Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1879-07-12
WATER-wORKS AND SEWER
AGE.
The City Council and the Board of
Trade.


The City Council and the Board of
Trade.
These two subjects, which are in
extrieabIy connected with one an
other, are pressing upon the atten-
ton of citizens with a force which
cannot be disposed of. The health
and the finances of the city both
demand that they be dealt with in
the light of the best judgment that
can be brought to bear upon them,
and if that Judgment cannot be had
here it must be sought wherever it
can be found.
The first question mooted this
week was sprung in the meeting of
the Board of Trade last Tuesday
night. 1t is a proposition for the
city to buy the water-works, which
We're tested on Monday evening and
found to be a complete failure so
far as their ability to fulfill the con-
tract made with the city, or, if not
the city, then stock company
formed among ourselves, the city
investing in more or less of the
stock.
We will not anticipate the discus
sion which is to take place in the
Board of Trade at its adjourned
meeting further than to say that on
the face of it the proposition looks a
hard one to make either to the City
Council or to the capitalists, that
while it was supposed to be a pay
ing concern, the existing company,
wherever it is, was to keep the |
thing all to themselves, but now
that it turns out failure, the city
of GAINESVILLE and her capitalists are
to take it off their hands. This we
say without having been at the
meeting, and therefore from a mere
superficial view of the matter,
which may be modified when we
hear what has to be said next Tues
day.
Meantime our City Council has
been engaged at a called meeting on /
Thursday night with the sewerage
question, which is a necessary cor
Ollary of the water-works. The
City Fathers were occupied with
the question what to do with the
sewerage which is being washed
from the business houses on the
north side of franklin street, and
for which there is no outlet at pres
ent. The difficulties of the question
were mechanical, and no conclusion
was arrived at, the matter being
adjourned for further enquiries. 1t
is our belief that the committee, if
they enquire in the right direction,
will find that their difficulties lie
much wider and deeper than they
at present think. The question was
sprung too late in the week for us to
treat it Systematically, and we are
conscious of our inability to do so
with any degree of completeness,
but we will next week devote q
special article to the subject, in
which we expect at least to point
out some of the difficulties to be
overcome. We are not competent,
nor do we believe anyone in Clarks-
vile is competent to grapple with
them. 1t requires a combination
not often united in one persona
knowledge of engineering and of
hygiene, and then comes in the
other terrible element, that of fl ,
nance, all which points to our orig
inal proposition, the necessity of
skilled counsel before anything is
done. But this we say without :
waiting for anything. The city has
Dne elephant ON its hands which it !,
cannot get rid of, and yet which it ,
will task its utmost capacity to pro-
vide for-sewefage, namely; Lett
not buy another in the form Of !
while the former is on |
hand two such elephants will sink !
Is,