USA > Nebraska > Douglas County > Omaha > History of the city of Omaha, Nebraska > Part 41
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Although its officers consist now, for the most part, of younger members of the bar, the older practitioners have always taken a deep interest in it. Twenty years ago law libraries in Omaha were the rare exception, and the scarcity of text books and reports of the different States emphasized to those who controlled the business of the bar the necessity of such an organization as this. The association held its first meeting in De- cember, 1871. It was called to order by Charles F. Manderson, and A. J. Poppleton was elected temporary chairman and John L. Webster, temporary secretary. Upon motion of John I. Redick the association proceeded to a permanent organization. The following gentlemen were then elected directors for the first year: E. Wakeley, A. Swartzlander, C. F. Manderson, George Armstrong, and A. J. Poppleton, and the following officers were elected: president, E. Wakeley; vice-president, A. Swartz- lander; treasurer, W. J. Connell; secre- tary, J. L. Webster. The original subscrib- ers to the stock of the library, and those who may be termed its founders, were the fol- lowing: J. M. Woolworth, C. S. Chase, A. Swartzlander, A. J. Poppleton, J. W. Lytle, G. Armstrong, C. Wiltse, J. C. Cowin, G.
B. Lake, E. Wakcley, W. J. Connell, G. I. Gilbert, B. E. B. Kennedy, James Neville, G. W. Doane, J. L. Webster, F. W. Wessells, Robert Townsend, Jolın Taffe, C. F. Mander- son, A. M. Henry, J. W. Savage, C. A. Bald- win, George M. O'Brien, J. E. Kelley, T. W. T. Richards, J. R. Meredith, J. I. Redick and C. Briggs. These are names for the most part well-known, not only in Douglas County, but throughout the entire State, whither the vicissitudes of business frequently called the old-time practitioners. Some of these death has claimed; many have long since retired from practice; while not a few still reap a harvest, well earned by two dec- ades of faithful labor, many hours of which have been spent in communion with the silent volumes upon the shelves of the as- sociation.
Additions have from time to time been made to the library, and it now includes United States Supreme Court Reports; En- glish Common Law Reports; English Chan- cery Reports; Vesey's Chancery Reports; Condensed English Chancery Reports and also English Law and Equity Reports. It includes also reports of the following states: Alabama, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan; Law and Equity Reports of Mississippi, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, including Cane's Cases; Cane's, Johnson's, Cowan's, Wendall's, Hill's and Denio's Re- ports; those of the Court of Appeals, and Chancery Reports; Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin and Bigelow's Insurance Reports. The board of directors for the present year are George B. Lake, B. E. B. Kennedy, C. S. Chase, H. J. Davis, C. W. Haller, Isaac Adams, W. W. Keysor, F. L. McCoy, E. W. Simeral, J. W. Carr and A. C. Wakeley. The officers are: president, C. S. Chase; vice president, E. W. Simeral; secre- tary, A. C. Wakeley; treasurer, J. W. Carr. librarian, Miss Bessie C. O'Brien.
THE LATE BYRON REED'S LIBRARY.
265
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LIBRARIES.
There are two Catholic libraries in the city, both being at the college (Twenty-fifth and California Streets) and known as the Creighton College Libraries. The first is for reference and for use by the priests and professors of the college, only. It was be- gun in 1879, by the Jesuits, when they assumed control of the college. There are at present about 7,200 volumes in the col- lection. It has no printed catalogue as yet. Its manuscript list embraces the best works in Catholic theology, moral, dogmatic, and Scriptural; besides works in Philosophy, history, literature, law, medicine, natural sciences, mathematics and ancient classics.
The collection is valuable not only for authors in varied fields of human knowledge, but also for old and rare books of the fif- teenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Among these might be mentioned DeSyra's notes on the Bible, published at Cologne, in 1478, bound in thick oak, capitals illustrated by hand, and one of the first books from the press of the famous Koelkoff, of Lubeck; Servius' edition of Virgil's works, published at Basle, in 1547, by Seb. Henricpetri; the Aldine of Thomas Cam- pegius, on the authority of the Roman Pon- tiff, a valuable work from the famous Aldine press 1555; Anderson's large folio edition of Cook's voyages, published in Lon- don, by Alexander Hogg, a curious, rare edition, with 150 full page etchings of the last century.
