, 1881-08-07

10 the Editor " Inc lhtc';1 jf1Ju1t.
CutcAcu. Aug. 5.-1hc watcr-suppiy for Out
fast-gruwing city seems to he the leading Iucs-
tiou us far us the City Of Chicago is concerned
When tho people nf our city shall once become
convinced Of the frufl nature Of our present
water supply, and that its very OK xstc!scc hangs
by mere thre,ld, they will ut see the great
dunger OF the situation uld demand Of tho
Council immediate action. The present Crib
is constructed with 1Fc compartments,
rorty-tive feet deep from the watcr-iiue to tho
bed Of tho lake. }nstcad Of these being Tiled
with concrete made Of si'auls and gravel nnd
the best brands Of Portland cement III correct
graduated quantities, tho stonu5 were looEcly
thrown in, sumo on their ends. some on their
sides, anu, i'll fact, In every way but the right
one, without tho uso Of one pnrticlc vi cement.
nacr,l larl.it u ,hcir '''' dimension st"ncs, 50
i,rraused tllt their front ends. looking towards
the lake, rested OIL the timbcrs COMPRISING tho
outside Crib wall. Th"sc tiiilbcrs arc twelve Ivy
Twelve Inches, and only small percentage uf
the dimension stone rests on tho sn'it. w"od-
work. Much tho larger pnrt rests IN the COM
pIrtncnts filled with the drJ" rnbbie stones.
THESE dimension stones. pressing upDu this
dry. weak rnbhle work O, the e. 'nsi!e. have Enne
opening the JOINTS and. IN some ln!rts OF the
structure almost lcar,ng the dnsctai!s nsundcr.
and Hli on account vt tho utS'tind foundation III
the i've compartments ot tue lflb-
1t was one Of the Must futnl errors in placing
upsu tho Crib several hundred ions Of mtsoflrt
wue.I il was not designed or built to carry my
such fearful weight. The brick Lighthouse,
hliilt ,lpo. one Of the outside angles, !ul weigh
ing nearly 1V) tons. will be one u the most
potent ncnns iu st ort time of putting the Crib
below tho surface Ut the iakt. TN the slhe upnn
which tho iiEuthulSe Is huil;, tho fo11n!a-
zion Of the CRIB is four anu ont-nalr
feet lower t!un OH tho opposit sid.
vi the structure, or in OTHER words. the
hnttous uf the Crib is four aud onc-ha!f feat
fro:n !, level Inc. AZ it will take several years
tu construct permanent C:ib SIX or seven miles
further ont into the lake, thinh that uu TING
should Uc lust in starting
The present structure cannot give us culd
and pure drini. of water. bccaus: the d1tt Or
IuIet tha, in lets the water from tile lake TO
tho ccutrc cylinder is tro near the
surface Of tho .ukc. bcul. only twn
feet four i1ci.es below tho water line
it is k11uwn fact that :a'l light. oily. and cAr-
bonc impurities lie close to, itlld ul1 tue surAce
If, our lake, ;i;1tl. n5 the scHtf1l=c cttr3 tho
river mud the river into the lake. tins item :n1e
furlIs one OF tho hfst rc:@ua9 why VIZ caHHot
get pure water. ~ .
The rru,c,iy lies in o,;r City Council adopting
the t,iu:;5 designed by Sir. l:r.1la!aa!!. These
,jaus i,r,: ut Kt,uu TO M. Ill Lii Sale s,rcel,
,,t,rn ut nil times fur inspection. There
nrr scycral features i'll tho proposed CRIB
that | Cannot let pass without rcIatA,
and they cuusst OF its great strength ard d;'ra-
L!!ity. Sccoud, it Is cspao!c OF furnishing
water tor au almost iE2ii;sir Eer!us! OF time IL
i. So arranged that We vii; Ect the rurcst water
nr Lake Michigan. ,s1ld Icy cold As tho same
fine. Thc irlcts nrc torsy~tivo feet from tho
snrfnce line ui tho lake, which Is fur enough
dawn to prevent uny Of the light Impurities On
the ton from ever reaching the inside OF the
tunnel IAc=e iules5 are also from ten to