The record-union., 1893-05-24
THE WATER MEETING TONIGHT.

The water meeting to be held tonight
under the auspices of the City Trustees
ought to be sharp, short and decisive-as
final as such an advisory meeting can be.
The cranks should be conspicuous by
their absence. The only difficulty is that
those who are of that order of beings
never recognize themselves. We have
had twenty years of talk on this water
question but no action, and it is there
fore not unreasonable on the part of the
people to demand that right now some
thing shall be done in the way of per-
formance
There are, and will be, probably, until
we abandon it, citizens who defend our
present system of water supply; they de-
clare that our river water is better than
that of Cincinnati, St. Louis, or of any
other city drawing water from rivers;
that our streams have mountain snow
sources, only few miles distant, and that
these sources are reasonably free from con-
under the present system, and its public
health has never suffered impairment be-
cause of the water supply; that it follows,
therefore, that we can continue the pres
ent method of securing water and get
along just as well as in the past
1t is disagreeable to have to meet these
ayotS tbair
require statements of fact that we do not
wish to publicly make. 1t must suffice
to say that the appearance of the water
we use is bad for the city and constitutes
chief reproach; that the sources are not
free from contamination, and that the
settlement of the country along river
routes more and more impairs the purity
OF the water supply; that in the imme-
diate vicinity OF the city there are suf-
ficient causes tending to the degeneracy
of the water to warrant its abandonment:
that the detritus-charged fluid cats out
the pumping machinery badly, neces-
stating constant and costly repairs; that
the machinery is itself of a character that
must have large reinforcement very soon
if the present system is retained; that
the pumping plant is liable at any time to
break down and create a water famine ::
that the moral effect of the introduction
OF clear, pure water will more than COM
pensate the people for any possible out
lay that may be made to secure it.
Moreover. the pipe system is badly
clogged with depositions from the pres
ent water, and very soon the major por-
ton of the pipes will have to be over
hauled to effect their clearance, unless we
can send clear water through them.
1t is also true that the pipe system
above Tenth or Twelfth streets is wrong
end to" for the effective operation of the
present pumping works; with a new
supply coming in from the east this de-
feet will be very greatly remedied, and
will work a great economy in removing
to a distant time the necessity for putting
in a pipe system in the east end that does
not so greatly diminish in the pipe
diameter as the distance from the works
increases.
What the meeting tonight should do is
to resolve that a new system is impera-
lively demanded; that it ought to be
adopted, no matter what the cost, within
the next twenty days; that the work of
introducing it should begin within two
months. and that before this time next
year we should be receiving clear, pure
water throughout the most of the city.
Fortunately it is not necessary for the
city to gointo debt to secure new supply
at least no such obligations are to be as
sumed as cut any material figure. Capt.
tai is willing to bid to supply US with
good water for spot sum, payable at
stated periods, and this sum can be had,
as now, from the water income of the city.
The municipality is not asked to give
over control of the system of supplying
vster to the people; it is to have the