St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-04-19
VOICE OF THE PEOPLE.
An Unwise Sewer Ordinance.

To the Editor of the Globe:
Section "a OF the ordinances of the city of
st. Paul says: Drain and soil pipes through
which water and sewage is used and carried
shall be of iron when within building" In
accordance with this ] was requested. when
making my sewer connection recently, TO
employ plumber TO lay iron pipe from a
point four feet outside of the cellar into the
terminus, distance OF forty feet or so. This
iron pipe is four inches in diameter and one
eighth of an inch thick. This ordinance
consider n very unwisc one. In fact / see
not not how it can be properly characterized as
anything but disgrace TO the city of StPaul,
as IL would be 10 any other city that would
adopt il in this enlightened age. Ii seems TO
me that the inspiration which led TO the
original adoption OF this unwise ordi-
nance and which secures its continued
enforcement, is an inspiration either OF gross
ignorance or of gross wickcdneSs. And
which horn OF this dilemma mast we taNey
Everybody knows that simple moisture causes
iron TO rust, and that sewerage and sewer gas
in contact with iron pipe greatly accelerates
tine oxidation or ruSting, and that coating
of tar or pitch over the iron pipe under such
circumstances would have comparatively lit
tie effect TO delay the rusting. Ten years is
probably too long a period 10 allow for the
complete rusting out of iron sewer pipe one
eight of an inch thick. And when it is rusted
out where are WEI What condition are we in
rs a city? With fifty feet more or less of
rusted-out iron sewer pipe under every house
in the city, either the plumbers have big
job on their hands to replace these thousand
miles of iron pipe with new or else the soil OF
the whole city begins 10 be soaked and thor
oughly impregnated with poisonous sewerage
and deadly sewer gas, and the cholera or
THE BLACK PLAGUE
will not need TO be invited from the old world
I'm order TO decimate If not TO wipe out the
CITY, for these diseases will be already here.
will no innipnnnmG 1 rhOOCn N
ten years TO take up my cement cellar bottom
in order to renew the rusted pipe, il will pro-
mote the healthfulnesS of my house and of
the locality but little unless my neighbors
would ali do the same. Now, on the other
hand, everybody knows, or may know, that
good stone thing, or virtrihed clay pipe, is
cheaper than iron pipe TO begin with, and
that IL will never rust. Moisture and sewer
are and sewer gas will have no effect upon II
| TO corrode or weaken IL. IL is practically in-
| destructible against everything but violence.
II will last thousands of years, as the pottery
exhumed from the ruins of old world
| cities prove. Why then should iron
! pipe ever be used IN preference 10 tile for
| horizontal pipe laid under ground, where il is
secure from breakingl Why should itg Is IL
that the plumbers may have a big job once
4 I'm ten years? That is not a sufficient reason.
For perpendicular pipe, above ground and
exposed, of course iron pipe is the thing.
But for horizontal pipe, well and securely
I
cedents set US by older and Eastern cities?
1t has been claimed that Boston and other
cities have now ordinances requiring iron
| pipe under buildings. This is not so. have
| IL from the head man of the sewer depart
| ment. AT the city hall in the city of Boston
that mot only is there no ordinance there re-
curing iron pipe under buildings, but vitrf
| ned clay pipe is used almost exclusively" is
il because there is any inseDarable difficulty
| in the way of getting good tile pipe, thoroughly
vitrified inside and outg IL ought not TO bt
allowed for a moment that ST. Paul is not able
! 10 do what other cities are able 10 do in this
matter, viz: Secure the manufacture of good
thoroughly vitrined stone tiling. Now. ought
| we to lay ourselves open TO the suspicion thai
| the future health of the city is being sacri
feed TO promote the interest of any particular
business or trade? This we are doing, Il
seems to me, every day that we allow this un
wise sewer ordinance 10 remain unrepealed
r. HALL.
| ST. Paul, April II.