Los Angeles herald., 1891-06-27
BAD WATER.
How the West End People
Are Treated.
A Vile Liquid Received at I'm
certain Hours.
What Some of the People Say About
the Matter.
A Series of Interviews with Indignant
Women-Little Water, But Plenty
of Dirt-The Facts In the Case.

A HERALD reporter has spent portions
of several days since the last meeting OF
the council in visiting the West End,
where the worst water supply in the
state is in order. Owing to the time OF
the day the locality was visited there
were few OF the gentlemen who reside in
that ill-starred locality at home, and
while the ladies were usually more
than willing to complain about the
water and the company, they had the
usual feminine dread OF having their
names appear in print, and more than
the usual dread OF the corporation
which controls the water supply. When
told that their statements were wanted
for publication in the HERALD they in
sisted, in majority OF cases, that they
would not say word if it was to be
printed as coming from them. When
assured that their names would not
appear, they very readily told of their
difficulties in getting enough aqua
pura(?) for cleanliness and comfort.
81 don't need to say word," said one
little lady. Gust look at this water"
and she drew tumbler of water from
the faucet, which flowed with extreme
deliberation. The tumbler when filed
presented very cloudy appearance, the
water being filled with small specks and
fbers, apparently of vegetable matter
in an advanced stage of decom-
position. The odor of the water
was not so strong as to
be offensive, but was certainly far from
pleasant. This lady said that the flow
of water was somewhat stronger late at
night, and seldom stopped altogether,
though there were times when she could
get no water at all. She kept two bar
rels, just outside her kitchen window,
which she filled with the aid of hose
and allowed the water to settle therein,
using it for drinking purposes, and draw
ing therefrom when the water gave out
altogether.
II will show you one bad effect of the
irregularity of the water supply right
here" said one lady, after several indig-
nant comments upon those people living
lower down who ran lawn sprinklers
and thus cut off the water from people
who needed it for cooking purposes. She
led the way to darkened bed room
where boy of IL was lying asleep in
one OF those complicated positions as
sumed by Juveniles while slumbering
The reporter did not see any connection
between the boy and the water supply
until the lady explained that some one
had to remain awake until late hour
every night in order to run enough
water into tubs and barrels for the fol-
lowing days supply.
'Yes, we have lots of trouble to get
- l.1x ,ha,.
we do get it it is not fit to use, hardly.
See here, am just going to clean this
filter which we use for our drinking
water. l want to show you how impure
the water is." She thereupon exhibited
the upper part of the filter, which con-
tanned quarter of an inch of sediment
of greasy appearance, while the sides
of the filter bore watermarks at different
levels similar in appearance 10 those
upon the sides of wash-boilers after
dirty garments have been boiled there
in. "We clean the filter out every time
we fill it," said the lady, land that rep
resents the sediment from four gallons
OF pure city water!" The accent was
upon the word pure.
'Water?" remarked an aggressive
looking lady higher up on the hill.
"Young man, if you didn't look young
and inexperienced I'd make you suffer
for just mentioning that word. Look
here" She pointed to a water faucet
in the yard under which was lying
book with a gay red cover. ''There
that book has laid for week with that
thing opened as wide as l could open it,
and not thing has fallen on the cover
except dust. l want to show it to the
man when he comes with the bill for
water. No, we don't have any water
supply here except an express wagon, a
horse, four barrels and my boy, James,"
Jamie" she added, in a louder tone,
Sits time for you to hitch up and go for
some more water"
James appeared from somewhere,
growing, and went around to the back
of the house after the water supply
while his mother, in a more moderate
tone, talked to the reporter, and ex-
tracted promise that her name should
not appear in print, alleging as a reason
that the water company had promised
better things for the near future, and
she did not wish to anger them.
The next house contained German
citizen, whose English was smsll," as
he expressed it, and whose vocabulary,
as related to the water supply, contain
ed numerous references to a dam,
"Himmel," "Donner and bitten, :"
ETC., from which the reporter concluded
that he thought the water company's
dam insufficient, and relied upon the
Providence of heaven or thunderstorm
for a supply.
Other residents expressed themselves
to the same effect as those above men
toned, with gloomy monotony which
gave the reporter such fit of the blues
that it took visit to place where
they dealt in liquids not more than 80
per cent. water, according to the chem
ical tests, to restore his usual good spir-
it's. From all of which it would seem
that the health officer was stating the
case mildly when he said the water
supply was insufficient for the locality.
In all the members of thirty-two fami-
lies were interviewed, and the verdict
against the water company was almost
unanimous.