The nucleus of this library was purchased from Bardstown College, Kentucky, an in- stitution which was closed after the civil war. When it was offered for sale, in 1879, Rev. Roman Shaffel, S. J., of Creighton Col- lege bought three thousand volumes for three thousand dollars, of which two thous- and dollars came from John Creighton, the remainder from the Jesuit community. Having no endowment fund it depends alto- gether on donations.
The Students' Library was organized in April, 1880, by a number of the students,
under Rev. Austin Beile, S. J., the first president.
As no library fund exists, upon which the association can draw, the books have been purchased by monthly fees contributed by the members, donations of friends, and also from the proceeds obtained by entertain- ments given by the association. This collec- tion now numbers about 11,000 volumes.
The Masonic and Odd Fellows orders have libraries in their halls of several thousand volumes each.
Swedish, Danish and Bohemian societies have each fine libraries, which are well pat- ronized and added to year by year.
Among the private libraries of the city that of Byron Reed is the largest and most unique. It contains 4,500 volumes, not in- cluding 1,000 bound magazines and news- papers. For many years Mr. Reed has spared neither time nor expense to place his collection in the place it holds to-day. Among the sets worthy of mention and sel- dom to be found in a private library are: The complete files of the New York Daily Times; Philadelphia Enquirer, Harper's Weekly; Niles' Weekly Register 1811-1848; Richmond Sentinel (the organ of Jefferson Davis); complete sets of the State Journal from 1855; complete sets of the Omaha directories; Statutes at Large of the Con- federate States, also of the State of Virginia -this is particularly valuable, there being but three sets in existence. Among the his- tories of the northwest are first editions of Lewis and Clarke's Expedition, Carver's Travels, DeSmet's Western Missions and Missionaries, also a volume containing an account of the first steamboat up the Mis- souri to Omaha, published in 1819.
A volume that attracts attention is a choir book of Gregorian chants, a large book bound in copper, heavily studded with spike- like projections, the initial letters being richly illuminated. Another work, and one of peculiar interest in Omaha, where a clois- ter is established, is a book of regulations
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF OMAHA.
for the Order of Poor Clare. It was wrought at Milan, in the fifteenth century.
Mr. Reed's collection of coins stands among the three or four most valuable and complete in the United States. It includes specimens of all the coins struck in the United States, as well as the trial pieces. His collection of the coins of foreign coun- tries is quite complete. A nnmismatist grows enthusiastic over these and the an- cient coins dating back to the seventh cen- tury B. C. The collection-books, coins,
manuscripts and autographs-is valued at nearly $50,000.
The library of J. M. Woolworth. the oldest in the city, is devoted mainly to law.
That of the late James W. Savage has a fine collection of Shakespeariana.
William Wallace makes a specialty of pub- lications on the civil war.
A. J. Poppleton has one of the finest mis- cellaneons collections in Omaha.
These are only a few of many private libraries that would be a credit to older cities.
SL. Miley
CHAPTER XXVII.
OMAHA'S SYSTEM OF WATERWORKS - THE CONTEST IN THE CITY COUNCIL - DESCRIPTION OF THE METHOD NOW USED.
Very early in the history of Omaha was the necessity for a system of waterworks, especially for protection from fire, recognized. In April, 1857, the city engineer was in- structed to ascertain and report to the city council " whether it will be practicable to bring the water from Omaha Creek, west of the capitol, by means of a syphon, to the principal streets, to be conveyed into cis- terns, to nse in case of fire, and the probable cost of the same," which examination was made by the city engineer at once, and an adverse report made by him at the next meeting of the council.
In March, 1864, the city engineer was in- structed to " examine and report whether there are any springs within the city limits from which water may be brought into the city for the purpose of extinguishing fires, and, if not, that he be requested to report some other feasible plan to supply the city with water;" and a few days later a com- mittee was appointed to " ascertain the cost of a fire engine and apparatus, and a suitable number of cisterns to afford adequate pro- tection against fire." If either the engineer or committee presented a report on these subjects, the city clerk forgot to mention that fact in his minutes of the council pro- ceedings.
