The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1873-05-01
Publication Of Water.

NO ind a paragraph going through the
,,o,cr> On ;he subject Of the pur'hcS'ion Oh
r,,o;s. va:cr. The authority for Is ho'
..,., .. !, .hould hc. and VIC cannot Say 10
what cycai: it is entitled.
rbis paragraph, abiding to what i saia 70
a, lucp long the accepted he6ry--thatfa
ming streams free themselves from
81 ,r,nninc 4 few miles from The points where
,,,o>, imulrities ait received--reHlarks that
recent tyS.- in New ENGLAND rivers show that
fni. theory il altogether wrong. These New
Euul3nl tests showed that $50 far from sewer:
. age. mixed With twenty times its ro'"in,
'.oi water. disappearing during a flow OF
"urcice mule$, scarcely two-third> OF ii
"wouId be destroyed [evaporated and de-
"poSitcdl in j flow of one hundred ana >srty
Z" mics at the rate Of one mile an hour, alter
..thc Lapse Of Il week" This result obtained
III The aforesaid rivers s~U,:ains, 1t j. SAID, the
ouinion OF Sir BENJAMIN BRODIE, drawn from
examination of the waters OF the 1hames
/ river, which showed that it was simply nl'
Hpn,>ihlc ,ha. The oXiGizing power acting on
"~cwcrtrc running In mixtures with wafer
"o,cr i distance of any length fin England]
..,Ayuld he sufficient 10 reuiuyc its noXiou>
"quaiiiy.'
l.!> ,Iljec, is one OF very great import
ancc. coming home 10 every man, woman,
aHi child in every community which is large
enough 10 be driven TO the Use of the water
Of running streams. That clninen: man
Professor lYSpALL. the light Of whose
.cuius iuyadcs 30 many departments OF
,cicncc, examined the waters Of the ocean
and found they were i~mpregnated with or
.".m., nu,lcr, the otfal of the shores, or
rM,L.f the city of Lisbon, for 4 distance of
sixteen miles out to SEA. II SO vast 4 uody
OF water is thus to be affected Tor such a
distance by impurities cast into 1t. we need
no, DC surprised that one hundred and sixty
miles of the flowing river are necessary to
free it, waters from like offence.
The inquiry is 50 important that it rises to
;lc dignity of Government concern, and
chemical tests should DC applied through
governmental authority. to ascertain the
truth with regard to it. We have steadily
growing cities which depend upon the water
Of flowing rivers for ell domestic purposes,
and the health and safety Of those communi.
ties demand a thorough investigation of this
most interesting subject.
Tie interest Of the subject is increased by
lis intimate relations 10 the question OF sew
axe. That kind of sewage which is with
out exception adopted by the cities Of this
country emptics all offensive olfal-iucludine
the rycrcmcntitious matter Of immense Eopu'
/ latlons- into the running streams. Thus are
they rendered more or less impure by their
abu>c IN this manner from almost Their very
sources to their mouths. Their capacity to
! free Themselves trcm impurities Is therefore
vit1iIv infcrc>tin" to every city and village
in tie irni. II The results of the tests in
New E!.Iaud risci> he Il, above stated 1t be-
.ynlc, lie interest Of every large community
TIA. tie stream on which it is located sball
! Mt nccurnc the sewer for towns on the came
stream above IL.
\. cvrIv town must IN that event demand
4 tlr protection OF the river above II from
Du!>anrc. -. in order that it shall be itself
i.ol,c,cd. il will be necessary for it to re.
>rcrt ,nc rights Of il, nearest ncighbor be-
low it. and thus this measure OF police, 80
,;,jii.hl" 10 all river towns, might be clltctu-
all: carried out.
Aud i: lLi> could be accomplished, a very
vr.a. Public blessing would, as IL matter OF
cur,cyuricr. he conferred upon society.
III" ,ll&l tLa: j. pow everywhere
j.; ~ icing thrown into tie rivers
would; re returned 10 The land and
a>-i-' 10 restore it TO fruitfulncsS, and to
avert TN. terrible human calamity which
w1"ld ;aiI ultimately upon Il people who
S,Iouid tai 10 return 10 the lands the fertility
81 vh;yh these were robbed il producing
Tie food for animal subsistence. \ land
which i always taxed for subsistence and
never receives back any part of its products
vii. lie in time utterly exhausted and be-
come "A desert. This has been the fate OF
many lands which history, sacred aud pro.
fame, represents to have been ut one time
wonderfully fruitful.
We have no doubt that Il proper invc,tiga-
ton o' the capacity of running streams To
free Themselves from impurity would end in
proving that the very first interests OF soci-
elk demand that all solid oilal should be kept
out of The rivers OF the country, and that its
valuable constituents should be returned to
thr lands from which they were taken.
Tae Enforcement Act Unconstitutional