The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1880-03-14
TIE SlBl7lBIlHS.
A New Suggestion Regarding Sew
erage Of the City.
Report of the Flushing Committee
and Other Matters or Interest.

t1OH OyTub Du5boyS CHhdIHibu, pIe5luIuks hHS
John Q. Henderson, Esq, the efficient secre
tary. at his post.
Col. Geo. Il. Warning Jr, consulting SAM
tary engineer, Of Newport, Il. l., engineer ol
survey 81 Memphis, was introduced and ad.
dressed the committee on
THE QUESTION OF SEWERAGE,
as follows:
II is an especial privilege to be allowed to ad-
dress the New Orleans Auxiliary Sanitary As.
sociation. This organization IL more familiar
to the sanitarians Of the country ut large. and
more admired for its remarkable achievements
OF 1872 than Ia any other sanitary body In the
q NJ
the opposing OF q threatened epidemic. It's
short history has been brilliant and am sure
that It's future IL pregnant with effective and
benefloent work.
The project you now have In hand..the more
regular and thorough fiushing OF the streets
within the COMPASS 81 your means. You could
devote your efforts to no end Of greater imme.
dtate value. and trust you will succeed TO the
Looking at the main problem Of sanitary i'm
provement In New Orleans. 1t seems TO me that.
when this surface cleansing shall have been
secured. you must. before you cease from your
labOrs. 70 deeper than the surface. and strive
70 secure those conditions which are reco9-
nYed ths ever are
than those Of . high lying town. built on po-
rous and well drained site. Such town has
can secure only with the aid Of art. Yonr city
stands low down on the saturated allnvium Of
the Mississippi. and atm informed that your
M fss 70 L
with even tolerable preservation III the public
heath. ana the great prominence OF pulmonary
malarial and dtarrhBAl diseases In your re-
cords OF sickness and deaths sustain the ac-
cepted end proven theories on the subject
With q climate most favorable for pulmonary
-Lwxna hnvn n annfh RuRxa Srxvr
sumption which would appal even q Now Eng
land doctor: the malarions tendencies Of your
climate are aggravated by the worst possible
nestle aith-the foster. mother of diarrbnal
maladies is here In no degree counteracted by
soil conditions which elsewhere favor it, harm
Your chief problem can be very simply
stated: What you need IL a dry soil and u clean
soil The detects OF human life must 80 far as
accommodation has ever begun. and the soil
water whicn now dlls your air with dampnass
and WITH 10 70 IT,
healthy condition which y y your rightto dc.
sUa aeao o dS' S to sp
erage. place them In tho order OF their I'm
portance for soil drainage should take prece-
consurup tion and malaria take precedence Of
zymotio diseases IN your death tables.
It IL easy to talk about thls work. but 1t Is by
the difficulties Of execution with which others
have to contend. and more. and you have the
added embarrassment that every drop Of your
many feet by artificial MEANS.
Az This. though 2 serious business consid-
GRAFTON. need not deter YOU. II IL an important
element OF the calculation OF ways and means.
but It IL not OF such magnitude as to make the
cost per head OF population ut all excessive rs
compared with the present cost Of emptying
Icannot pretend with only few days. &C.
ouaintance With the locality. TO prescribe the
n eny be
course should advise. were the conditions to
prove. on fuller examination. to be what they
scheme can be safely determined only BY d very
careful study OF all the circumstances
suppose some such plan a. this to be taken
should be worked out:
At the lowest point in the general neighbour
hood Of the Bienville draining machine. estab-
receive the outflow OF subsoil drains and sow
ers. which should De ~ no point less than six
I se M G ,h the
the foul outflow Of the. sewers. Establish
pumping. outlet from the latter to the Missis-
canal which leads 70 the lake. EJECT two pamp
Ing engines. either one Of which would suffice
10 ordinary times to keep both wells pumped
esncles both pumps Could be brought into re-.
QUESTION. and ia case Of accident to one the
other could b. made to do the full duty. Any
would secure the same result as would the
raising Of the site OF the city at least six feet
above its present level. The wells would be-
come effective low outlets for the entire low
The sewers should be. adjusted to remove all
OF the foul sewage OF the city, but none OF its
makes your cutters so very foul should be with.
drawn. but the clean water OF your rains and Of
your flushing works should flow freely through
NJ Nhn ri un1 Gfr
now soothing with nastiness. and any plan for
securing even tolerable sanitary reform must
HSera ha 1 1seE
by Keeping out OF them the filth which they
now receive.
The sewers beine, provided. their use should
within fey hours Of its production should be
made Obsolete anywhere within tie city. and
this. implies the total abolition OF all forms Of
vaults and cesspools and Of all ingenious sys-
matters for q single day In the premises where
me se,cers should not be used as subsoil
water In they viii let sewerage water out In CON
nection with them. laid often. In the same
TRENCH but delivering always into the clean
meable subsoil drains. to remove the water OF
saturatton which now does you such vast In
Jury. ..,. =. -. o.o. ,o
Indicated. you will secure the dryness and the
purity OF the soil Of the city which are 80 i'm
perat1vely demanded
It would be folly to attempt with the data In
my possession to make even guess as to the
cost OF this work. but anyone who is CONVEX
SAINT with sewerage operations must at once
the fact that 1t would be we'll within
he means of the people to support It, Its
andt interest on Its cost would
probably not exceed the present yearly outlay
Or emptytng vaults alone.
It has been the custom hitherto for all sew
erage work to be done by the public authorities.
80 long az the sewerage proper and the re- I
noval q storm water are effected By the same
,Yetem this is necessary: but II we have to con-
,ider, as we surely ought to do here. the |
eparate removal Of the foul seWsee there is
private enterprise by the persons served
g Is the case With private water comRaniss
n securing capital for such an enterprise; II
necessary. legislative authority can be had
rhe coming summer would suffice for the pre-
imary engineering. and between next October
md June the whole city area OF New Or
cans could be completely drained and severed.
When the time comes for 1t. the whole outly