, 1865-01-24
TIE RIVER COM MISSION AND THE
CDmuON COUNCIL,

THE RIVER cow ztxs1oy AND THE
COmuON COUNCIL,
Tie Common Council Of Chicago haring
suffered our city for years to be disgraccd and
the public health endangered by the foul CON
ditiou Of Chicago River, are now doing what
they can to neutraliEe the efforts OF the ct1l-
zcue to relieve themselves At recent meet
ius Of that body, aome Of its members Two
moro than majority passed series OF reso'
1utions which contain so much error and
erincc 20 much personal irritation and feeling
an IN neutralize what influence they might
,otbcrwiee from their official character have
possessed. ..-
twill be remarked that this action OF the
Common Council on this subject was wholly
unnsked by the public, No memorial OF re-
monstrance against the Citizen3 Committee
bill had been addressed to them. Not s&n-
gle article against it had appeared In any
public journal, except couple OF Columns
from one of their own officials. The bill had
boen printed for two successive days In eVe:J
newsnnpes In the city, and In city where
+be tar..aye:s IRE ever On the watch, not d
xo,co has been raised against the proposed
measure of relief, until the City Fathers find
out very suddenly what great and alarming
dangers aEe involved in 1t.
The simple truth Is, that the bill operates
rs reelection on the administration of Mayor
Sherman and the City Council during the Pc
Rod that the Democrats have had control. It
is the protest Of thr people aEainst their In
efficiency and neglect upon one OF tho most
vital Of all mntters 10 the public interests. It
Is for the people and the Legislature to say
whether the citizens are not justified in ask-
Ing that this matter may be taken out Of their
hands.
Has there ever been casa where an evil 50
great and 80 unusual In its ef1ects-one which
touches every man, woman and child in tbs
commuuity-has been borne SO long without
any action OF the citizenss Have We not
waited for the public authorities to
act until 10 wait longer would have
been criminal neglect of what con-
ccrns our most important interestsf In the
three years that this eva las been increasing
upon US year by year, has anything been done
for its relief. An Alderman, who now op-
poscs The action Of the citizens, himself de-
sczlpcd 10 the committee, (as We are INFORM
ed.)an exploring expedition taken By the
Common Council up the South and North
branches in 1861, at which time the water WAS
50 foul that the atmosphere itself became IS
pol,uted with the no1ious exhalAtion5, as to
cause chemically prepared paper, held above
the water. to turn black, and hs produced
sevsral specimens Of the paper. The paper
certainly looked black enough to c1clto the
worst apprchentions In any mind as to the
consequences Of such an atmosphere upon the
public health, and he described the smell as
so offensive rs to make many Of the honorable
body sick. The city fathers On that occasion
smeu the foul sme.]s and saw the blackcned
papers and years hare passed, and the stencil
Las ben all the time increasing, and yet not
Il single cftectual step towards q remedy for
these alarming evils has been taken by them.
Bnt We are crAye1y told that the citizens who
have at last taken the matter up themselves,
arc intczmeddling with what Is none
Of their business; that the Mayor aaa
Aldermen arc the only persons who can be
permitted 10 take any action-that the Com
mon Council and Board Of Public Works CON-
prise and concentrate all the wisdom and
worth Of the city, md the citizens must stand
lack-get out Of tue Way-and continue to
drink the foul water and beeashe the foul air
furnished tAcm by the official disnitaries,
without having suything to say or to do
about the u1attcr. It seems to Us that the
case Is one which most emphatically demands
The creation Of Special Commission to de
The work, and such, SO fur as we can learn
Is The almost universal wish Of the taxpayer,
and OF our most Intelligent and lnHucntia
citizens. Everybody, including the Aayo
and CRY Council, admits that this work ough
to bc done, and to be done at o.soe, and that !
is matter Of vital moment. Now, who shal
do IT. No one viii prstcnd that the Common
Council can attend to it. The Board Of Pub
lie Works, 1t is said, is the proper body to b
entrusted With it. Mr. Gindele, the Pres
dent of the Board, and who Is one of tn
most experienced and efficient members, hin
self informed The Committee that the Boar
Of Public Works had already ~ much to do 9
they could give proper attention to, and tbs
work Of the difficulty and magnitude Of Il
one proposed, could not receive f1ol
TINT Board the time and attention
needed, and that, In his judgment,
should bc entrusted TO Special Commissiol
And We observe with pleasure that he has NJ
p.'t,,;o Ut. Thia pns-a !. ,1read
cha1red with the tunnel under the lake, Ii
proposed tunnel under the river, and the ne1
bridges, besides Ill tie other engineering (
the ci,v, with the streets and sidewalks
addition Is not this enough labor to pr
upon any three men? how much time woul
tile proper performance Of their existing dI
tics leave them for planning, and cxecutin
the plans, Tor Inc permanent fenet OF IN
1iyer9
fever any great p::bhc work involving th
need OF much investigation, and Of large e.
ptndlt ire required special commission 10
its execution, this Is emphatically the one
and large property holders hare stated to u
that they preferred to have nothing done II
was to be left to the exstng aotoosaues-
llat tnes "erc ""a'nss ~ W '11Aeo ~ ene
saw that tie money vas 10 10 c3pehoe
nndcr the direction Of s1nsenle commission
but that they should Otherwise regard II
waste OF money
Now What arc the objections which nav
been raised to the bill reported by the Cif
zccs Committee, and 80 violently assaicd b
the CITY uttcials1
1. That tic Commissioners have power t
REQUIRE the issue Of the needful amount {
bonds tor the "ofh "1tAoot . |otS u VI
Ctunc;l, II the Board Is to do the work the
should have tho means to do it, aud shout
not bt. prevented or delayed By my othc
body. To laye been informed that on
no,. obstacle IN The 1xav NJ the Doard {
go .v..,@s -. ,..,, +,a c.1r-a ~ ~,
tuo''e "oiAn' ..s0 49, ~ .s .s-.,a !.