The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-10-09
THE DRAINAGE PROBLEM.
DR.. Falligant's Series of Articles on a
System of House Drainage for Sa-
vannah.

vannah.
ARTICLE l.
The Alarming Dangers and Enormous
Frpense Immediately Attendant upon
the Adoption Of TIE Wdring Plans for
| the House Drainage of Suudnndh.
Editor Morning Netcs: In recent inter-
views published in your columns, Aldermen
Duncan and Thomas announce to the public
that they have for a long time past taken
great interest in the matter of house drain
age for this city. Being myself totally ig-
norant of their having accomplished any
| practical, good, new work, and not wishing
/ to do them injustice, awaited myself of the
opportunity to recall from the official record
| Just what they did. Some two years
| or more ago an ordinance was introduced
| into council known as the Duncan oTdi-
nance requiring everybody to abolish cir
| privies. presume this is the law Alder
man Thomas takes credit for having passed.
| published some very searching criticisms
| as to the effect of the ordnance; and,
| though council, in courtesy to Messrs. Dun
can and Thomas, adopted the ordinance
| over my protests, the public objection to its
execution vas so great that council has
never attempted to enforce it, Their desire
TO do something toward the abolition
Of this class of nuisances, however, was
accomplished by reason of the selection of
a wrong method.
During the past five or six years | had
given extensive study and investigation TO
the subject of house drainage for this city,
and with the object of assisting council in
the work, and of making such suggestions
as arose from my medico-sanitary knowl-
edge Of the requirements for economy and
safety tCithin the house, as we'll as along
streets AMI lanes, addressed council and
the sanitary board a letter, specially re-
questing an audience, so that might give
them the benefit of my discoveries and
point ont any dangers connected with any
proposed stem. Council seemed to think
they hal knowledge enough of the subject
without any advice from me; and so no
opportunity has ever been afforded me as l
requested.
Where the life of Savannah is the stakes
any one individual is of too Insignificant
importance 70 be allowed To stand in the
way; and neither council or any other
power shall prevent my appeal 10 that
universal practical intelligence which ex-
lists In every educated community.
Now for the main subject of this article.
| The Warning plans involve very extensively
the laying of the house drain mains in our
| streets. If these mains are laid in the mid
| die of the street, and the street is afterward
| paved, any requirement of getting to the
| pipes or making house drains connections
| involves extensive tearing up of the pave
ments. II the drains are placed on one
| side of the street, those on the other side
will either have to put in second main on
their side, or they will have to cut the
| pavement clear across the street to make
| the connections. So much for this feature
| of the case.
Nov for the dangers: The closets being
In the rear of the tenement houses, the
| drain from the closet to the street main
must either be carried from the back OF the
| house to the street between floor and cell
| ing Of the house above the basement or
under the basement floor to get into the
| street main. IL it is carried between floor
| and ceiling, and by any accident or other
| cause a leakage occurs in this part of the
! pipe, the walls of the house become infil-
trated with these filthy percolations and are
| ruined, SO much so as to often breed
| malignant disease and require absolute
extraction from their section of the house
| If the pipe is carried under the basement
floor a leakage is not apt to be discovered
until the ground around is saturated and
| filed with filth and vermin, the pipes
choked and closed by focal accommodations
until they are simply breeding places for
| typhoid and diphtheritic diseases, and the
death Of some member of the family brings
about a tearing up of the cellar floor and a
| discovery Of the CHASTITY condition IN
| derlying it. These results are unavoid-
able if the closets remain in the rear
of the house. Another result not apprs.
hended, evidently, by council is, that the
| pririeS which we wish to break up will re-
quire. as substitutes for servants uses,
| closets in the basement, or Immediately
adjacent thereto, and which will never be
kept in order by the servants-tIe conse-
quence being that we will have delightful
| stink under our very noses from them.
But this committee of council will say a
good part OF these dangers can be avoided by
mo Uing the closets, ETC., to the front part
of the house! Now, as it will cost from
800 to $500 to move each one of, perhaps,
thousand or more closets from the backs
of the tenement houses, where they now
are, to the fronts, here will be an outlay OF
| 500, 900 to $500, 900 for this change alone,
which would be saddled on the house cwn-
ers, Independent OF the cost of the Wariug
plan itself, with its pipes, mains, etc.. in the
public highways.
Now, when council gets the closets to the
fronts Of the houses, where are they going
to put thems Out over the balconies, so as
to get them out of the body Of the house
and away from the sleeping rooms, as all
good sanitarians will advised They do very
well over a back piazza; but over front
one-well, not yeti
People of Savannah, this is very serious
problem you are considering, and you can't
afford to make mistakes. either as to life or
expense LOUIS A. FALLIGANT.