San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1896-01-27
Contractor Franklin Explains.

ment in refence to the drain now be-
ing constructed on Main Ave. and
Main plaza to take the place Of the
present acequia, are inaccurate.
AS these inaccurate statements no
doubt arose from lack of informa-
ton, permit me to enlighten you.
You say: "The sewer expert
ment on Main plaza will lessen
the flow of water for irrigation for
the gardens on South Flores street,
and the manholes will be breath
ing places for the deadly sewer
gas"
This is not to be a sewer, but a
covered drain to take the place of
the present open one. There will
be no dimunition In the flow Of
water; precisely the same amount
will pass as heretofore. The mar
ket gardens will not suffer. At
present this ditch is covered with
s and 10-inch planks. In the $50
feet to be improved, there are over
fourteen hundred cracks from a
quarter-inch to one inch in width
and five feet long, through which
the deadly sewer gas referred to
If there Is any-is now passing;
whereas there will be hereafter but
five manholes with openings, and
these located in the intersecting
streets and not directly in front of
doors and under windows, as Is the
case now. 1t Is to abate this
very nuisance, as we'll as:to materi-
ally widen the carriage way on
Main avenue from Commerce
street to Houston street-that
abutting property owners are pay
ing a large proportion of the cost
of this improvement.
Again, "Why didn't the city wait
for the sewers before tearing up
the ditch on Main plaza and max
ing a sewer that will prove a null
sance?" AS before explained this is
a drain and not sewer. The sani-
tary sewer will be constructed
hereafter and the connecting pipes
from waterclosets, etc., will be con-
nected with them, instead Of
emptying their filth into the ditch
as they do now. There are many
of these connections whose exis-
tence was known only to the prop
erty owner and the plumber who
put them in; they have been
spotted now, and their positions &C
Gently located by the city inspector,
so that none can escape hereafter.
Hundreds have said to me that
this drain is entirely too small
that it will not pass the normal
water in the ditch. Now this is the
business of the engineers and not
mine, but 1 will say this, that from
their examinations and calcula-
tions the engineers determined
that 2i-inch pipe was suffi-
large. The drain now
being constructed has exactly
the capacity of a pipe OF
"a inches, and one of u inches,
laid side and side, and bes ides,
having a perfectly smooth bottom,
there is less friction. In many
places there was but little water
way left in the old ditch-At Com
merce street there was across the
ditch 9-inch water pipe and a D.
inch gas pipe. From under these
took out half a cart load of
broken stone, and in a length of
80 feet, four wagon loads of trash.
This was Veritable dam. There
is another dam of gravel, stone
and trash under the planks at
Houston street yet to be removed.
Many other hundreds have said
that the material being used is of
no account-that concrete will not
do. will simply say that there
are thousands of miles of just such
drains and sewers in Germany.
Some Of the principal sewers of
Paris are of concrete. The Nor
mons are supposed to know a thing
or two; the sewers of Salt Lake
City are of concrete. Some of those
of Washington and other cities
are the same. | constructed the
Martinez street storm water sewer
in just the same way, of the same
material, more than year ago. 1t
is not only in perfect condition,
but is becoming more and more
hard every day. / have such con-
fidence in my work and the ma
terial 1 am using, that 1 have
given bond equal to more than the
cost of the work for the main
tenance of this drain for one year.
THOs. FRANKLIN,
Civil engineer and contractor.