The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1883-08-08
CLARK PERSON, Editor.
LAMBERTyILLE, N. j.
Wednesday, Aug. s, 1888.
SEWERAGE,

The Importance of Sewerage" anC
general improvement to the streets anC
walks of the cities and the planting o
shade and ornamental trees along til,
public roads, its being recognized through
out the country. In some places it hal
become mania with few, whilst largs
majority reject and oppose anything Of
the kind.
We are induced to devote portion OF
the columns of THE RECORD to these
and kindred subjects and shall make ex-
tracts from our exchanges from time to
time, bearing on the subject, and now
give from The Sanitary Engineer, q valu-
able and useful journal, conducted by
Henry G. Myer, 140 William street, New
York, an article that is, in our opinion,
most applicable to our city:
''In visiting the small towns thckly
scattered over the country, anyone who
is familiar with the subject of the pre-.
servation of health and the prevention OF
disease from filth pollution, and who has
kept in the least abreast of the move
ments for sanitary reform, cannot but be
struck with the gross disregard Of all the
precautions which recent Investigations
have shown to be essential and which the
public sentiment of more popular and en-
terprising communities has grown to de-
mand. Tho streets may be nicely kept,
the sidewalks paved and the front yard
adorned with grass and flowers, but IN
the rear is the nasty priyy, generally near
the we'll the garbage heap close by but
perhaps out of sight behind the priyy or
the fuel shed, and frequently stable with
its fostering manure heap hard by.
ssThe rain water flows from the streets
into and through natural channels, and
there coursing through back lots and open
spaces are made the receptacle of all kinds
Of filth. until becoming offensive they are
simply walled up and covered over. Their
rough bottoms are covered with slime and
nastiness, only partly removed by tho
wash of a heavy shower.
"An occasional drain is put down by
private enterprise or public authority
leading into these filthy streams, and these
are laid without regard to system or
science, either in their size, their grades
or their construction. Few people know
where they are and no one cares except
the owners who are by their means en-.
abled to carry their foul wastes away from
their own premises regardless Of whom
they may injure.
There are over 400 towns and villages
in the country of less than 5000 inhabi
tapts each which have a public water sup
ply of some kind, and of these very large
proportion have no system of disposal of
their sewage except in eesspools on the
premises of the householders.
I'm looking over the list of nearly 900
towns of between 5000 and 10000 in
habitants which have water supply,
there are many which we know TO have
no sewerage system and moro which are
believed to be without any.
Even where an Effort has been made
to construct sewers of one kind or anoth.
er, the lack Of system, the absence of con-
structive skill and the disregard of good
principles are painfully apparent in the
majority of instances.
ITO illustrate. Not long since party
of gentlemen were driving through the
streets of prosperous village of some
5000 inhabitants in the State Of New
York, and passed an excavation on which
some work was going ON. The superin
tendent of the laborers, recognizing IL
the party some of the Trustees of the vii
u, 4
you would send some one to tell me where
to put in these branches. | don't know
where they want to go.
THE curiosity of a stranger in the
party was excited by this address, and he
alighted to see what was going on and
found the men laying a 2I-inch earthern
pipe diagonaliy across the street, without
regard to line or much attention to grade,
and not putting anything in the joints OF
the pipe. On inquiring how tho Joints
were made, the contractor said oh we
inst pack the clay around them. This
clay is better than any cement. | think.
On further inquiry il was learned that
tho Trustees had let the contract for n
sewer in this street. on the petition OF
some residents, that they thought that 4
a4.inch pipe would be of about the wight
size and cost, aud that there was no one
10 look after it particularly. The con
tractor was laying the pipe 2igzagginl
across the street to accommodate the resi-
dents. and not oblige them to make suel
long connections from their houses to tn,
pipe rs q correct alignment of the latte
would require. 1t was further found tha
several similar sewer pipes had been lait
in the village, but neither the Trustee
nor anyone else knew exactly where the,
were located. In this particular Instance
single glance would suffice for an en-
gineer to see that the pipe used was alto
gether too small for rainwater diSoharg,
from the area drained and very much to,
large for a separate system of hous,
drainage.
NOW, this is only one instance out o
thousands which might be cited, of tn,
persistent stupidity in regard to the man
agement of public affairs, displayed b,
officials aud by citizens too. The prinoi
pies of sewer designing and construction
are as we'll established and as much
matter of study and experience as ;hos
of law, of medicine, of farming, of masol
work, of blaeksmithing or of trade. Tn
person to apply them to practice is tn
engineer, aud lie is the only one who eat
do SO successfully. For lawyer, a docto
and merchant to get together aud sa,
how and where sewer ought to be built
is as absurd as for an engineer, a farmer
and a mason to attempt TO describe how q
case of illness should be treated, or d
blacksmith should shoe horse.
There is only one rational way for n
town to have its sewerage properly de-
signed and constructed. The authorities
should have plan prepared by com
petent and experienced sewerage engineer
who has made such work his study, and
should adopt that plan and the speeiiica-
tions prepared by the engineer aud adhere
rigidly to them in the construction OF
every foot of sewer. The whims and the
notious Of practical, common sense men
should be avoided in treating subjects
which cannot be intelligently handled by
practice unbacked by knowledge of pru.
ciples or common sense unaided by ex.
perienee. The cost of an intelligent plan
will in every instance be saved in very
few years, and more likely than not in the
first work constructed after its adoption.
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