National Republican., 1875-06-28
The Public Water.

To the Editor Of the National Republican:
SIR: am inclined to write something about
water and the monsters that iuhabit tho same in
general, and about capitolean water aud the orea-
lures by which it is infested-"gorgOns, hydras
and dchimeras''-especiaIlyt tho last-in particular.
The public mOstener Of the capital city of the
United States smells. Not TO put too fine point
upon it, it stinks. Thirdly and lastly, 1t tastes
worse than it smells. F0urteenthly, and to con-
cIude, If the odUr is offensive. the flavor is re-
voting Both together they are iutolsrable.
What Is to c done? Flash the mains. They
were flushed tho other day, and, as they used to
say about slavery, the evil was m gated but not
eradicated. Well, that is something. 1t proves
that the work was in the right direction. If one
flushing will mitigate, Is Il not to be hoped that
several will eradicate? Flush again. Luby.
Keep on flushing. Flush until the day Of judg.
ment rather than the horror be permitted to con-
tinue.
Let us look at the facts. The water OF the Po-
tOmac enters tho operculum OF the aqueduct
twelve miles above the city and disappears.
pearances, wholesome. When It reappears in the
dwellings of the nhabitants IL is foul and repu-
Iive. 1t tastes and smells as one would imagine
water would taste and smell in which rotten
mackerel had been immured, in the proportion,
say, of one Of the latter to ten gallons Of the
former. Where does all this come from?
General Meigs says that it comes from alg8
animaleule, cOnterve, mfusOria, and to all these
monsters Of the ueep DIR. Shafer adds rOtifers
and so did the General. The Doctor states his
modUs operGHdi. He tied a couple of thieknesses
of flannel over the end of his spigCt turned on
the dampness and waited. Presently he cuts of
the water, removes the flannel and examines its
contents What does he discover? First, yell
low sediment. Exactly! Terrible, but true! A
sediment, and yellow! Slick, carbonate of lime,
particles Of igneOus and sedimentary rocks, atoms
OF anthracite, oXyde Of iron. Smells, also, Of
mud, supposed to intest the banks of the Poto.
nae ana to be particularly active at periods OF
high water. II the Doctor does not want that in
his drink he will need TO add a distliling appa-
ratus, or, at least, filter, to his laboratory.
What An OlOr. RiVht RVain SPVarRI
unEcientifc persons have found that withou. the
straiDer. Then out comes the microscope, and
science squares itse II for the crucial investigation
What Is It, DOctor2 Observation-Disclosures
observation-disclosures! Dreadful
organisms, animal ana vegetable. ""o1strum
hoTTfHdum in9enS, in former W ell, now, indeed,
q rotiIer examined through a microscope that
maRnifies six or eight thousand tIneg is placed at
something OF a disadvantage He was not made
ta be looked at under such circumstances. C8pa-
BILE Of finding in single drop OF water abundant
means to satisfy the wants of his own existence
and those Of any number Of posterity, to show
him up in such a way is a species of defamation.
1t is due to him. at least, to remember that It IS
his shadow, not himself, that is maEniied.
That there are auimalcule, confervR and Infu-
8 ria IN the waters OF the POtomsc, and conse-
quently in that OF the aqueduct, is indisputable.
There always are just about so many. They do
not eXtravsgautly increase, and they do not ex-
tTRvagsutly decrease. They are like larger crea-
lures, responsive to the laws Of secular equilib-
rum, which, unless some natural check has been
sTtihcially removed, prevents excessive multipli-
cation. No one takes drink from hydrant at
any time in the year who does not entertain more
OF less OF these minute creations, which, dead or
alive. are po more paIpaOIe to the taste or smell
than they are to the sight But there are no
more of them in the aQUeduct than there are in
the rlTer-prObahly not SO many; for darkness and
currents are not favorable to their increase And
ifthelearned medical gentleT should by chance
swallow as many of them in a single drauZht as
there are in average one hundred gallons of the
extract Oi Potomac, there is no reason to believe
that be would obtain Information OF the fact
through any one OF his senses or through any sub
RymUtGm sensation
The average daily delivery Of water through
the aQueduct in W Washington and Georgetown is
Pallons, and there is by seVerslfOId more water
discharged than the pipes could contain; in other
words, the water in the pipes is changed through
out three, four or ive times every day. Now, as
these organisms float freely IN the water, going,
in all csses, with the currents, accumulatIOns Of
It being admitted that while living they produce
no change perceptible to the senses in the
water in which they are contained, thst
decay Of their substance to render FIVE, six or
eight millions OF gallons Of water offensive almost
beyond description, is preposterous. Even suppos-
ing that all that enter the pipes de-and We do not
know that any Of them die-We have so little
solid material in them and are SO largely made
We We DO not even know that 6y their SeSth Hn, in
quantities the effect would be perceptible.
There are in several streams and bodies OF water
by which cities in the United States are sup
piled, usually for few days at 3 certain period
In each year-those periods occurring with great
regularity-eTpsnsion Of the germs OF vegetable
organisms by which the water is rendered un-
pleasant to sight and taste. But these are Of
brief duration, and with such as use their senses
TOtteDDess associated with the incident. Here
the case is sdiferent. II ever water said "stiuking
fish, the water Of Washington says It nov. II
there is any reliance to be placed in the evidence
involuntarily bornetby nose and palate, the favor
OF that fluid comes from the decay OF organisms
more robust than ipfuSoria. And lf the city Gu-
thorities the next time they open the fre-plugs
for ushipE operation, will put networks to catch
thing that can be seen and SmeIt without q micro
scope. At any rate, the experiment would c0st
less than TO take up q section OF pipe, and might
prove more satisfactory.
Yours, very truly, AQUA PURA.