Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-02-24

Company Mansfield, Ohio We respectfully suggest
felt in the Luther statue and when SO formed that the
rsm' .s9p
John g. Morris. %, IL 2. Baltimore. Nd; g.
s sos qe A Md J.
Charles IS F sas Ere New Yrf
J: g. Butler. Pastor Memorial Church. Washingto
About the Water supply and its
| To the Editor of THE EVENING STAR
| l desire to make a few remarks In reply to
certain suggestions about our water supply, re-
Gently published in The STAR Capt Phelps.
! Justice and plumber all would have us
believe that the wicked waste OF water by the
| citizens Is the cause Of all our trouble. No
doubt there are many places in which the water
Is wasted by letting it run in cold weather to
prevent freezing, and still more in saloons and
water closets where it is allowed to run day
and night and all such ought to be stopped
But 1t is not true that the scarcity is due to the
| fact that such waste Is general in the houses of
citizens, as these parties would have the public
believe. The statement of ''Piumber'' that
seventy five Fer cent of all the supply is wan
tOnly wasted through defective water closets"
is too absurd for any one to believe. It is SIM
ply nonsense to pretend that one-fourth of the
water used by families is used In the water
closets, much less three-fourths of the en-
tire supply. He would have US believe that the
general character of the plumbing in dwellings
is simply that OF open pipes through which the
water runs increasingly. Now have built six
| buildings, at an average cost of $4,000 and in
| not one of them is there. or has there
| ever been, drop Of water wasted either
by the closets, open faucets or leaky pipes. and
| l presume they are but fair average Of the
! buildings erected during the past ten years. NV
| pipes do not freeze, and consequently never
| let it run to prevent freezing. ALWAYS see to
| it that the water pipes are so located and pro-
| tected that they will not freeze, and that is
| what ought to be done by all architects and
| builders, and the water department ought to
have, if it has not, the power to compel this
arrangement. In the first building erected.
one pipe did freeze during an unusually cold
SPELL and which l found was in consequence of
the plumber having run it against an outside
wall, In violation of his contract. I had it
changed, and since then have never had frozen
pipe.
The idea that the citizens actually receive
anything near the amount represented is SIMPLY
says we have $50 gallons per capita, and in the
Senate, May sd. 1880. it was asserted that the
average consumption was ''155L gallons for
| each person" So, toO it was stated by Com
missioner Phelps in his letter to the Senate COM
mittee January 21st, 1879 that each of the l, 500
houses connected with the standpipe were sup
piled daily with eight barrels. or $40 gallons.
(Senate Mis-. Doc. No. Al, 18th Cong.> Sd SEES
In that same letter. Capt Phelps told US that
the standpipe would be found to amply supply
| and Capitol Hill. and Congress, in accordance
with his estimate in that same letter appro-
priated the $25.OO0 asked for to connect the
standpipe with Capitol Hill. Now, in view of
the fact that the houses connected with the
| standpipe are not half supplied, how ridiculous
the proposition that 1t would also supply Capitol
| Hill appears.
! But without wasting time on that matter
| now. call attention to few facts which COM
| petely refute the sanderous statements made
| AGAINST citizpna w hof
| receive or waste the water as represented
| For instance, on the 2Sth Of June. 1879. Col.
| Casey had the water that entered and flowed
out OF the reservoir measured. His official
| statement shows that the supply on that day
was 25, TAO. 1873 gallons and that amount divided
| by 1S0, 600, the present population would give
supply of l43 gallons per day, provided the cti-
zens received it; but that they do not is clearly
shown by the following facts:
| His report shows that from 12 O'Clock at n;eht
| to 6 am, the water flowed from the reservoir
at the rate of &C, 800 gallons per hour Now
where did that water go to? The citizens were
not using it, because they were in bed and
asleep They did not leave their faucets RIM
ming to prevent freezing, becauseit was in June.
Where then did it go? As stated by the water
register in the papers, it went through the pub
lie fountains, the horse troughs. the drinking
| fountains Babcock lake, the fish ponds. and the
| departments many of which were supplied with
pipes from four inches upwards, running day
| and night.
| Now when 1t is borne in mind that, as stated
| by Engineer Shedd, Of Providence, an ordinary
kitchen faucet II left open will waste % 600 gal
Ions in twenty-four hours, 1t is easy to compre-
bend that all these large pipes in the public
grounds and departments would easily dispose
Of the entire amount which ran from the reser-
vOr from midnight to 6 a. m.
II, now, it ran through those pipes at that
rate during those six hours Of course it would
do 80 during all the twenty-four hours, and
that would make q, sol ,816 gallons, thus leay-
ing OF the entire supply Of Is, 74O. S16 gallons
which entered the reservoir during the twenty
four hours but q, 438 $40 gallons for the citizens
to use and waste! That divided among the
180, 900 would give but thirteen and a half gal
Ions per capita In twenty-four hours, instead of
the 1854 gallons per capita, as stated in the
Senate, or the eight barrels per house, as stated
| by Capt. Phelps.
In his report for 1879 Lieut.. Hoxie stated the
amount used by the government in it's foun-
tains. departments. &C., would average GOO 600
gallons per day, but it is obvious from the fore
| going that it is much more than that and that
the amount thus used has been constantly in
| creasing, as new fountains have been erected
| more government buildings built and rented
! fish ponds increased, &C.. Hence, say that ali
such statements as those referred to about the
| amount OF water supplied to and wasted by the
| citizens is most unjust and cruel SANDER.
IT Is nonsense to compare the water supply here
with that OF any other city the country for the
reason that no other is so situated. Here the
l 40" va Oohsi OSo pIVtiucb tiiat tue u. IS,
government Is first to use Of the supply all that
1t desires for any and all purposes, and then
whatever is left may be divided among the citi-
zens under such rules and regulations as NAV
be prescribed. The result Is that az shown
| above, the government officials and EMPLOYEES
let It run day and night, summer and winter,
| whether the citizens get any or not. Who OF
our citizens has forgotten the frantic appeals to
| these men to shut of the fountains. ana the
large hose pipes with which the Capitol and
| other public grounds were and are flooded dn-
ring the hot season, and always, with q single
exception, without success2 OF course the
government needs the water, and should have
oil 1t needs; but that is no reason why our citi-
zens should be misrepresented and abused. as
i they have been, and stu are, in this matter.
There II also Z great deal Of loosa talk about
ours being the largest supply in the world.
Rome had supply OF 400 gallons per capita
and many other cities have had, II they have not
now: Tar larger supply than We have. or ever
will have
Congress mas recognized the necessity for an
increase, and made the appropriation nearly 3
year ago; and what Is wanted now 10 that that
money shall be applied In the quickest manner
possible to increase the supply.