, 1870-06-01
An Exhaustive Paper on the
Subject by Dr. Rauch-
Review Of the Sewerage Sys-
tern OF Chicago.
What Has Been Accomplished
In Fourteen Years.
Tha Eject Of Insufficient Sewerage On
the Health Of Our People.
En1eFestfng Statements Sup
ported by the Figures.

rton with the geological formation upon which
Chicago Is situated It's proper drainage IL one Of
the sanitary engineering problems OF the age TO
the stranger this condition attracts Immediate St
IGNITION, and the 0rst impression IS that 1t must
necessarily be an unhealthy locality. When the
population Was sparse, Ind the wtnaa OF tho pra!-
he and lake had free access to every portion OF
the city, the general health WAS good; but 81 the
popu5atlon grew denses, with Its Necessary con-
comtauts Of eth, otal etc, and bolldtuts covered
the cround where the wlnda had no influence, the
frst impressions Of all with regard TO the health
not until the fearful morality Incident 10 the
rere1ted rfsitAnbn4 Of Inc chOseTa from
1879 To 16 that the citizens OF this city began TO
realize tnai, without better dIasnass Win increase
de1uicA 1t vas also obsctycd that thc mortality
was greatest by other diseases besides cholera IN
Although not many died OF cholera In lszs as in
other western cilks the frequent rxcuI1ence, with
n Leg of M y 1a /; 5s
latitude, lake, and prairie winds, they were IN
constant danger. 1t T2S not. however, until many
homes had been desoated that the conviction was
attlred at that Chicago YVES not the AeSlthtest
place In the country; that the ordInarT sanitary
precautions were not sn11c!eut, and ths, some
was Called la.e IN 1851 70 take into consideration
the subject Of drainage. At this meeting, the fol-
slowing language w2s used In resolution passed:
E NJ IT,
eontras., VITA : h.oad 1atc lone sidc, and wide
se q Il IT, 1as a sad Cd
.ah|St r. itse 70 70 lcsai e spas,9s a'ea:s
nqe s r o4 e. :, 9ecet Y
1nd % prevention q III aeeuunatisn u surplus
NTH And no1lous IN cur midst thereby create
II was moi, however, until this city Suffered for
aS successive Years from cridemicE, i've Of choi-
era and one Of hyEentery, that this conclusion
YVES arrived At; and on Februasy IL, 1856, au act
D8A4Et ET the {.PE5S]Atrtn 1r.1tS Il
Board Of Sewerage Commissioners fer this city
--au act that has been Of moro benefit than any
The city with other than wc1l water was earlier ap-
p1eciateIs and an sct HAs Passed By the Legis!s-
Sre incorpo1ssttn9 the Ghieage Glty Hyafaulic
not 80 injurious 70 the pnllic health as the want
OF draipaee. During the prevalence Of cptdemics,
Wis more readily appreclated, but The eecs ot He tic
ses constant1y q Tork, ma vas much more in-
nvely speaking overlooked. Ii true that PRO.
Vision had been made for the construction Of sew
passed Febtuary is, ls4,, and wooden drains had
been constructed ID some Of the Streets without
S snann1 1n no pd wth n, tas nuilanss %r
from sanitary standpoint An intelligent Board
OF Sewerage Commissioners was elected, and. for
Engineer OF tia Board, TO whom Chlcneo IS mainly
indebted for The present system Of sewerage Nj.
C., IN December, 1SAs, ma1e report On
The Commissioners. and subsequently adopted
BY the Ahsor and Common Council Thus was H.
augu!ated this most important santtar. measure,
and the experience Of the last fourteen years has
fully demonstrated the Correctness OF the plan, As
but few changes have teen found necessary to I've
mnde, 1as seweIase commissions fully appseet.
order to secure drainage, in addition to the fact
that but lille could be cleaned from the expert
ence OF other cities In this country sent Mr. Ches-
b1uugh 70 investigate the sewerage systems Of the
largest European cities. upon which the best en-
gtneef1nG talent had been engaged. Upon his re-
main condrmator5 Of his nrst report. Atera care
III era examlnatton @ q the subject | hare become
but The oulr practical one
TEE OPPOSITION MANIFESTED
at the outset on 8ccount Of the increased expendI
exceedingly unfortunate In sanitary point of
F1eN, as one foot more Of elevation HoulJ hare
been of 4ncalcnlhhse teneas, ana those who were
been convinced of their error. TO secure drain
age, the nltng and raising up of large portion Of
se Is fs ape 9a
EaTded ~ one Ct the greatest achlerements Of the
age; and many localities that, several 5ea1s ago,
are now, Comparatively speating, dfy aid
way not alone has dryness q the
sod I'D aa stepea rel q Il % mea %and fp an@as {, oas m
Of the kreatest sanitary necessities Of our popn-
lQ16 E4Ae8, In &1altlQQ 10 N&SL9 NRt.r k0u HUI
ineiden. "a domestic lie Parhs Attributes the dis
nsevs1ant in the nlddlo ages thoineatcicut
e ouss f thst ny now sno pre4a aaa
.hs same cause: This viii be better
ounces Of fecal master aud 70 ounces OF urine are
datiy vufded BY eEeryletEon, and III population OF
100000 ESTIMATED population Of Chicago at this
mailer Per das, q s.s5s 81 tons s PEI am snnu, and
$4,000 pounds, or 6s,93s galons Of urine per day,
o. s. gallons, OF &,ssS,7s7 cubc feet, per
not alone contamlnstes the air we breathe, bat,
deposited in vaults, saturates the adjacent soll
and. wells are near, necessarily Affects The
wn1cr. In this city there are but few vaults that
are tight and at certain seasors they are nIed with
removed or not they simply acting as drains. The
ordnance allowing pr!V vaults 10 be dug should
e 5 na D sPSssa e! By r.