A few years later cisterns were built in the business portion of the city, and supplied with water from the river by pumping with the fire engines, but these proved entirely inadequate on several occasions, and the ne- cessity for something better adapted to the needs of the city soon became apparent. In April, 1870, Mr. Flagler, president of the
Holly Waterworks Company, of Lockport, New York, addressed the council upon the subject, urging the advantages of the Holly, or direct pressure, system as being superior to all others. On this occasion, Mayor Ezra Millard presented to the council letters from the mayors of various eastern cities endors- ing that system. A vote of thanks was re- turned to Mr. Flagler by the council, and there the matter rested for several years. In the latter part of 1873 the council advertised for bids for the boring of an artesian well, 2,000 fect deep. W. E. Swaim, of Joliet, Illinois, proved the lowest bidder, and he proposed to bore and case a well of six inches diameter in the clear for $6 per foot for the first 500 feet, $8 per foot for the second 500 feet, $9.50 per foot for the third 500 feet, and $10.50 per foot for the fourth 500 feet, with a rebate of $2.40 per foot for each foot not cased. The proposition to vote bonds to an amount necessary to do this work failed to carry, and the scheme to ob- tain water in that way was abandoned. In March, 1874, a resolution was adopted by the council authorizing the issuance of bonds to provide for the building of waterworks, and W. W. Marsh, J. II. Congdon, J. E. ITouse, J. E. Boyd, Jonas Gise, John A. Horbach, Alvin Saunders, Herman Kountze and James Creighton were appointed a com- mittee to visit various eastern cities and in- spect the different systems of waterworks, but no practical results were reached.
In February, 1878, Alderman C. V. Galla- gher offered a resolution, which was adopted, instructing the committee on public property and improvements " to inquire into the fea-
267
268
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF OMAHA.
sibility and expediency of establishing a sys- tem of waterworks, and also to investigate and advise the council as to the propriety of submitting to a vote at the spring election the question of voting bonds for that pur- pose." A month later the committee referred to presented a report to the effect that the financial condition of the city did not, at that time, warrant the outlay necessary to establish a system of waterworks, and recom- mended that the city attorney advise the council " what proceedings, legislative or otherwise, are necessary to enable the city to raise the funds required to procure a per- manent system of waterworks." This report was adopted.
July 9, 1878, an ordinance was passed by the council, on first and second readings, authorizing the entering into a contract by the city with S. L. Wiley & Co. for the con- struction and maintenance of a system of waterworks. This was the beginning of a local fight which lasted a year, raging at times with great violence, the majority of the council, then composed of twelve mem- bers, favoring the letting of the contract to the IIolly Manufacturing Company, of Lock- port, New York, who used the direct pressure system, public sentiment generally favoring the reservoir and gravitation system. The last named company made a proposition to con- struct waterworks at Omaha, July 23d, through its agent, Dr. J. T. Cushing, and this gentleman five days later took Council- men Jones, Ilascall, Stephenson, Kaufman, Labagh and Redman to Ottumwa and Bur- lington, Iowa, in order that they might com- pare the Holly and Wiley systems, the for- mer having been adopted by the Burlington people, and the latter being in operation at Ottumwa. A general invitation was ex- tended to the council as a body to go, but it was accepted only by those named. In the meantime the subject was being discussed in the daily papers, the Herald and the Repub- lican favoring the Holly system, and the Bee opposing it. Mass meetings were held at
various times in the court house, and con- siderable bad feeling manifested. In the council the Holly system was endorsed by Councilmen J. D. Jones (president), Isaac S. Hascall, Charles Kaufman, G. F. Labagh, Joseph Redman, Fritz Riepen, Bernard Shannon and Felix Slaven; Councilmen Thomas A. Dailey, James Stephenson, Levi Kennard and O. G. Dodge opposing the adoption, aided by the mayor, C. S. Chase, who vetoed in regular order the various or- dinances which the "solid eight" drafted and passed in the Holly interests.
August 20th, Dr. Cushing was arrested upon complaint of Edward Rosewater, edi- tor of the Bee, on the charge of " bribery and attempting to bribe" members of the city council. An investigation was had be- fore Justice Powell, District Attorney A. N. Ferguson appearing for the prosecution and Jolın C. Cowin for the defendant. Several witnesses were examined, and an effort was made to show that one of the councilmen favoring the Ilolly system had been tempted by the offer of a suit of clothes to change his views as to the merits of the two sys- tems, but this attempt failed, as did also the efforts to fasten upon Dr. Cushing the crime charged against him. August 8th, an ordi- nance based upon the Holly proposition was passed on third reading by the council, by a vote of eight to four, and was vetoed by the mayor. On the following day application was made to Judge James W. Savage, of the district court, for an injunction to re- strain the city authorities from taking for- ther action with respect to entering into a contract for the construction of waterworks under that ordinance. The petition was signed by James E. Boyd, James K. Ish, William A. Paxton, O. C. Campbell, and Lewis Brash, who were represented on the hearing of the case by George W. Doane, John D. Howe, and Edward W. Simeral, the city council being represented by E. Wakeley, J. C. Cowin and George E. Pritch- ett. The petitioners claimed that the ordi-
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THE WATERWORKS SYSTEM.
