New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1863-01-17
City sewnge-Ciiy Drninage.

Chicago is in quandary. II always will be nm
less ia people study common sense. 1t was beils in
quagmirei hence the doubt how to get rid Of
city sewage. The site of the city is a sandy
ridge along the bank of the lake. ten Of
teen feet above water level, receding to about
three feet, mile back. This ridge is cut by the
Chicago river dividing the city in the center, and
itself dividing into north and south forks half mile
from the lake shore. When the city was located
and until several of its most Tricky settled business
streets were built, the United States held nearly al
the high land next to tie lake shore as the Fort
Dearborn reservation. Consequently the part first
built was along the river, and not more than 1--WE
feet above its level IL has been found necessary to
lift all this old part of the town ont Of the mud to
screw up the houses and gil up the streets All
very WELL but what Of the sewers They every
where opened into the convenient river. which is
only like river in that il contains rather more
water than mud. In times OF south wind and
low water in the lake, the river flows toward
the lake. But there are times when the norm
wind blows snd when the lake rises from some unac-
countable cause and then the river stands still, or
flows back toward its source in " the big marsb"
Owing to these topoeral hical facts, the discharge OF
sewage into the river has become as great a nu-
eance in proportion as III the case OF London and
the Thames. And the city fathsrs of Chicago
arc in JUS. such quandary as tho city fathers OF
London and the British Parliament were about the
sewage of London, which made cesi.pool of tho
Thames. The city fathers of Chicago propose to
forbid everybody in their city from throwing dirt
into their river. What then 7 The Chicago Times
SAYS:
'Cy legislators may patch aud puer a, this matter as
much tbey choose but result IN only one thng IN
n. end Ordinary foresight will forete that tnd Inc
rver must be ceansed by the creation Of artificial cor
rent IL imposbiliy that ten miles Of stsgnan ditch
penetrate the heart of city, aud receive al m sever
and become pest and breeder Of death Tho ga!
well lie IN the streets and dry up 20 run Into tins
itch and purify. The blood from packing house. might
well erhsle 1t. vapcrs from this ditch AZ rom me gesnd
whence I; SoIns to T % the ,a. Wi5a An As.9O
u the Ell IN sPo In our midst and i've on i desdy
masEs We mako nothing else Of II, DO what We VIA
with slaughter heusss and dis'iiicrie-. ,,.,.,.
II the Common Council will grasp this subject with W
intelligence and eson which are snrr 70 come To thsm ac
Ill these little contryAnees have failed they VIII see ms! one
alone eject the object. via CLEANSING the 'ef
by tH AItIeis csITent"
Very good, so far as relates 10 warning upon the
industrial establishments of the city. eating them
Of would he like cutting out the heart TO purify the
arteries. Very bad, far as relates TO cleansing
the river by an artificial current" That may, por-
haps, be doue bat it would cost more than ii would
to adopt the London remedy-that ia, TO concentrate
tie sewage at one point ind pump il up, and 'end
i, far away from she town to ierlre growing crops
in the country. No town ia more favorably situated
for such operations than Chicago. The pipes now
discharging into the river could all be Gu, oil by
leading condult- along the banks, aud carried by u
descent that woud be quite inexpensive far out
side the city limits where AN elevation of twenty
feet would send it by natural descent twenty miles
out upon the broad praire. II s thus that Chicago
and other cities must get rid Of the sewage null
sanse. New.York gets sid Of it by tho force of
tidal currents which flow pa, every bulkhead with
the velocity Of mill-racei but what yas, amount
Of manurial riches are thus swept into the ocean,
never to return II forced into Lake Michigan. a
portion Of the Chicago sewage viii reiurh--ior
Chicago draws its drinking.wales from the lake,
and not very far from the mouth of the river. Now
ia the time To think Of this and 10 estimate tho cost
Of thus disposing of the sewage and It's gFea'
value 10 fertilizer.