The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-04-15
The Meadows Are a Modern
Gehenna, Where Fever
and Cholera May
terminate;
BROKEN SEWERS TO BLAME.
Private Enterprise Trying to Avert
the Danger, but the City Does
Nothing.

Roul0fy SlreeL, c0mluS DOWN ltoM tn0
hin, have had'their attention attracted OF
late, by the two gigantic pile-drivers which
have been erected within a few days,
on the north side OF the street at Colgate
street, and the ether further up the hill.
above the National Dock and Storage
Railroad CempaHP's trestle at the point
where Mill Creek eupties into the
Meadow. Montgomery street. at both
places. is Uttered with unsigntly piles OF
poles and brick and rusbie. while the
beauty () of the landscape has not been
frightened by the sight of the two
~derricks-one. probably, the largest IN
the State-which have reared aloft
their skeleton frames and throbbed ana
pulsed to the rhythmic time OF the as
cending and descending hammer.
WHY THEY R THERE.
While the ''spiIes" and the mounds OF
brick and stone are unsightly. they are.
nevertheless, an Indication of 40 1ndu stry
which has for les object the reclaiming OF
the Meadows from the grasp of the Tide
and the foetid waters of Mill Creek.
And therein lies a story which goes to
show the dereIicrion of our easily Board
OF Street and Water Goa commissioners.
As pointed out a short time ago In The
JERSEY CITY NEWS, the Meadows can ne
made a valuable portion of lana, once the
sodden ground is filled in and the water
drained from it. It is hardly fit for
habitatIon By 70 beings. yet. where
the biggest derrick now 8 lands. Will be
erected TWO tenement houses. built on
s%piles, for which purpose the pile driver
is there.
WHERE DRAINAGE Is BAD.
Stepping from the trolley car at Colgate
street, which t~huroughfare is more or
less the lively Imagination OF the Board
of Street and Water Commission
ers, q NEWS reporter yesterday walked
to the edge of The sink hole on the north
side of Montgomery street, and watched
the gang Of mep who were auchoring the
beams on which the derrick and Its at
teEdant engine rested.
The lot was full of water, in some
places being three feet deep. SO the re-
Porter was informed by a SON of John
Smith, contractor and builder, the owner
of the property, aud wno is about to
bufld the tenement houses in question.
A vsnturesome small boy had constructed
a rude raft of two boards and was guild
ing his craft about the stormy waters of
the miniature lake with O tree branch for
a steering pole. The small boy seemed
to delight ia his sport, and was enviodsly
watched by other small boys who stood
onfrhs banks aud yelled out at intervals
adyics as 20 how ne should manipulate
his vessel.
A BROKEN SEWER.
Looking aoWu into the lot, the reporter
water in the lake, but they didn't drain
for a,tittle' bit.
Where does all the water come fromf'
asked The reperter,nf Mr., Smiths son.
1T comes from the Meadows on the
other side of Montgomery street And fseEn
mp above, We drained out hundreds of
gallonso of water, but it scenes to come
up through tie ground in spite of us. We
have TO pile the ground in order to geta
solid foundation for our buildings. We
intend to erect two big tenemenss on the.
ground"
is there not a sewer to drain of the
water?n
WORK HERE To BE DONE.
"There Is a sewsr about fifteen feet
from the mouths of the drains, and it is
about seven feet from the pavement. But
it is broken in several places and Is prac-
tically worthless. II is proken, l believe,
above soasg oHlg ,"s. street So and just + 6 6aes ra her, e.
lis work IN draining off the
lands here. and that is why
the ground is flooded and the
Meadows have so much water in them
ala the time. The main sewer is. IL re-
member rightly, a i5-ipch corduit, and is
of burnt clay. 1t is practically worthless.
The drains you see are iron pipes, and
they are not able to help us any, owing TO
tho r~ottenness Of the sewers. SO up TO
MIL Creek, above the trestle and see how
MIL Greek drains the land, and you Will
get a better idea of how bad the sewerage
along here is"
MIL CREEK A PEST HOLE.
Acting on his suggestion, the reporter
went to the SPOT designated. There an
other derrick RAISED its bead, and a
swarm Of laborers was busily engaged in
manipulating the uHsightly looking
--tA fN fyn
into the soft ooZe OF the meadow, a dozen,
probably, of the blows of the 1~,S5O-pound
hammer of the pile-driver serving to send
the 'spile'' home" Just below, where
the plle-driver was thunderously driving
its toothpfcks into the ground, is a huge
iron pipe. 1t vornited forth a steady
stream of dark ooiored liquid, dirty, Ill
smelling ana vile. Over the meadows
were patches of fog, which the sun vainly
tried 10 dfssipate. and though the mist
doomed vaguely and shadow, the sew
erGl factories. which have recently been
erected on the Meadows, and over all,
hung the fever-breedihg atmosphere, a
spectre which may all too soon become a
hiaeous and threatening reality when
the hot days of summer are upon us. The
swarming laborers, the putting engine.
the feSounding hammer. the volume OF
nasty water. which contains in solution
all the filth and germs which are an ex-
cellent culture medium for cholera and ty-
phus. diphrheria aud other diseases,
made a picture of a modern Gehe ma,
lacking only the fires to make it wholly
so, and sven they were not waotfng
when one saw the volumes of smoke
pouring GU Of the factory wfndows.
e BAD LEGIsLATURE'S FAULT.
Yet il is not to be wondered ut that
such should be the case. 1t was sought
to abate the nuisance of Mill Creek,
probably the most disreputable piece of
water in any civilized community in the
world, Assemblyman Holmes of this
county introduced bill In the Legislature
which provided for the closing Of Mill
Creek, but it was killed In the Senate.
and, today, the greatest menace to the
health of the city is allowed to exist,
with cholera and typhus fever Knocking
for entrance at the city gates and max
ing Titanic. efforts TO enter.
HOW TO AVERT THE DANGER.
"WhfIe the building of factories and
the filing In by private corporations are.
in d measure. q great aid Ia the direction
of abaJfng the nuisance, !" said a gentle
man whoshas made q study of the sub
ject, lit lies in the power OF the city to
overcome it entirely, and thus aid the
enterprising firms who shave partially re-
claimed the land. Mill Creek could be
easily turned into a sewer and the lands
drained, The sewer on Montgomery
street should be repaired or rebuilt and
the value of the lands would be nnanc