nance was unconstitutional; that it granted exclusive privileges; that the law author- izing the construction of waterworks in- tended that the city should be the owner thereof; that the ordinance was unreason- able and necessarily void, first, because it granted exclusive privileges to one company without allowing for competition, and, sec- ondly, because it was prejudicial to the city and favorable to the waterworks company, in not providing for a limiting of the fran- chise in price, and in not providing that the city might purchase either the franchise or the works at the expiration of twenty-five years; that the ordinance was not passed in accordance with the rules of the council, or parliamentary rules; and that the necessary expenses of the city already provided for would more than consume the amount of the tax levy for that year. The case came up for argument September 6th, and two days were occupied with the hearing. September 13th Judge Savage gave an elaborate decis- ion in favor of the petitioners and on the same day a special meeting of the council . was held, at which was passed substantially the same ordinance to which objection had been made, but the word "exclusive" was stricken out as previously applied to the franchise. This ordinance was vetoed by the mayor, and on the 17th, passed over his veto by a vote of eight to three, Stephenson, of the opposition, being absent.
Recourse was again had to the district court on injunction proceedings, and Judge Savage again decided adversely to the solid eight of the council, and on the 14th of Oc- tober an ordinance was introduced author- izing the city to contract with any responsi- ble person or corporation to construct waterworks. To this various amendments were offered favorable to the Holly system, and the ordinance, as amended, passed over the veto of the mayor, and in February, 1880, a contract was entered into by the council, without the mayor's signature, for the construction of a system of waterworks.
Large quantities of pipe for mains were at once brought to Omaha by the Holly people and distributed along many of the principal streets of the city, and in March a tract of ground was secured in Hanscom Place Ad- dition, directly north of Hanscom park, as a site for reservoirs or settling basins, and the work of excavating commenced. The elec- tion of April 6th, however, put into the city council several new members who had taken an active part in opposing the Holly system, including James E. Boyd, which gave the opposition a decided majority. At a meet- ing held April 16th, the city attorney was requested to state " the present status of the contract between the city and the Holly company," and at a meeting held four days later an ordinance was introduced repealing the Holly ordinance. At this meeting was read an opinion on the subject, given by A. J. Poppleton, Esq., in response to an appli- cation made by councilman Stephenson, which held that the Holly ordinance had not been legally passed; that there was no such corporation in existence; that it was not au- thorized to contract; its acceptance and bond were without effect; that no lawful record had been made, because its alleged articles of incorporation had not been ac- knowledged; the ordinance passed was to the effect of granting illegal, exclusive franchises; that the bond claimed to have been filed by the waterworks company was without date and not legally filed; that the acceptance of ordinance 412 was void for want of an acceptor authorized to make con- tracts; that the mayor, in his official capac- ity, is a necessary party to the valid con- tract in respect to waterworks. The repeal- ing ordinance was then passed under a suspension of the rules, and, on the 22nd day of April, J. D. Cook, an engineer of Toledo, Ohio, was employed by the council to prepare plans for a system of waterworks for Omaha. An ordinance was drafted, based upon the requirements of Mr. Cook's plans, which provided for reservoirs for
270
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF OMAIIA.
storage and settling purposes, and passed without a dissenting vote. The city clerk was directed to advertise for bids for the construction of waterworks in accordance with the ordinance; and on the 20th of July a year and nine days after the date of the introduction in the council of the first ordi- nance on the subject, the contract to construct waterworks for the city was awarded to a company of Omaha men, . added from time to time, until the present consisting of Samuel R. Johnson, Sidney E. Locke, Charles II. Dewey, John T. Clark, Nathan Shelton, and Milton Rogers, under the style of " Sidney E. Lock and Associ- ates;" but an organization was perfected soon afterwards as the "City Waterworks Company." The contract, which was for twenty-five years, required the completion of the work in two years, but the water was flowing through the pipes early in Septem- ber, 1881.
