Tacoma Offers to Hand Its Water System Back to the Man It Bought It From

Tacoma, March 12.—Special.—The city, taking up the hint of C. B. Wright's agents that he would be willing to buy back the light and water plant for the price the city paid for it, has offered to sell to Mr. Wright on those terms. Mayor Orr has written a letter making the offer and delivered it into the hands of Joshua Pierce, the man who gave out the first hint of Wright's intentions. Pierce, in turn, has handed it over to Edmund Seymour, whom Wright has authorized to act as his agent in the matter.

The mayor proposes in his letter to sell back the plant for the original purchase price, $1,755,000; Mr. Wright to return $1,980,000 worth of bonds and pay the remainder in cash. The city then proposes to use the cash to take up outstanding indebtedness. Part of the proposition is an agreement to have all actions against Wright growing out of the sale dismissed if Wright accepts.

Today there was no lack of water in any part of the city, notwithstanding the shutting off of the Clover and Spanaway creek supplies yesterday. Water from the Northern Pacific wells at Edison is aiding the supply materially, and there has been no evidence of its quantity being reduced. Tomorrow one of the city fire engines, now out of use for economy's sake, will be stationed at Crystal Springs, on the prairie near Lakeview, to pump water from the springs into the flume which runs into the present city reservoir. The engine is expected to pump about 300,000 gallons daily. A shed will be erected for it and the pumping kept up as needed.

Mayor Orr received a reply this morning from President Hosmer of the Tacoma Light and Water Company to the letter sent yesterday by the mayor to the effect that the city would hold that company and sureties C. B. Wright and W. D. Tyler and wife on the $100,000 indemnity bond responsible for the predicament in which the city finds itself. President Hosmer politely referred the mayor to a letter from the company on the same subject dated February 5 last, in which the company declined to do more than pay half ($7,000) of the damages in the condemnation proceedings. So the mayor and the city attorney will have to begin suit against the company and the sureties, as was stated in the letter yesterday.

Councilmen Cavender, Watson, Pincus and Harris and Engineer Fred G. Plummer went out to inspect the Mashel River today with a view to determining whether it can be used for a supply.