l91ing human ercrfta 70 accunnlate for years IN
Tau1ts, is horTid custom, resulting In much tn-
remove IT IS often rs other DIAL incident 10 do
mesttc life. The influence upon the atmosphere,
= as 1ouas " lsd s; + ass o5dns
cons!suug Of;
!4xat s.!busstted per cent
En.Iksn pr ernt
1n%onis and saipha' 81 sacni: 3aiid u ufssais sa
1QeIe Is pTOOaDlF MUCH GlH efeucG1u TIE E3ASG3
that are disengaeed here from The sewage, but
from the Chicago River IT tilis time owing to the
gas worka, much larger amount OF sulphutetted
this gas more than an5tnlng else, that the bia:r
color Of tho liver ts doe, and was found In Water
Obtained On November ", 1861, from the 1sve1, oy
foe Street sewer where it enpdes INTO he rifer:
TIE FILLING uP FRncEss-
Besides securing drainage, the 1lling mp process
raises hous from the wet and mud frequent
cause of sickness IN damp localities The large
i Useful Il ns low ana vet see e PGs e.
great sanit1ry necessity OF all enseiy populated
locallues s to shed the water as rapi1lr as posi-
ness and sf cesan IN seasons I t ot ie yea tSe % e
cape on of no1ous enaanauonA Two-iatrds Of the
mortality r. ef ~ tn,s slty to5x oecuIs in low vet
ep1demlca. a, least three-fourths. I have become
satisfied. from careful Investigation, that many
diseaseS particularly At cerlaln seasons of the
ye2r, are caused by want OF drainage, while
others are agE7arated; in fact, the mortality by
a diseases is more Or less Influenced BY this cause
not made seabie s. IN oi ms0s uWpsT
the Board Of Public Works hare con-
stTucted In sewered streets 1888 house
with the sewers. This Is owing, III some instances
to the 1Act that some parties who have large lots
only having one sonhectson. while in Others. IL IS
leased properly, the lease, In many cases, being
renewed frocl year to year, md the lessees too
poor to make the necessary CDQ1ec00nS, 31[QO1Kl
By law they arc compelled 10 do so, and in thus
way, TO great extent, is lost the sanitary benefit
OF drainage to the district There are streets with
property owned by the wealthies, men In the city,
where connections are not msde. An effort WAS
made II the last Legislature by the board tG nave
the law changed 80 that oHncrs Of pfopesty shDnid
make the connections, In some cases, the con-
uectiuns being inperfectlY made, the desired re-
sult is not attained.
House DEANS.
The folio wing table shows The number OF house
Grains and feet Of sewers constructed annually
frOm 1850 to 1870, compiled from the records Of the
Board OF Pnbllc NGrEs, with the population re-
ported, and estimated mortality. 1t will be OBJ
served that The construction OF sewers for the first
I'VE years was greater than the increase OF pupu-
iatinn, during which time fitr-four miles were
constructed, and from 166Q to ts61, only tn!It5-an
miles were built and tbat from 1860 10 1861 there
was an Increase Of population Of nearly 10000,
and that from 1862 to 1867 there was an increase III
the number OF deathA For the PAST three years
thefc has been an increase Of population. and
tuefe has been decrease IN the mortality, rs =
iaaEe Quantity OF rain fell In july, August, and
tSer.eEber, - when the influence OF drainage
= ttlost m0lktd. Moisture In the ground, with
~ mas alwayA been recognized a5
~ a!oinE cause Of great importance in cholera
ln thAt portion ot the Fo1rtsep,a Ward mere
cholera Wss most prevalent 1here was NOT \
sewer, where, also. the strceIa were ,nrTnv ~ ard
be aa:d Of me. Seventh Ward. MtbdnaS9 maS
The fonIteenth bad 1859 feet of sewsn
the ward The Seventh had only $50 fect tstsh pa
much greater density o1 population than ina
Fpufteentn, and, an inclined to tniuk- had 1urr
Ag many, II not more. Gases Ut cholera ttnn sny
fdher ward in proportion 10 the population: