Delaware tribune. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1867-1877, 1875-08-19
PHILADELPHIA.
our sAruR DAY LETTE u

OUR sATuR DAY LETTE n.
| DEATH OF HORACE BIsNEy-AN USkxAMPIED CA
RrER-A LIFE As OLD As THE REPuBiN-raE
CITY WATER suPPLy-PRoBABLE ABANDONMENT
OF THE sCHUYLKILL BYsTrA-THE bhiphshuho
| ARSENAL EXPLOSION AND THE UNIvERsiTy HOS |
| PIrAL--A HURRICANE IN THE cIrY--TnE rEAch |
| enIpMENTs, ETC. ID. |
| Special Correspondence Of The Commercial
PHILADELPHIA, Aug. IL.
| The death of Horace Bnney WAS not only the
event of the week and in this city it was an
occurrance Of national concern and one OF tho
true events OF the year The effect Of the news
is Just beginning to be felt, people are only
beginning to realize, as expressiohs
OF yeneration, admiration and SYM
pstby are received from distant sections.
that Mr.. Binney, although lifelong resident Of
this city and Ph,isdelphian to the core, was rec
oenized by the land at large As the patriarch OF
the bar This not alone on account OF lis grent
age but because in him WAS seen al eminent
representation of legal knowledge and force
Joined with high integrity and the perfect pro-
fessonsl manner Of old days. Greater lawyers
perhaps than Mr.. Blnney have arisen since me-
retirement from practice, for example VIM. M.
Eyarts and Chas. OConor, but at the time OF MS
retirement he WAS the confessed head OF the
legal prof esson in tho United States, and leav-
ing the field with such = reputation the years
nave naturally and properly preserved that fame
and .dded To- il. Of course only elderly men
have any recollection even Of the close OF MIR.
Binneys career, but popular Judgment Is happ'-
ly not founded on mere tradition. Besides tne
records going to show that for forty years Mr.
Binney was connected with the first legal inter-
ests Of the city and State there is the cotempo-
rary evidence Of Chase, Everett, sargeant, ln-
gersoll and others to assure us that our venefa,
lion is not misplaced, and that we are not led
away by the feelings inspired by 80 e1ceptiohai
length OF life.
thing man born before the constitution ana
uutliyinp seventeen Presidents college gradu-
ate in the last century and admitted to the oaf
in the year 1900 Almost OF years OF discretloh
when the French Revoluton-the first OF them
startled the world, and who read accounts ~
first hands Of the establishment Of Btates Gem
eral :" the Massacre OF the Swiss, and the execu.
tions of " Madame Veto and Louis, the Well
, Beloved p A man cotemporsneous with the
whole career Of Bonaparte. and who noted the
, history and progress Of this country from post
i revolutionary times to the present admlnistra-
ton. Surely, it is passing strange. IL is hos
only the fact Of extreme age but the iacc ~
genius at such an age. We hear daily OF the
deaths of centensrians but the case OF MIR. Bin
nv is practically uuexampled Considering ev-
: erything, the nature OF the man, his learning,
his public services, his intellectual force, ahd
his ability to interpret events, all these things
n | make the facts OF this life 30 exceptional that
= they will probably not be equsllod in the time
n Of any one now living. ..
a The question OF the city water supply Is graz
: | uaIIy assuming the proportion which some peo-
a | Die have long seen was inevitable. Ihe puDlc
is not walked up even yet, for there are plenty OF
= men who, SO long as water can be obtained Il, IN
toerable amount and OF tolerabie purity, VIII no.
y think of the future. But men who do think know
"a that there has got to be reconstruction. The
y city has outgrown the schuylkill SUPPLY
q rather such Of that supply as is tit to drink II
/. the wisdom that came to US recently N 'ls es
y an earlier growth, il the banks
Of the schuyIk kill had been made public propert,
,e to a point above Manayunk, and il the manufac
ID turing on the stream throughout lts length hat
been forbidden in good season, no city IN th'
M world would have had finer water supply thai
iii that furnished philadelphia by the schnylkil
River. Unobstructed, it has capacity 10 sup
n. PARIS combined. But the dams along its course
back the water into pools aud only after heas
rAins does tho ~hnlA river hoW nv Ml
ne Paramount. For the most OF INC I'm,
W. w but only from tho stretch below the Manyun
w. Dam, fed by a few slender creeks between tina
in point and Paramount. This might all have pee
M ayerted il our predecessor had haa .ie props ps
he built up step by step, the ultimate greatness
he Philadelphia not boing appreciated. now a
entire change Of base would cost leas Una M
"a, to dsposess manufacturers and 30 control u
he sehuylkill. Thus we pay for experience in b
mt things as in little. In planning new system
#: OF water works Philadelphia will be sure to 9
ar. cure the purity Of its supply but now muoh VI
ii have cost to learn the lesson And how mar
IN. smaller communities are making the same mi
as- take that we now realize and WHICH WILL III ~ M
a become equally clear to themselves ~
,ze opinion IL nearly unanimous among the new
Amounted Board OF Water Engineers that q
i'm Schuylkin should DO wholly abandoned. A pr
the iect OF an aqueduct, on the croton plan, lro
th- the Perkiomen has strong support IN the CoI
rdy mission. This aqueduct would be between tnir
nce and forty miles IN length and the water wou
reach us by gravity Numerous other plans 3
In talked Of but the subject has not assumed SUI
sn. shape that need revert to them IN dets
,wn 1t may be some time yet before lie sup1ec'
,ze comes one OF general discussion. .,
and Tie explosion at the Government arsenal
on Frankford escaped being great calami
ii | through the simple but ingenious nlethod
in constructing the roof OF the buiiding Wnere
ant. bIow-up occurred. Possibly all buildings d
and signed for similar uses are 30 constructed th
ars Should be, at all events. In this case the ro
ing, lifted without niuring the sla. walls, scare,
disturbing the ,S a9Lpce t%iric nersons nVS Within
eha building would probably all have been kill
NTH and the flying stones and tmpers hens ~. ~
rave occssioned great number OF other casuatl
ba Three BOYS were killed by the explosion, enc
have stantly and the other dying within short in
ais The boys were emptying condemned caftrlue
saf and it is supposed the Illuminating cap on one
iesty the missiles was ssiuS oS nnss npowder spr
Ara kled about to q pile Of the halt-empt
cartridges, All effort WAS made To cna
the University Hospital with disin sna
hose nation to furnish aid . to hsrg ,me anpea
to. the Hospital Surgeons asked if they were
ty to be paid for their services some ieeiinb
y vas excited by this statement, but DR.. Pepper Of
University has put the matter fiehG: ny
tor saws it is a'postive law OF the Hospital
its resident Surgeons shall not accept compe'
tion in any quarter for services, and tha1
on is question OF which so much was made retel
simply to the transportation service oil the
.I.,,I, naypf,i inlt in
atrlot p,ta, .na,,aht h,'uu ,yn"IS be needed.
mons, The Tornado on Wednesday evening
roae one of the most singular experies'
nches citizens have had in long time. inc sau'
Nv ms ness OF the shock was something to reinem
NJ Vi The powder explosion just referred 10
'P@L scarcely more abrupt. In loss time than u =
ca 10 here to tell it houses factories and stables
cedod VA 49, ho, a. damoIished and good sized
> ni o,i' torn up by the roots. 1t WAS gennhe u.
ven cane 1t cut only narrow swath OF apou, oo
,ee., squares in width, and swept from about zaa
ehead la; SA ~, tia G,rard Cnepe Grounds whel
liis rose as mysteriously As it had descen
mand- IL a considerable secti7n had boon
Ioingn, areS nv the hurricane the re
each somj5 M doubt have been AZ serious AZ
at Geneva or which have attended any rece
emeptal disturbances. We had all the 9
tons OF wind storm Of the first clasa :, 1
follow lne TALL ,;nSta leave that to the lima
stral- ,;nn We begin to fear there will be no
lntapie comfortable dryness this summer.
merica ,ns Complaints have been heard in some qns
verage of the rapidity with which peaches have
! !, 90 Soa put on the market, and "supply and den
'!oo IN and that far-reaching and comprehe
10. ~ "glut" have been discussed almos
'eh1s me- = feelingly as the weather. l have obs
D Tue too things, however, about the
=. iet peach supply,-lst that no matter no
ing ut Glad tn yet tbem-a yery small proporti
ecoho- the shipnent-I have been assured
nd ppI ar however