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Show I CITY OF DENVER IS BOYCOTTED Denver Is a city of constant turmoil oer public affairs. No place in the country Is the same bitterness exhibited ex-hibited In politics, whether state or city, and the latest uproar, which is over the water question. Is as exciting excit-ing as anything in the past. One of our contemporaries presents this history his-tory of the struggle there for municipal, muni-cipal, ownership of the waterworks: For a good many years there has been a contest on in Denver between I the private company which owns the water plant and the city. The majority ma-jority of the people wanted to own water supply, and the company, which was a power in politics, fought the proposition strenuously. Finally the franchise of the company expired, and the people voted to put in a new plant. Then the company offered to sell its plant to the city for $14,000,-000, $14,000,-000, The people rejected the proposal pro-posal and voted .to issue bonds to the extent of $8,000,000,' and build a plant. The company fought the bond and through the supreme court of the and through the suprmee court of the United States, and lost out. Now Denver. Is engaged in the effort ef-fort to market its bonds, and the company has undertaken to boycott the city among investors. A banking firm In New York, City has issued a letter in which it advises people not to buy the Denver water bonds. The reason given by the bankers for the action is that .the establishment of the municipal plant would destroy the value of the privately owned system, and that it would mean the confisca-' tion of property. The supreme court of the nation passed upon thle question ques-tion when the bond issue was before It. That tribunal held that under the law the water company has not and never had any right to demand compensation com-pensation for its property from the city. The franchise was accepted and investments were made subject to the life of the franchise. It is manifestly not Incumbent upon Denver Den-ver to purchase the property. Whether Wheth-er or not the city should buy, depends de-pends upon the price and condition of the plant. The letter is remarkable remark-able because it is an attempt at a boycott, against which capital has fought strenuously in the courts. The New York bankers are proposing something which, if undertaken by others, would be- unmercifully condemned. con-demned. It may he that Denver erred er-red In refusing to buy the waterworks but the bankers blundered in proposing propos-ing a financial boycott. nn |