Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-12-31
The "Dally Heraldv
TUESDAY,. DEC. 81, 1889.

Lawrence streets
TUEsDAY. DEC. 81, 1889.
Mr. Glassell ON the sewer PROPOSE
tion.
Elsewhere appears somewhat lengthy
from Mr.. A. G. Glassell,
who avails himself of the privilege &C.
corded by the Council to the citizens and
taxpayers to discuss the several features
OF the suggestions of the Board of En-
gineers. Our City Fathers doubtless
desired to avail themselves of the general
Judgment of our people before submitting
the matter to vote.
It will be observed that Mr.. Glassell
calls attention to the extremely expen-
sive character of the Ballona Outfall
Sewer, the estimated expense of which
has been increased from SAC, 900, the
proposition voted down by the tsxpay-
ers at the recent election, to $685. IT'S.
The addition is quite enormous, and in
the judgment of the average Angeleiio no
good reason can be shown for It.
We had previously pointed odt the
largely expanded estimates of the cost of
the projected sewer system, and also
called attention to the fact that the en-
gineers themselves admit that the best
disposition of the sewage Of city like
Los Angeles, in view of the peculiar char
acteristics OF its surroundings, was to
apply it to purposes of irrigation. Mr..
Glassell correctly points out that the
Messrs. Herring and his associates we're
only withheld from jecisively recon-
mending such use of the sewage by the
legal fact assumed by them that the city
had no right to pollute the waters of a
stream like the Los Angeles river.
1t is here that not only the arguments
but the personality of Mr.. Glassell as a
distinguished lawyer come into play.
Heasserts that this assumption of the com.
mittee is purely gratuitous, and that there
are two methods by which the good Off
ces of the Los Angeles river can be
availed of in the winter season, on the
few occasions in which it will be necessary
to rely upon them. One of these meth
DDS is to purchase several hundred acres
of land aligning the river, and the other
is the familiar process of condemnation.
He also reminds the Council that Mr..
Tweedy, who owns two thousand acres
of land to the south of the city not only
offered to receive the sewage but to pay
for the privilege CT using it.
The HERALD showed, some time ago,
that the whole sewage of the great city
of Berlin is disposed of on sewer farms
located respectively six, eight and twelve
miles from the city. In that article the
opinions of corps of distinguished Eng
lish engineers who had inspected the
system were given to the purport that
no detriment to health was noted from
the contiguity Of these sewer farms to
the neighboring residents. In the same
connection was quoted the opinion OF
DIR. Frankland, an eminent English ply
sician, who said that one acre, properly
drained, would render innocuous the
excreta of $500 persons. On the suppo-
sition that an acre should be allotted to
each thousand Inhabitants, it was
demonstrated in these columns that a
sewer farm of one hundred acres would
be ample to dispose of all the exuvia
OF this city for some years to come.
Mr.. Glassell devotes some space to
the remarks of the Board of Engineers
concerning the deposition of the sewage
in the ocean, and as lawyer he gives
it as his opinion that the city could be
enjoined by owners of property adjoining
the mouth of the sewer. But probably
the greatest point made in his commu.
nication is the onerous expense of build.
ing the Ballona Outfall. We have seen
these figures already swollen from $44O,-
900 to 1896. 775. What guarantee have
we that We shall not see thislatter sum
largely increased? The iron pipes by
which it is proposed to carry the sewage
out 1000 feet into the ocean will also
be exposed to constant rust, and will
have to be renewed at great expense.
Mr.. Herring seems to have been paid
large sum to increase the already ex-
cessive outlay fof the Ballona sewer by
over quarter of a million dollars. At
the fame time he has been careful to
preserve his reputation as an engineer
by making an elaborate argument in ia.
vor.of using the sewage for irrigation,
The chances of ADgelefios getting an
effective sewer system will unquestion-
ably be largely increased by separating
the proposition of sewering the city
from that which proposes the building of
the expensive annex to Ballona. The
voter should have the privilege of de-
claring for just what he wants, and if
that is not conceded to him the chances
are imminent that the necessary two
thirds majority will not be obtained.
IT is said that at the opening per.