Show SEWERAGE AND THE TELE COUNCIL absorbing subject ol of sewerage came prominently before the city council last night the reading of the protest of ellas elias morris which we believe has an overwhelming popular endorsement brought alderman riter biter the most indefatigable Inde fatig a ble champion of sewerage to his feet he made an earnest endeavor to eradicate a deep and widespread impression hat exists in the minds of the community his I 1 success in that well be doubted the first aim of the alderman was to remove the general opinion that thal the system of sewerage proposed will benefit a few while the great bulk of the citizens receiving no benefit would have to tribute largely towards its establishment lish ment and aad maintenance he held that no improvement could be made that all did not receive some benefit from either near or remote in this instance the remoteness is at once admitted take for instance that large sweep of the city below fourth south street and around into the nineteenth ward and the remoteness of benefit is so great as to be conspicuously apparent while that associated with the remainder remain dbr of the municipality is proportionately so the alderman made a parallel of the jordan canal which cost and stated that although sewer district no I 1 had hied received little or no benefit from tt it it paid 65 per cent of the taxes odthe of the city including license lees fees it is hardly fair to include the license tees fees a large proportion of which comes from the liquor business the high rate being based on the fact that it is required to meet the expense to the community in regulating the evils gro growing iving out of that traffic and the entire license revenue comes from the bod body of the people 1 indirectly minus ze the license revenue reven othe taxes paid by sewer district no 1 tall fall below 50 per cent besides the benefit to the district from the canal is neither indirect nor remote but continuous and extensive much more so than to a very lar large e portion ot of the city including the dry bench where the p poor generally reside a locality which appears to beitha u of a great many dry and unfeeling thrusts the sewer district is under the canal and receives service from it through its ditches and sprinkling carts the waterworks water works system constructed for the dry bench was also used by mr riter as a parallel but the gentle man fails to recognize the fact that this is not an instance of exclusive benefits as the service is being extended down to second street far below the water line and it is intended to carry carrat car around east and southward that tact fact wipes out as an argument the alleged ten per cent proportion paid id for the expenditure pend iture of tre the be sides water for culinary purposes is an imperative necessity which no humane person will deny its pos a matter of life or death and in order to show that the sewer district has not been oppressed in this line it should not be forgotten that those who receive service from the waterworks water works referred to are compelled to pay a heavy and burdensome frontage tax for the laying of the mains while those for sewer nu number in ber one were laid at the expense of tile the general public and the residents enjoyed the benefits thereof for many years while many of the people of other sections were gaping g i ping from thirst the statement consi considered dervid in the light of the large service from the chief works the ditch service and the street sprinkling that the sewer district is using less water than it is legally entitled to is extraordinary if the alderman wishes to be convinced that irrigation which properly includes sprinkling has not been abandoned let him take a drive over the district main street is only a portion of the district an investigation would doubtless show that no use of water has been abandoned coming down to mathematical correctness alderman riter biter wound up with a plea to the effect that sewer district number one had not had a just part of the benefits of improvements in proportion to the amount of taxes paid by it this would be a questionable statement even if the proportionate payment of taxes as stated by him be admitted including the license fees which latter are of doubtful adlissa ability the district has had bad almost the exclusive benell benefit of a costly water system for a long series of years that was paid for from the general fund and when the service was extended beyond those who received it had to pay tor for the mains it has probably ninety per cent benefit of the fire department located within it its streets have been graded and kept in repair to an extent that bears an immense proportion in comparison to any other part of the city tc it lias has as is well known almost a monopoly of the police service 6 except that which is given at the railroad depots neither should it be forgotten that but tor for the people at large main street which is 19 the head and front of the sewer district could not exist as a business centre it is sustained by their money which goes into the pockets kelsof of those who are located there enabling them to meet demands for to t benefit th themselves selves exclusively VI t taking it all in all we adhere to the proposition that the protest of elias mortis morris commends itself to the fair minded and considerate it does not partake of that genius dangerous danger ons to the public nubile weal which causes the trend of legislation to run in favor ot of the rich as against the poor |