Originally only seventeen miles of pipe were laid, but additions were constantly made as the growth of the city required it. The system adopted was a combination of the gravity and direct pressure systems. The original plant consisted of one five-mill- ion gallon pumping engine, delivering, through twenty miles of pipe, to storage res- ervoirs of ten millions capacity, situated on Walnut Ilill, the flow line at the reservoir being 305 feet above low water line of the Missouri River. July 1, 1886, the City Waterworks Company sold its stock to a Boston syndicate represented by S. L. Wiley, himself being purchaser of a large portion of the stock, for the sum of $1,300,000. Mr. Wiley thus became the manager of the busi- ness, and immediately arranged to carry into effect a plan he had contemplated when he put in a bid to construct the works in 1878, i. e., the establishment of pumping works and settling basins above Florence. The preliminaries for this had all been settled when the property and franchise were trans- ferred, July 1, 1887, to the American Water- works Company, of Chicago, with $4,000,000
capital, who owned and operated the works up to September, 1891, when the works were sold to the American Waterworks, of New Jersey. The New Jersey corporation was incorporated with ten million dollars, and consisted of the entire waterworks plant of Omaha and the entire Denver waterworks plant of Denver, Colorado. Additional pumping engines and settling basins were pumping capacity of ten million per day was reached. Owing to the rapid growth of the city, and sufficient ground suitable for the settling basins not being obtainable, and the danger of contamination of the sup- ply from sewerage, it was decided, in 1888, to move the pumping plant six miles up the river, to Florence, where it had been con- templated to locate the works in S. L. Wiley's plan, which was submitted to the city ten years previously, by S. L. Wiley & Co.
The formal opening of the new works, August 1, 1889, was an event long to be re- membered by the citizens of Omaha. Early 'in the morning a special train carried over five hundred invited guests, including county and federal officers, heads of whole- sale and manufacturing enterprises, profes- sional and newspaper men, to the scene. A thorough inspection of the plant was made, followed by speech making. Then Acting Mayor Lee, of Omaha, formally started the pumps amid much enthusiasm, and the guests sat down to a sumptuous lunch, sup- plemented by speech making and congratula- tory remarks. Among the speakers were the president of the American Waterworks Company, Mr. W. A. Underwood, Ilon. T. T. Flagler, president of the Ilolly Waterworks Company, Mr. W. I. Kierstead, of the Board of Public Works, Mr. George Barker, president of the Bank of Commerce, Coun- cilman I. S. Hascall and ex-Mayor Chase. Resolutions were presented by Congressman W. J. Connell which were unanimously adopted, thanking the company for their hospitality and congratulating both the
DCDUNBAR CU Enq EMANA
POWER HOUSE AND SETTLING BASINS AT FLORENCE-AMERICAN WATERWORKS COMPANY.
271
THE WATERWORKS SYSTEM.
company and the citizens of Omaha over the successful completion of the enterprise.
The pumping station, built of Warrens- burg sandstone, size 120 x 160 feet, is the finest and most complete building of its character in the country. It will be lighted by electric incandescent lights. The boiler plant consists of six upright boilers, and Butman furnaces. The pumping engines are the Allis low service and the Gaskill high service, each of a capacity of fifteen million gallons per day. The most complete modern machines of the same pattern as those used at Chicago and Buffalo have been provided. The supply is taken from inlet cribs, and delivered by the low service pump to the last of the series of five settling basins, which have a capacity of one hun- dred million gallons. These basins are con- structed with stone retaining walls, and lined throughout with concrete and cement. Valves operated by hydraulic pressure are located in the bottom of the basins, for the purpose of emptying the contents into a drain tunnel, leading to the river. The top strata of water flows over a wire, with a current of air underneath, from each basin to the next, through the five basins, till the last one is reached, from which it is deliv- ered by a high service pump for consump- tion through a thirty-six inch main pipe to the city.
The company also maintains a separate direct pressure system for that portion of the city located on high ground. This being largely a residence district, a domestic pres- sure of forty pounds is maintained, except upon receipt .of fire alarm, when it is increased to one hundred pounds direct pres- sure. The water supply for the City of South Omaha, and the Union Stock Yards, is also furnished by this company. The water mains are of standard weight, cast iron pipes, of large diameter. The total mileage, January 1, 1891, was 158 miles, with 1,344 fire hydrants of the standard Matthews and Gaskill patterns. Ludlow
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