The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-05-30
THE COUNTY DRAINS.
Reply to the Grand Jury-Drains
Near the City Practically Cleaned

Reply to the Grand Jury-Drains
Near the City Practically Cleaned
Out.
Editor Morning News: An editorial
in the Morning News of May q, en-
titled County Drainage" and based up
on an extract taken from the presentment
of the grand jury. March term
superior court does great injustice to
the drainage committee Of the county com
missioners. AS matter of fact the entire
convict force Of the county, except a small
force at work on road Improvement and
at the poor farm, the latter consisting
chiefly of boys, women, and of the men
who, from their physical condition, are un-
able to perform hard labor,
have since April 1 been at work clean
ing the drains and bitches in the vicinity
| of the city. This work has progressed as
| rapidly as the force engaged and the char
acter OF the work would permit. 1t is now
practically completed there remaining
| only some little work south of the city
! which will soon be completed. AS the
work of cleaning the drains and bitches
| was undertaken this year later than US
ual. which delay was upon my recon-
| mendation and for sanitary reasons, l feel
| called upon In justice to the other MEM
| bers of the committee to here explain.
The sandy nature of the soil, the tramp
| ing of cattle the carelessness OF nersons
| living along the bitches in closing them
| for wagon crossings, the rapid growth of
| all forms of water plants all tend to
| rapidly obstruct the drains when cleaned.
| Experience has taught that when the
| drains are cleaned early In the year, that
| by the time the rainy season begins, June
| July, August and September, they are so
| INSTRUCTED as to seriously interfere with
| the rapid discharge of the surface water,
| and thus to defeat in great part the OBJ
| ject Of cleaning them out This year the
| work was begun later with the view OF
having the drains In best condition when
| they would be most needed. This has
| been accomplished. To-day all the drains
| and bitches within a radius of four miles
of the city, excepting only a few directly
| south of the city, which will soon be
! finished, are in better condition than thew
| have ever been, and this, too, at the sea :
son of the year when they are most
| needed.
The canals adjacent to the city. filled
| with aquatic vegetation" as mentioned
in your extract from the pre-
we're thoroughly Cleaned an out jury s5Y
the work finished before the report OF
| grand jury was presented But few OF our
citizens have any idea of the vast work
| required to drain Chatham county. Aside
from the larger canals draining the mann
| swamps, which work alone will REQUIRE
| years TO complete, using the entire con-
There is a vast sytem of smaller canals
f6a op ear recurring ring months of la
| The work OF cleaning out the drains
must for the reasons given above, be per-
| formed each year. This, of course, taken
for the work on the large canals, To re-
| spond to all the demands for cleaning
| out bitches in the county would alone
| require more work than the entire chain
| gang could perform.
The policy of the drainage committee
| is TO push the work on the main
| canals as rapidly as possible and to keen
| the drains in the vicinity of the city clear.
| To perform this work. and at the same
ume TO promptly respond to all the claims
! made by other sections Of the county is