The Rock Island daily Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1872-1873, 1873-08-11
The Late Water Commits
sioners.
SOME OF THEIR MISTAKES CONSIDERED
Some Suggestions as to their Policy.

EVeFNh0GN cOnceOte llhb ~ was hohNENif
economically constructed. Not objection is
made TO the tax which Its construction necesslates
Not word but praise Is heard In behalf OF the
Commissioners who pushed the work through.
Such assertions provoke reply. Every |
body comedies" no such thing. Whether
the works were constructed honestly or
not, we do not pretend to say, for we do
not know, nor does the Union know. There
may have been some favorites who proited
little out of the expenditures. How
that is we do not pretend to say.
| The works were constructed principally
under the direction of P. /. Mitchell, VIM.
Eggleston and Gilpin Moore. There were
other members of the Water Board, but
those three, and principally Mr. Eggleston
''bossed the job of construction. A good
many errors, mistakes, or whatever they
may be called, were made-which is not
very singular The men who built the
works lacked experience and were liable to
make mistakes. They also lacked, or some
of them did, willingness to be advisedby
those for whom they were acting. DaYen-
port will profit by our experience and pro
baby avoid some of our errors.
Mr.. Mitchell is good fnanceir and pro-
badly managed that part of the business
well enough But the construction was
neither managed economically or with
good Judgment, and when the Union as
serts that mot word but praise is heard
J. in behalf of the Commissioners who push
u ed the work through, it asserts what
bears no sort of resemblance to truth, and
!. compels us 10 state what is the almost
universal expression OF the mass OF the
l. people of this city, viz:
|. The Union says: Not an objection
E. is made to the tax which its construction
1t uecessitates. Instead of this being true,
:. there is a very general objection, by PEG
of ple who are not Immediately benefited
e and they constitute n very large portion, i
"a not a majority, of the city. They say the
- debt, and of course the tax, was saddleC
IS upon them without their consent, and the,
do not think it lust or fair to lay a larg'
debt upon the property of the people, 10
any purpose, without giving them an,
chance to vote upon it, If a majorit
" sanction it-all right; they would grace
ne fully submit-but to place the debt upo
eN them without their having any voice in tn
matter, was neither just nor fair, An
~, this. 50 far as we can Judge, is the opinio
ne of a large majority of the people of tn
leu city
=. The Works were not consructe
economically or with good Judgment
the first place the location of the engir
lgh house is not believed to be the best whic
les could have been made 1t should hay
been located somewhere in the Thu
Ied ward. and the water should have been tai
md en- from the point of the Island near Il
dit draw Of the new railroad bridge, al
brought across the sand bar and und
eo- Sylvan water to the main shore. Tn
nry would have saved some power now requl
aw. ed to send the water back up hill, from Il
our lower end of town TO Sinnet' and Brooks
me additions, and it would have given the pc
of pie pure water for all time, for the reas,
that the water would be taken from Il
most rapid part of the river Above til
NV point, for many miles, nothing would
der likely ever to render it impure. For thr
ole miles, certainly, to the head of the Islam
the and probably for many miles above,
ard sewerage or foul matter from factori,
will mills, or any other source would ever TT
and der the water impure.
ter But, even if the engine house must 60
,r;il the lower end Of the town where the wal
his takes all the impurities which come IT.
Their sewers, gas works, wooden mills or any o
tSoi er source now existing or which may,
coming years exist in a great town,--ey
,ari- then the Commissioners selected what,
port the estimation Of many, was about
IL al worst place possible-on Il promin
-'''u point where the expensive machinery
IL every spring, endangered by ice \ b
or two below would, in their estimate
ircet have rendered the house and machiu
TThole more secure, aud easier Of access for c.
ING. etc
inns The construction of the foundation
ana the engines was neither a good or an &c
Inc omical job. 1t was so badly, so shabl
hard done that it became necessary TO repai
bank rebuild it before the machinery was all
roper in place-and even now the weight Of
the machinery rests upon studding pla
lgton there after lacking up the platform or
TALLY stones on which the machinery rests.
: the is true that piers were built alongside
letter studding, but the weight rests upon
con timbers and will rest. there un til they
com cay when the same old trouble will pr,
than bly, arise.
'ater We are told that the managers were
hun toned, by good judges both against tn
IT OF cation and the manner in which they v
level building the foundation for the machn
They but those who sought to save the
10 an from these errors were treated with
tempt and insult.
the 1t is our opinion that, some day, the
don CINE house will have tn be removed and
ing 1t water taken from the point Of the ISL
y 90 Nor was it good economy to lay
Iuire, mains in such shallow bitches thus eau
the a continual drain on the taxpayers to /
zpen- them open. The filling of the bitches,
in many places was merely scraped
and with teams, not packed and tamped arc
the pipes as good workmanship require
even showing either lack of knowledge o.
arble attention on the part of those who
in trolled and managed the construction.
etery 3. After considering these instance,
men which mistakes, bad Judgment, and co
ITO or quently wasteful and unnecessary expe
a fair lures occurred, it is hardly necessar