But If It fails on either proposition, to establish Its ownership own-ership or to resist the condemnation, it will have no hold whatever on the city, and can in no way Interfere with the carrying out of the water scheme as approved by the vote of the taxpayers on January 3rd. We urge, then that no delay be had in getting on with this proceeding. It will develop, and may settle, the whole caso to the entire satisfaction of tho people. In cdnnectlon with this general water proposition, so far as the Interests of the corporation in control of our electric elec-tric light and street railway service touch it, we consider it proper to say thnt the attitude of Councilman Fornstrom Forn-strom toward it Is both frivolous and insulting. To call men "Sabbath-breakers" "Sabbath-breakers" because they avail themselves them-selves of the only place and date open to them in and on which to express themselves them-selves on a great public question, is tho acme of churlish puerility. To pretend that this great meeting was an effort to "Intimidate" the Councilmen, is to deny the right of the citizen to express himself on public affairs; for every such expression could In the same way be called an effort to intimidate. A Councilman so lost to the dignity and propriety of the occasion is a poor sample sam-ple of an official to deal with any public pub-lic question whatever. The meeting of Sunday night was a gathering entitled to respect. It was composed of reputable citizens, and Its expression was entirely within- tho bounds of propriety. It Is entirely out of place for any one, much less for a member of tho Council, to sneer at it, or to belittle the committee appointed by its authority. We are sure that this unworthy attitude atti-tude of the apparent champion of the corporation will add to the disgust already al-ready so strongly felt by the public at the preposterous demands of the light and railway company. The whole matter mat-ter must be thoroughly threshed out, but in an Intelligent, earnest manner; and this will be done. In the end, it is inevitable that the public will have its way, for as tho creature is less than tho creator, so the governing power Is above that which is governed. |