Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1868-11-21
The Destruction of the Central
Luuatic Asylum 1.-The Necessity
of Water Works I'm this City.

The Destruction of the Cenrra
| Luuatic Asylum The Necessity
of Water Works In this City.
/ The fire that on Wednesday night gave
over to destruction the Central Lunatic
Asylum, located at this city, and consigned
six inmates to death, made plain the neces-
sity of the establishment of waterworks at
4 this city. Perhaps, five hundred thousand
dollars may be required to put the Asylum
4 in as good condition as it was. The lives
of the victims, however,can not be restored,
and it will be much trouble and inconve-
nience to care for the. insane who were
confined in this institution, until it can be
rebuilt. This is really the hardest feature
| of the loss.
Undoubtedly, were there water works in
this city, this calamity would not have be-
| fallen the State. The fire might have begun,
it is true, but it would have been checked and
extinguished in its very incipiency. This
is now apparent to every one. In the past,
citizens of Columbus have agitated the
question of water works, and have solicited
partial cooperation from the State; but the
members of the General Assembly have not
considered 1t their duty to contribute any
thing to an object SO praiseworthy. They
see med to think that it was purely an af-
fair in which the citizens of Columbus were
interested; that they alone would have oc-
casion to use the water in the various ways
in which water is susceptible of being used,
overlooking the important fact'that here are
located the Deaf and Dumb, the Insane,
the Idiotic and the Blind Asylums and the
Ohio Penitentiary-instituti in every
part of which there should be a plentiful
supply OF water at all times for all pur-
poses. Unless provision is made to this
end, the Representatives of the people will
not be as mindful of the unfortunates of
the State as they should be. The humanity
| that prompts the construction of these
buildings is not fully subserved unless
everything is coupled with the buildings
calculated 10 insure the comfort, protection
and Improvement of the inmates. 1t is not
sufficient answer to say, that Columbus
is benefited by these institutions, and that,
therefore, her citizens should, at their own
expense, construct waterworks that will
serve the city and the Institutions of the
State. True, waterworks are a necessity
to the city, and the city greatly feels their
want; but the city is measurably poor
and can lily at this time bear the
tax that their construction will necessarily
impose. Consequently. reasonable assis
| tance heretofore from the State would long
since have supplied this great wantT
would have guarded the State property
located here against the calamity OF fire,
as well as have been greatly beneficial in
a sanitary point of view. As it is, the
State is the loser probably five hundred
Thousand dollars, with a large number of
insane persons on hand subjected to tenn
porary make-shifts, with cold winter about
to put stop to building enterprises
We do not write in a fault finding spirit ;
but to awaken our citizens and the citizens
of the State to the necessity of such action
as will at no distant day secure to this city
waterworks ample for all purposes. y i. 2d =. !.