The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1894-09-10
LAST EDITION
Fill TER FACTS.
The Lawrence Plant and the
Big Things Credited to II.

LAWRENCE, Mass. Sept. 1o.-A ,repre-
sentative OF The NEWS has Jviewe1 with
mingled emotions the much talked about
Lawrence filter bed.
1t certainly is a beauty. but II lawrence
people knew how many nice things were
said about it in Providence they would be
sstonished to learn what q treasure they
had.
1t is very nice toy Is the filter bed.
THE NEWS representative came here to
Lawrence and viewed it from the top OF q
handsome turfed embankmenr, down
which the dogs of the vicinity like to run
in play and scamper In sportivc glee
across the glistening surface Of the bed
when they get chance.
When the dogs do this they mat down
the delicate top dressing cf sand and the
filter bed has to be scraped of pretty deep
in consequence. This Is in addition to
the regular scraping and the covering
which the bed has to undergo to keep it
in condition. IL you let q shadow fall ona
natural filter bed it has 10 be scraped off.
To be sure, Lawrence folks, as rule,
think their bed is fine but those who
know anything about 10 simply remark
that it rs yet an experiment and nothing
is to be judged from 1t.
The Lawrence bed covers two rnd one
half acres and has capacity OF 5000, 200
gallons a day. II costs $4,000. A bed
large enough for the City of Providence,
capacity IL not less than 800, 900 gallons,
would cost, II built as cheaply as the
Lawrence bed, not less than s210-
600. City Engineer Shedd tells the
City Council that he can build it for $685.
900, but it would take q good deal of
estimating to convince the Lawrence peo-
pie that anybody could build filter bed
cheaper than they did-because of certain
advantages, heretofore pointed out in THE
NEWS, in the Lawrence situation.
As o matter OF fact filter bed oSly
will probably not be big enough for
Providence by the time it is done and be-
sides $4,000 or $4,000 an acre is too
modest esiimate-although Lawrence did
1t ut that price.
Professor William p. Mason of the Rem
scllaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, N. Y,
gives some interesting figures bearing
upon this In the current Engineering
News. In this communication it appears
that in London the filter plant cost from
$24OOO to $4,000 an acre depend
ing on the nature OF the ground
and the latter figure being the
nearer the usual cost. The Southwark
and Vsuxhall plants cost $50 1000 an acre,
exclusive of the land. I'm Zurich, two
covered filters cost 5000. Perhaps
Providence can build filter cheaper than
it can be done anywhere else on earth,
but the Lawrence people don't believe 1t.
There has been good deal ofInonsenss
written and talked about the sanitary
results of the filtration system aimee It
was ests blished at Lawrence but like
every other claim for the bed these~p<N,-
ments remain to be proved.
For instance, Lawrence suffered from
typhoid fever before she filtered her water.
Since using filtered water she has had no
typhoid fever.
But it appears that Lowell had typhoid
fever at the same time Lawrence did.
Lowell, too, has had no typhoid fever
since, but she does not filter her water.
She uses it just as she always did.
Moreover, the much quoted ante-hltra-
tion typhoid was at its height up on the
hills of Lawrence where the residents did
not use the city water, that has since been
filtered, at all.
So it appears that typhoid fever comes
to town and goes out again without being
entirely accountable to the city water for
it's movements.
In fact, in this as in other respects, just
what natural filtration has done for Law
renee IL at present matter OF speculation
and experiment only. It's first
cost is known, but nothing
can be proved IA to its
cost OF maintenance as IL has been In
operation only year, covering one single
winter. How far it is efficient is yet to be
demonstrated. But reference 10 easily
obtained reports demonstrates that
no natural filter system has
succeeded in securing n fixed
percentage OF purity, even though an oc-
sional percentage may be as high ~
required. To build q bed that does not
maintain fixed as well as q sufficient
percentage is folly, and while the Law
renee experts have hopes, they have as
vet no facts TO be used in evidence.