From the Pella Booster, June 26, 1909:

PELLA A PROGRESSIVE CITY--$90,000 BOND ISSUE CARRIED

The Boosters of Pella Have Spoken and We Will Drop Into the Ranks of Progress and
Prosperity

Pella has once more shown that her citizens are progressive and want to be in the
line of progress with her sister cities. For some weeks past our citizens have been
busily engaged in the controversy of public improvements and as to whether it would
be proper for the people to own their own electric light and water works plant.
Discussion waxed warm on all sides and the arguments became somewhat heated on
several occasions, and some really believed that it would be a detriment for the
city to own its electric light plant, and the matter was threshed out from every
standpoint possible. On last Monday evening, City Solicitor B. F. Swisher of
Waterloo was invited to come to our city and address the people on the question of
municipal ownership of these public utilities. Mr. Swisher addressed fully five
hundred people on this question, showing them in plain terms that they should own
their lighting plant and all other public utilities. The progressives of the town
were at the head of the movement of the city owning and building their plants and
made a gallant fight for the, propositions. There were a few fighting these
measures simply because they did not want to have Pella up to the times with her
necessary public improvements, while others were sincere in their belief that it
was a wrong move for the city to control these matters, and of course the
"mossbacks" helped them in this belief. It was rather doubtful as to whether the
questions could be carried as it unfortunately took a two-thirds majority to carry,
but the business men were almost a unit on the questions and pulled their coats and
made the fight of their life for the advancement of Pella and its best interests,
and when the votes were counted it was found that they had made a winning fight by
a good safe majority. When the vote was counted out on Tuesday evening it was found
that the progressives had carried both propositions by a big majority. The vote was
728 for the propositions and 263 against, making a victory for water of a majority
of 80 over two-thirds, and for light 70 over two-thirds. This makes a large
majority to overcome especially when there are some that are fighting it for all it
is worth.

We feel proud of the ladies who so nobly expressed their sentiments in favor of
advancement, for they carried the proposition by a slight majority over the vote of
the men, although the men as well as the women carried the propositions with a safe
majority over the two-thirds. We hope the ladies will not stop at this point in
assisting in the improvements in Pella, as it is as necessary to them that we have
these things as it is to the men, and in many instances more so. The vote of the
city in wards is as follows:

Men
            Yes No
First Ward  112 56
Second Ward 111 44
Third Ward  123 44
Fourth Ward 64 34

Women
            Yes No
First Ward  77 26
Second Ward 104 28
Third Ward  86 13
Fourth Ward 61 18
 
Total
       Yes No
Men    410 178
Women  328 85

Totals for light, 738; against, 263. For water, 742; against, 251. Over two-
thirds, water, 80; light, 70.