The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1891-08-18
THAT FILTHY WATER.
What a News" Inyesti-
gator Saw Along and
in the River.
BLACKER THAN PRINTERS INK.
The Fabled Siyx No Comparison to
1t, and the Smell Made ASA
feiida Like Unto the
Perfumes of
Araby.

The sickening and awful odor that
comes from the Passaic water as il passes
out OF the hydrants, has been noted so
universally aud the water itself as dis
ease breeder has been so often con-
demned. that the story is ''chestnut,"
Dut it is one of those "chestnuts" that
warrant constant repetition. To learn,
II possible. the cause OF this pad smell.
aud the dirty and often filthy condition
of the water, made quiet investigation
on my own account yesterday It was of
course a superficial examination, and its
result was simply the views any ordinary
man would arrive at. Chemical analysis
was not attem pied, for that has been
thoroughly dlgested by such eminent
professors as Drs. Leeds and Austin.
many times. with results of strong con-
demnation Of the water the people in this
city must drink and cook with.
/ went to Haterson to begin my obser-
vations. l FIRST went TO the Midland
Railroad bridge, and from this structure
/ cnzed at the Passa.c river. 1t was a
sight The stream at this point is about
one hundred yards wide, and with the ex-
ception of the narrow mid-channel is a
swallow stream.
From the north bank of the stream
nearly to the middle, the river appeared
TO be huge frog pond 1t was covered
with a Shiny green scum that suggested
fever and ague and quinine pills. Be-
meath this green matter the water was
as black as printers ink, and appeared TO
be composed of q sticky substance. 1t
was extremely sluggish in movement and
the water marks on the banKs indicated
that the river was quite as low as indi-
Gated by yesterdays despatch in the
NEWS.
Nearer the middle Of the river the cur
rent was more swift. but the hue of the
water was just the same, black as styx.
In fact. it was like this In all directions
as far as l could see- Eyerywhere the
same dirty. black, typhoid Myer-looking
element. A smell came from 1t that was
jntolerable. IL can only be likened to
the repulsive odor that greets the nostrils
when long closed vault in a cemetery is
opened TO receive another tenant. The
smell was musty and foul The odor that
comes from Mil Creek in this city was
eau de cologne in comparison.
HORROR on HORRORS HEAD.
While l stood on the bridge mentally
wondering how many grayeyards pay
dividends because of this condition OF
tine water the people in this city drink,
discovered a new horror. The fetid car
cass of a bloated dog came drifting with
the current from the west side of the
bridge. A drowned dog Is not calculated
10 be portion Of mans daily subsistence
and at its best is not "thing of beauty
and joy for" f1ve seconds. but when one
watches II float with the current toward
the intake that receives the water one
must drink or buy beer, rebellious feel
ing is nearly certain to take place in the
internal workings Of the human machin-
cry aud dinner is lost
During the half hour / remained on
this bridge saw many specimens OF sew
age 4 float by. and samples of nearly
everything vegetable or animal that
could float helped TO make the mass.
PATERsog's CONTRIBUTIONS
Paterson drains its sewers iuto the
river just above this railroad bridge and
all the waste OF manufacturing city of
10000 population is emptied into it. To
describe this In detail would fill page of
THE JERSEY CITY NEWS. For a final test
Isecured near fence white picket. l
carefully brushed off the little dust on 1t
aue then descended to the river. /
plunged the picket into the water and
held it there two or three minutes
and then withdrew it. The
picket was covered thckly with a black
substance which when examined closely
by the naked eye proved 10 be a mass of
atoms, ranging in size from the point of a
pin to the head of one. ] held the stick,
which ten minutes before had been clean
and emitted no odor, to my nostrils aud a
most disagreeable smell came from it.
What the result would have been If the
picket had been in the water week can
not even be surmised.
From the bridge l made my way to
Paterson City and went to the Passaic
Falls. Here found every indication of
a drouth. The perpendicular cliffs over
which the water had for centuries leaped
to the basin below were dry and gray.
Where millions OF gallons OF water had
dashed down the abyss with
miis h away, way bare Sare-footed ed boys sai' were
playing tag on the rocks. At the
extreme north end of the chasm three
tiny streams half an incn thick and six
inches wide fell over the rocks, and that
was all there was of the great Passaic
Falls. A very bad odor was plainly dis
cernable. The water at this point was
darker than it should be, but IL did not
have the filthy appearance l observed be-
low the point where the sewers empty in
the river.
INQUIRY of several persons who live in
the neighborhood elected the fact that
they thought the color OF the water above
the falls was due to decayed vegetable
matter and the muddy condition OF the
bottom. They said that some days the
smell from the falls was very bad, but
that it did not compare with that at the
bridge. They were unanimous in saying
they had never seen the water in the river
SO low as it is now.
AT PAssAIc CITY
When left Paterson went to Passaic
City on the Erie road, aud took shor
walk along the river bank. The water &
this point found to be almost as bad IS
at the Midland bridge IN Paterson. lt
was just as black ana smelled just as
foul, but there did not appear to be such
a vast amount OF extraneous matter in IL.
repeated the experiment OF placing a
clean stick in the water. and when
withdrew it / found it to be much
stained, but the matter that adhered was
not SO thick. and the particles could not
be so readily diSceruea
could not help comparing it TO strained
and unstrained soup. The substance and
strength was in tine river at Passaic, but
the material that created it had gradu-
ally sought the bottom of the river in the
Journey TO Passaic City. Still found in
my cursory examination what appeared
to me to be most unwholes0me and un-
healthy condition of the wafer. 1t would
have required extreme thirst TO induce
me to drink the water at this point
There was the same disagreeable smell
here as described at the other points of
observation. The water was perceptibly
very low and the current appeared TO be
unusually sluggish.
VISION OF THE FUTURE
While contemplated this condition of
things. wondered in what horrible state
fLev would be when Passalc City com
plefes the contemplated sewers TO drain
f,osoafc Ciry inIO the PasSaic river I