The herald., 1896-05-04
A PL UMBING CASE ECHO
Something Of the Crude Methods 10
Vogue ia This City
The Boston Bottle Trap and the Trap
But Theoretical Evidence IL 10
Claimed, Was Produced

A letter from William Henderson. VINO
figured recently in a plumbing case IN
| the courts and against whom a decision
| was rendered, writes as follows:
Editor Herald: AS I am sure that l
was in the right in the late plumbing
! case, which was decided against me.
and am also sure that the public should
know something of the crude plumbing
! methods in vogue here, I would like to
make a few plain statements In your lib
eral, just and impartial paper.
The bottle trap use in place OF the
! unreliable So trap is no new affair, nor
| have patent upon 1t, as stated in the
Times. That trap has been in use for
many years and is called the Boston
| bottle trap. 1t was the only trap that
stood the test at the series Of expert
ments conducted at Boston from March
| to June, 1882. for the national board OF
| health of the United States to deter
valve traps or my system Of anti-syphon
pipes should be adopted. AS a result Of
those experiments my system was adopt
ed and is still in general use throughout
the United States. 1t has remained for
the ignorant officials of this city to at
efficient" and the old and unreliable rs"
trap Is useful" and legal" When the
matter was brought to trial proved that
the local methods of using rs" traps
were utter failures, and that the trap
arranged according to my plan was a
complete success.
None but theoretical evidence was
produced by the other side. The deci-
sion of the police court was that was
guilty of Intellectually ventilating GER
tain traps. On appeal Judge Smith at
first decided that instead Of being i'm
! properly done my work had been most
| efficiently done and that the case had
/ been uCCluCd to he c~iy
He therefore granted a new trial. The
| same theoretical evidence was again ad-
duced, that the wastepipe from the
bowl would stop UP and prevent ven-
! tilation; and again l was found guilty on
theoretical evidence.
Practical men know that water, soap
and Soapsuds are useful for clearing
pipes rather than for choking them up,
and that such stoppages as do occur are
caused by hair, lint, pins. buttons.
matches. paper ETC., which lodge in the
IS" trap, the natural lodging place for
! such things.
The horizontal pipe is not apt to be
stopped up by such things. In proof of
this submit the following from a let
ter of ]. S. Slauson Of this city: THE IL
inch horizontal pipe conveying the waste
water from three washbowls running
3S feet, recently taken out in replumb-
ing my house, has been in use since 1873
| never has been stopped or repaired
! and has given no trouble" Mr.. ]. S.
Vosburg makes similar statement con-
| cerning a pipe with fixtures similar to
the one in the case on trial, and which
! put in his house eight years ago.
1t was I who fought and won the bat
tie against the idiotic practice of having
vent pipes to allow the foul gases of cess
| pools to escape into the open air with
out being purified by percolation
through the soil.
This other plumbing reform was toe
much; must become Daniel for judg-
ment. A way whereby we can find out
whether my trap arrangement can be
syphoned by the simultaneous flow Of
water from the closet and washbowl. as
sworn to by E. Burgoyn, plumbing in
spector, and c. Fl. Merrill. hereby chaI-
lenge them to proceed with me and wit
nesses to the house in question and to
use their utmost practical endeavors to
unseal the trap at the bath by any such
means as they stated would unseal it. II
they succeed in unsealing 1t by any such
means I will give them $50. If they fail
I shall be vindicated.