Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1875-07-04
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE
Water, water. Everywhere, buf NOS
DFnp TO Drink.

| EDITORS APPEAL-Is il not possible
! to procure an Injunction, DSdaddBtats, or
some legal thunderbolt Of that natuTe,t to
| hurl at the water company for the pur-
pose OF restricting them ttom distribute
ing the diluted concrete which they have
| the effrontry to call water? This COM
position has now become so foul that 1t
| is positive nuisance, and as such should
| be absted. There are many dwellings
| in this city that have to depend on the
water works for their supply of water;
and who that examines it can doubt III
lone moment that TO take such filth into
! the human system is to invite pestilence
and death? Have the public no rights
the water company are bound to respect?
Some weeks ago an article sp-
| peared, promising us clean water, but
| mat promise, which sounded so sweetly
| TO the ear, has been broken to the hope,
and the water has now become worse
than ever, The public are willing to
pay for clean water, and it appears to me
! TO be the simple duty of the city gov
eminent, or the board Of health, or both,
| to insist that the water company shall
either supply clean water or be COM
| lelled to suspend operations until they
are in a position to do so. We cannot
afford to have another epidemic, and
should bear in mind that one ounce of
prevention is better than a pound OF
cure, and that Gods best and greatest
gifts to man are freash air and clean
water. G. W. GILL.
Prevalent POgerty-ReIief Wanted.
EDITORS APPBAL-I noticed, few
days since, an article in your paper con-
cefning the condition of the poor labor
ing classes in this city. Sirs, / think If
| you knew to what extent poverty pre-
walls in this city, you would sound the
note of alarm longer and louder. Those
who toll for a scanty living, giving the
profits of their toll to support and keep
! 10 all other classes, are now suffering
cor the want of employment whereby to
obtain subsistence. The public journals
say but little, the clergy are busy collect
| ing funds to decorate their churches, peO-
pie of means are spending money for pic
MICS, fete chGnlpetTeS pleasure excursions,
while the mud-siils on which the whole
superstructuTe of society rests are about
| to give way. Do they nOtknow that all
must go down together, 1.-THE foundation
sinks? Something should be done to re-
lieve the honest Iaboring class who are
out of employment. Mr.. APPEAL, can
YOU not blow blast that will wake up
from the toll of the laborer, and induce
them to lend helping hand while these
dreadful times continue? 1t would be
sorry thing for Memphis to have bread
riot, but the people cannot starve, and
will not. II would be wise to prevent
them from arriving at that condition
where, in their estimation, fOFbearRnCe
ceases to be Il virtue. Cannot the press
and the clergy assis. the Ladies' christ
an aid society (Which, l presume, en-
braces all the churches and denomina-
tons in the city,, and raise fund to
aid the poor? l think when all the
churches CON bire in one cause, assisted
by the press and the clergy, they cannot
fail to do much good. l hope the effort
will be made in the spirit OF Lycurgus,
and may success attend it.
HUMANITY. |
Assessment of Taxes.
EDITORS APPEAL-I imagine when |
you glance at this you will say immedi- |
ate!y, "Caught the disease &c. 81 |
quick" but rather give it the name
Assessment Of Taxes,n and consider |
the time will soon be over in which |
your readers may be annoyed on that |
subject. The POOR "tax payers" of Shell
by county, paying one-fiith the taxes of
Tennessee, tax-ridden and com planning, |
yet areso inconsistent; they seem to be-
lieve that q tax-assessor is some cross
grained, self.wilIed fool, whom it is no.
use for them to have anything to do |
with; and SIS "Justice" so clearly shows
you, they return one-fourth or less of
F'lisIsu given out with much care and |
labor, and Shelby county having al.
ready put on her per centage, making
one dollar and twenty-five cents per one
hundred dollars of valuation for State |
and county taxes for 1875 Il belieye)
deliberately requires the assessor, if he
complies with his oath, to add twenty
five per cent. to the valuation, which, |
in all their conversations with as
SCISSORS, / am informed, they are
satisfied he is going to make too |
high anyhow. Am / not right in call
ing them inconsistent? How much bet.
ter it would be if they wOald look care
fully into the matter, aid the assessor all
they can, show some confidence in him,
if worthy land my observation says
they all are), and help him in every
way they can. Possibly they might
find one whom the use OF horse for
few days would be Of immense advan-
age to, or barrel Of -four, some sugar,
etc, at home, while he is working hard
and TO wait long for his pittance of one
dollar and fifty cents per day, would
greatly cheer and aid in his work. l
utter this last en- PEASANT merely as sug-
gestive of my idea that if the taxpayer
would take a different view of things,
from what all the assessors 1 have con-
versed with say they seem to have, they
would be greatly benz fitted. One more
matter, and 1 am done. Conversing
with an assessor of the fourteenth |
district Outside city limits) yester-
day, he informed me they advertised
their "lists" to be received at Esquire
Halls office until the fifteenth instant.
Unable to pay for printing, they got, he
thinks, but one insertion in the evening
paper, and up to yesterday nothing that
could be called response to it had been
received. But promised to desist. l
am truly glad to see others have written,
and SO sensibly, on this subject; and l,
fer one, thank you most sincerely for
) OBSERVER.
n. BIT would be well for the tax.
PAYERS to consider that the addition of
twenty-five per cent. to valuation ag-
gregates one hundred per cent in four
years. o.
EDITORS APPEAL-Wishing 20 be of
some service and benefit to others as
we'll as to myself, 1 desire to write few
simple pieces on different things, by
which l hope to do some good. These
are things which, when overlooked and
to, result in much harm and
loss. Not the least among them is, for
health and comfort, the indispensable
and much desired article of g BOD drink
ing water. l wish here to say something
about cisterns and cistern water. A
good cistern is Northumberland what l
mean bya good one is one properly built,
with good materials and by good work.
men, at a good price, SO as to enable
them to do a good and faithful job. A
low priced cisteIn is about good for
nothing, it being money and labor
thrown away, and often much worse
than that. Because. if the water is used
for drinking, and it often is, it is sure,
sooner or later, To produce disease, sick
ness and death. In order to have good
cistern, it is necessary to have a good
dry bank, being careful not to 60 below
where you find the earth becoming
moist. Select, il possible, the best time
OF J ear for building, that is, from July
10 OctOtec. Build your oistern entirely
o. OEChS nave the slu6s tTUSi auu plaSteI
them with cement half an inch thick as
you brick them up, laying the brick hard
up ainst the cement. Cement the cis-
tern all over on the inside about three
tourths of an inch thick, with good &C.
ment, end you will have a cisteTn that
will last for many generations, firm and
t ght, leaking neither in nor cut, so that
you will have nothing but pure rainwa-
ter. And now about the water, which
requires particular attention: First,
your roof and cutters must be kept clean
a. all seasons; next, your water must be