The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1870-07-07
DRINKING FOUNTAINS
The Number Of Public Drinking Fountains
in New York and the Number
There Should Be.
VINO Began the Work Of Erecting Drinking
Fountains in This City, Who Took 1t Up and
VINO are Carrying 1t Forward to It's Re-
CURED completion-A Great Public
Need and How It is Being
Eet-Our Metropolis in Thi,
Regard as Compared with
European Cities


OF the wealthy and liberal Miss Coutts,he erection
OF drinking fountains in the city Of London. On a
hot blazing day in midsummer, to tens Of thousands
these fountains are as acceptable and refreshing
the scattered to the tired and most oppressed
travellers the burning sands and arid wastes or
the great deserts OF Africa. Some Of these
fountains are most tastefuly and eaboratcly
constructed and over them appear pertinent
Scripture, quotations, intoxicating the choicest
moral precepts OF Holy Writ-a pleasing and, 1t
is to be presumed. not wholly lost interningllng OF
philanthropy and religious teaching. But we might
go further back than Miss Coutts to show an appre-
citation of the utility OF public drinking fountains.
In ancient Rome these fountains were numerous.
and 1t was made q penal offence to mar nure
them. In buried Nineveh are found traces OF them,
and so In the laya.engulfed cities OF Hcrculaneun
and POmpeii Going still further back we read OF Mo-
SEES striking rock In the Wilderness and how, drink
ing from It's pouring of cooling water, were
spared the lives OF those flying fugitves from the
tyrannical rule OF the old Pharaohs The fact was
established that water drink is essential 10 the
preservation OF human life, and reasoning prio'1,
If was necessary to Indulge in any process OF ratio
cinatlon on the subject which it Is not might be
shown that in massed population, such as is 70 be
found in great Cities there Is nothing so preserva
tive Of the public health, nothing so Likely to ward
or disease and pestience as abundance of pure and
| cooling water TO drink. Now that we are approach
Ing midsummer there Is scarcely any subject more
DRiNKlNc FOUNTAINS IN NEW YORK.
| The only regret Is that our city has not yet pro.
dnced some person as philanthropicai.y endowed
| as Miss Coutts, or, rather. ono whose phllan
| thropy would run In this direction ana woud take
ness and see to Ii mat the city Is abundanty sup
Piled with public drinking fountains hapg'ly, there
| has been beginning, though really only the
! BEGISNISG OF THE BEGINNING
OF what is required to be done. This beginning; az
venton Of Cruelty TO Animals, which so.etyas
shown this matter OF drinking fountains does not
limit It's mission oi charity 10 en s s n nsan,in
cruelty OF It's sentent masters but also inc'nics IN
its sphere OF lies the latter Two ears ago g .n,s
society, seeing the want or puOllc urinh4hB iouh-
| tains Tor man and beast alike. had
| TEN FOUNTAINS BUILT.
The first Of these was erected az Bowling Green;
| the next at the junction OF Liberty street ana
Maiden lane; the next at Cn no1 square ire.
| Worth Monument, al the junction OF Filth
| avenue and Twenty-hth street,; the next at
the junction East Broadway and Grand street, ana
after these at the OF Christopher AID iudson
streets, at the junction of Broadway and PARK row.
and Reade sire Is. These fountains are 100 well
known TO require description. more suitable and
cattle and Smaller animals drink, and on
the other from iron cup fastened TO il by chain,
drink dd lGbitun,--men. women and children. The
utility both in moral and material point Of view 10
lncalculabe. According TO an accurate acconnt
n
Union square fountain during two hours OF one OF the
hot DAYS OF the recent heated term there drank from
| tie fountain .,Oll men. women ana chiuicn, i20
| horscs aud 30 dogs. the
| SCENES AT THESE FOUNTAINS
and particularly during the middle hours OF our bot
| days, are va led and interesting. InnumciaDic
iecis for studies by artists present themscIvessu-
lects when limsa ns 1o coua De naae in, IN
| political economist has abundant basis for materi-
alistic theorzing anu the drlsst Of sta''scia m.
| livelness OF the changing scenes. All ages
and conditions Of life are representa-,
| would give lustre to the most brilliant
wit OF fashions and sermons condensed i'll few
| words, which 10 the late Charles Dickens and many
like him, who have great horror of long sermons
| woun be the most acceptable sort OF preaching. II
were easy TO enlarge Indefinitely on these scenes, but
II IS unnecessary TO do So Wisely initiating The tx
ample set by The Society for the Prevention Of
| Cruelty to Animals, the
BOARD OF HEALTH
during the past season had tweny0ne more Of these
drinking Fountains erected 50 tnat now we
| fountains. Those put up by the Board Of
Health. VINO Of course adopted the plan as sanitary
already described The system now has assumed
that importance thai the
| DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS
has taken charge OF the whole tning ana appointed
man specially TO take care or them. Useful and
WHOSE as vanda nothing an
divine keep iu cneck take delight In running on
with the drinking cups. ana some even take man.
cous delight Ia choking them up anu banging and
battering them out or shape ana spoiling them II
they can. The subject Is now under advisement
as 10
ERECTING MORE FOUNTAINS.
II Is very certain that our city does not begin To
be supplied with enough OF these public drinking
fountains and The PROBABILITY is that number OF
others Will be speedily added to the list. Greatly
ahead OF Europe cities in almost everything else,
we are greatly behind the most Of them III this re-
gard. Tie Park Commissioners have done the hand
some thing and deserve great credit. Some OF their
drinking fountains are particularly beautiful.
What can lie more refreshing to the visitor,
after undergoing the puigatolia pilgrims re
OF ride to the Park III one OF Or
crowded city cars than drunk Of wat, 1
from the beautiful marble fountain under the mar
bic archway at the southern entrance to the Mall.
Every thing suggests co0lness-the niched archway
of marble, the fountain OF marble, and the wafer
gushing cool ana pure from its marble hiding place.
The whole design is exquisite. There is another
most superbly nutshell fountain in front Of the
Academy OF Design, in Tweniy-third street. Su h
| fountains we shou have all over the CITY. They
| should be erected every highway and byway OF
our acknowledgements whose forms OF coustruc-
ton are POLITICALLY beautiful and whose Moving
waters give those athirst and heated and weary coU