Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1867-03-08

4
purer than what most Of the inhabitants Of 1
largest cities drink. that the whole discussio
ito well informed mind) resembles that on Il
D difference between ilr-eie dun and ftresdle de
The difference at most, was 50 slight for pract
cal purposes that Pref Seely could not define i
He aualyzei the two waters, not knowing ghie
was ''river' or which ''lake." They were on
labelled No. and No. ., and he pronounce
them equally good for family use
Let US to make good cur second assertion-
compare nov the winoeski river water wit
that supplied by the SehGylkill river to Phils
delphia by the CrotOn river And pond to Ne,
York; by the Conestoga Greek to Lancaster
Pa; by the Mississippi river to St, Louis, and
by Lake Michigan to Chicago.
assume that the impurities objected to Al
,rorsi in the Wipoorki river land more 80 IN th
lake, cay y are setrsrgge from the towns slonl
the river course, and drOunel cattle from nun
dated pastures Therefore the amount Of such
tsiut must be in direct ratio to the number Of
people and Of herls on its banks. On t.,
Schuyikill river ind marked on the map q
towns and villages, among them the large city
Of Reading Us ,l23 inhsbitsn,s) and the whole
region has l26 persons on each square mile
while on the Winooski is only Montpelier e.
10 inhabitan,s) and the whole region Of the
Winooski has only So persons per square mile
wouldn't a Philadelphian deem cur river water
luxury Of purity PhilAdelphi, is mostly
served by water power, also.
Again. on the Croion river are Eve towns.
one Of them "Croton Falls" and the regi d
clntains lG6 persons per square mile,
Aysins, our 3j. How pure then mnsi
the WinOoski be. compared to Nav
York's supply Moreover the Croton River
is sustained by three ponds varying from
| mile in length to FIVE miles, AMI it has ssre1
little brooks besides The Winooski is sustained
by fire ponds. from to 4 miles long, and
biriy-HiEe brooks. all marked on the map
(Colton's Gen. Atlss) The Croton Aows
through a comparatively smooth country. while
our rivers 80 little brooks are the clearest trout
streams, fresh from the mountain sides Woull
not New Yorker envy Us our water, Again,
the ConestOga Greek supplies Lancaster, Pa,
Q7,703 inhabitani,l by water power. That
stream is scarcely l-S the size Of the Wino5ski
Its whole volume s required to turn 4 mill, and
there are between 30 and 40 mills along its
course before it reaches Lancaster, so often is
the same water used. The region Of the Cones
toga reckons l26 persons to the square
mile, also, agains, our 25. How pure then
Ceveu at worsD mus; the Winoaski bs, compact
with the Conestoga'
Again, the water Of tie Missis.ipri At St.
Louis is 50 foul with mud that glass tumbler
will settle mud to the depth Of I to half an
inch. Yet as have said, they merely allow &,
to settle day or two before usirg. Bat con-
pared with this also, how pure must our Win
ooski water be-
Hence l consider my p point made coed. viz
that the Uiao0'ti raf,r IS rurer mea that
'riieA Ia gral0aIly accepted By ne Iarge,t
eiiiss IN The Union, and ccriaialy therefore
good enough for rs.
But one point more against the Lake plan and
have done. Chicago has made tunnel under
the bottom Of Lake Michigan, to try and eyade
the current OF her little river (and veritable
sewer) but especially to evade the filth from the
whsrves. To undertake so vast work she
waited till she could count TO-, ,260 for pcpula-
ion We are but but 7,7lS souls, aud 10;
r,ry rich. What are We aspiring to, Chicsgo
teaches Us one Lesson, VIZ that she dreais
irhGrf .flti, and seeks her water from the very
bottom Of that vas, lake. Nov. though We
build the proposed dock out from the wharves
500 paltry feet, to shun that evil. how many
years Will it take our enterprising lumbermen,
Mr.. Lawrence Barnes for instance, to walk up
to and beyond it, If there is now over 2OOO feet
Of Wharfage already on ground once covered By
the Lake. Build your new wei there, aud the
steamers will cast their offal ab1ui, horseirip-
pings, &c. sni the feet of canal boats and
sloops that this growing port Is destined yet to
add to the lake marine, will throw their slops
there If Chicago could not defend her
self against such nuisances, neither can We, in
the future, however we might suppose we could
nov. Shall then our 200 citizens undertake
TO emulate Chicago, aud tunnel the lake,
may venture to hope that cur quiet li,tle town
is lot to find itsclf in a worse tLau '' Chicsgo
hurry about this very grave matter
To conclude then. We can get far purer
water on our river plan than New York, Phila-
delphia. Lancaster or St. LOUIS. and possiJiy
Chicago, now procure, aud at $500 year. Let
US have the grace to he thankful then. and take
it 50.
And also let us conclude. that as our bay IS
hlled directly from the river current, and as o
other stream sets IN to it. # we take the water
on the Lake plan. We do SO at the absurd disal-
vantage Of adding to whatever Of tAint our
fancy may dread in the river water above the
dams, all the sewerage of Winooski village it.
self; all the drowned animals of the thousands
Of acres Of pasture and meadow below it, al the
sewerage Of Burlington. our city. which COWS
about our docks; all the filth frUn the steamers
anu sailing craft, now ahoat land 10 be afost
for the next 100 years) and that we actually play
the fool enough to pay $1,000 year for the
privilege!
lie; US elect Aldermen who will sustain the
river plan.
THEo. A. HoPEINs.
P. 5. 1t may be well to adj, that write
this At no ones instance, and only from an en-
tirely Independent sense of right;-feeling that
information is needed that can i've
The Water Question--Letter from
T.. W. Peck.
BURLINGTON, Feb. -, 1867.
Editors Of the Tines:
notioe in the Times Of Tuesday morning an
article headed 1.-THE Water Question" signed