The Evening critic. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1881-1885, 1881-08-20
The Water Supply.
To The Editor of The Erening Critic |:

10 the Edif0r OF The Evening Critic:
The terrible bug bear of the waste of
water by the United States would seom to
be laid at rest by the complaint of the
Superintendent of the Bureau of Printing
and Engraving, who cannot get enough
water for the needs of his Department. 1t
has been shown that the water is
wasted in private houses and not in the
Departments 1t has also been shown that
the distribution of the water is not uniform,
the pressure in some places being thirty
pounds and in other places only three
pounds to the square inch. In their reply
to Col. Irish, the Commissioners say that
better supply can DO furnished to him by
regulating the stop-cocks, but that it will
be done at the loss of supply to other locali-
ties. uU.
1t is acknowledged that the distribution
of the supply can be regulated SO as to give
a better supply to Col. Irish. The uni
versal application of the same method can
just as well be used to maintain an equal
pressure per square inch in all parts of the
city.
In the report for 1879, at page 372, the real
reason for not supprcssing the waste of
water is to be found in tho fact that the
revenue of the water department will be
diminished should the waste of the water be
stopped. DO not impair the revenue of this
sacred water Office, but keep on and let mil
lions of gallons of water brought to the
city at the cost of millions of dollars run to
waste. Rather spend other millions of
dollars to bring other millions of gallons to
run to the same waste, but do not reduce
the revenue of the water office.
The venerable yarn about the waste of
water by the Departments was spun out
over and over again, year after year, until
1t became worn and threadbare, and the fact
has become only too apparent that the object
is to waste, not only water, but other millions
of dollars. A great cutlery is raised over q
few pitiful fountains which play in some of
the public grounds. In the city of Paris
which has supply of about one.sixth of
that in Washington, splendid fountains
abound in all parts of the city, and the
streets are bountcously watercd three times
daily, and even the drives through the Bois
de Boulogne are copiously watered, while in
Washington few gallons squirted through
o few forlorn jgamarecs must bear
the blame when the people on Capitol Hill
and elsewhere cannot draw enough to make
cup of coffee for breakfast. Meanwhile,
however, the people who have no fair sup
| ply of water in their houses must pay just
the same as those who in more favored Sec
| tions have supeNbundance, and having u
superabundance allow it to run to waste.
For these seven long years the Capitol
Hill people have been fooled by Hoxie.
When they do rise in their righteous wrath
it is to be hoped they will not drown him
in his stand-pipe. But until the malign
nfuence-whateve it may be-whieh mis-
directs these things can be overcome, it is
needless to say anything more in the way
of remedy than to suggest the fact that q
bountiful supply of pure water can be
delivered to the jewellers on Capitol Hill
without dollar of cost.
p KIINGIE