The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-08-03
SICKNESS BREEDING PAssAIo.
Mr. Ellington Will Fight Water AS
PLY sicians, Views.

Il 80
sessments PLY sicians, Views.
Mr.. Horace w. Ellington of No. 565 Jer-
sey avenue, waited upon Health Inspector
Benjamin yesterday afternoon to ascertain
from him if possible. if the health authorities
proposed taking any action toward remedy
ing the filthy condition OF the water.
Mr.. Ellington is the son of Mr.. Seth Bill
iington the retired soap manufacturer, who
was one of the largest property owners in
the city, Mr. Horace Ellington still owns
a great deal of property and before leaving
the Inspectors office he declared that in
future he would not pay any water assess
ment levied against his property.
He further declared that he was tired of
paying the city good money for filthy.
muddy, disease breeding water. He pro-
poses contesting the right of the city to i'm
pose a tax for water while it endangers
ones life TO drink it and which is unfit to
battle in.
WANTS A PUBLIC MEETING.
He also informed the Inspector that he
stood ready to subscribe 800 or more, II
necessary. toward the expense of a mass
meeting at which property owners may ex-
press their views of the present water sup
ply. condemn it and the officials who for
political purposes hesitate to take any action
in relation to procuring a new supply.
Stree and Water Commissioner Harding
also q. / on Inspector Benjamin yesterday
afternoon. He acknowledged to the In
spector that the water is in a filthy con-
dition and stated hat numerous appeals
had been made to him to do something
which will render Passaic water fit
to drink. The Street and Water Commits
,sioners nave a large force OF men at work
blowing off hydrants, and this, to some ex-
tent, has improved the water down town
- IL TTs1I 100000, - -. 1.A ~ ,NA.,AA
tendency. Water on the Hill comes directly
from Belleville, as pumped from the Passaic.
WHY I'LL WATER IS FILTHY.
AS a result it is not give the same oppor-
tunitv to settle as the water drained from
the High Service reservoirs. The result is
that the mud, filth and sewage drawn in at
BelleviIle is delivered to people on the
Heights.
People may cry water schemes all they
wish to- said Health Inspector Ben
jamin, emphatically, this morning,
s'but the condition of our water
Is no laughing matter. | have never
believed that our water was unhealthy
until this summer. but its condition is such
now that it is causing sickness. | do not
wish to be understood as declaring that un-
less a new supply is procured we viii encoun-
ter an epidemic, but | do insist that it is ac-
countabie for much of the sickness in the
city.
"AnOCner 1ndlSpuUaDle 1dcC Is bhdU IL Is
having a damaging effect upon the city. If
something is not done Jersey City will suffer
to a greater extent than is now imagined.
The water has q terrible odor and is alive
with decomposed animal matter"
M PHILLIPS REPORT.
It was reported at the City Hall this
morning that the discovery had been made
that someone had been tampering with the
water in the High Service reservoirs.
This was supposed to account for the roily
condition of the water down town. No effort
was made to explain a like condition OF the
water taken from Belleyille.
City Chemist George Phillips, when spoken
to of the condition, OF the water this morn
lug, said
Il have in my possession samples of
water . taken from the various
sections of the city and from the Belleviile
and High Service reservoirs. l will submit
an analysis to the Street and Water Board
next week.
acknowledging that our water is in q
bad conass;on, how are we to remedy
it! The R~.ockaway water shed is
thickly ENssEated and a few years
later it will BIZ contaminated almost as bad
as the Passaic. OF course there is sewage in
our water but not to such an extent that ii
is damaging to health. From Drs. Dickinson
aud Smith and other physicians l have
learned that our water is not causing any
disease. Our water, to my mind, is as pure
as the water furnished in other
cities. Rivers in the summer Time
purge or cleanse themselves and that is what
Is earsiag the Passaic TO DO roily. The smell