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Board -May Put Vegas in Wafer Business The city commissioners this morning started machinery moving which ultimately may place . Las Vegas in the water business through the outright purchase of the Las Vegas Land and Water company and local water interests of the Union Pacific railroad. On motion of Commissioner Robert Moore, at a s p e c i al meeting called to discuss the current acute water shortage, the board voted unanimously to call in its advisory com­mittee to i n v e s t i g a t e the. “ possibility and feaseability” of entering into purchase nego­tiations. The city’s indirect bid to buy out the local water concern in the interest of vice to Las Vegas consumers is the second in recent weeks. The Las Vegas valley water district also has expressed in­terest in the purchase. Commissioner Moore’s mo­tion was coypled with another by Commissioner Wendell Bun­ker which provided that the city attorney be instructed to make formal demands on the Nevada public service com­mission requiring: the Las Ve­gas Land and Water company and the Union Pacific “ to pro­ceed immediately to. augment the present supply of water to the city.” Both motions were seconded by Commissioner William Peccole, It was agreed generally at today’* special meeting that complete resources of the Las Vegas water basin have not been fully tapped, despite con­tentions by representatives of the water company and Union Pacific that the underground Supply is ebbing swiftly and additional water is unavailable unless piped from Lake Mead, It was estimated that to bring water from the lake would cost approximately $5,- 000,000 and spokesmen for the water company and railroad said they were not prepared at this time to undertake the ex­pense. E. E. Bennett, general soli­citor for the Union Pacific of Los Angeles, assailed the city fathers’ action of lifting, the (Continued on Page Two) ?(Continued from Page One) lawn watering restrictions and added that while the ban was in effect a total id 50,000,000 gallons of water a month were saved. Ma'Jor E. W. Cragin pointed out ([hat unless local citizens agree to cooperate to a greater degree in water conservation, the restrictions will be restored, A. M. Folger, general man­ager of the Las Vegas Land and Water company, said a total of 17,000,000 gallons of water a day are presently be­ing pumped from 11 wells. It also was proposed that the United 'States government, as a defense measure due to cur­rent war conditaens, be ap­proached with proposals to aid in financing importation erf water from Lake Mead. H addition to representatives of yie water company and rail­road, Charles V. Williams, member of the Nevada public sendee commission, was also present at the meeting. He was called in by the ccm- | missioners to conduct an ex- | haustive inquiry into present conditions and report his find­ings back to the board at the earliest possible moment. W M . AUG 14