The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-11-23
READY TO BEGIN WORK.
SEWER CONTRACTORS WAITING on
ABSENT ALDERMEN.

Work Will Begin in Two Weeks At
ter the Contract Has Been Signed.
MIR. Bryan Says He Can Finish 1t
by June If the Council VIII Allow
the Upturning of the Soil in the
STRENGTHENING of Directing
Property Owners Tomorrow Night.
The signing of the house drainage con-
tract will have to be postponed to await the
return of the six members of the board
of aldermen who are now in Atlanta, the
chairman of the finance committee and the
chairman of the drainage committee being
among the number.
The manner in which payment will be
made to the contractors, whether in notes
or in cash, and the terms for which the
notes shall be issued, If that plan be adop-
ted, has not yet been decided. The contrac-
tors have stated that they are ready to
accept either notes or cash
Mr.. Joseph E. Bryan, who heads the
successful contracting combination, re-
turned from his home in Jacksonville yes
terday. Mr.. Bryan is anxious that the
contract be signed at once in order that
work may begin as soon as possible,
I'VE expect to begin work." he said yes
terday, within two weeks after the con-
tract is signed. 1t will take some little
time to get the force organized, and the
work well under way. After that time
we expect 10 push the work rapidly and
TO put in about twelve miles of sewers
a month, beginning with January. Our
intention was to complete the work by
June /, and l am satisfied that we can do
so if council will permit us to go ahead
with the work With a well organized
force and a plentiful supply of materials
on hand we can work twice as fast as I'M
der opposite conditions. If we are COM
PEELED to cease work April l we shall have
to begin all over again in November, and
much time will be lost" ~
The meeting of the Directing property
owners tomorrow night will Indicate the
strength of the opposition to the work as
now proposed by council. Mr.. Selig Mende1
and MIR. A. r. Fawcett were discussing
the subject on Bay street yesterday. Both,
as is well known, have announced them
selves strongly opposed to the present
plan though both say they are in favor
of house drainage under certain condi-
lions.
Mr.. Mendel advances two grounds of OPP
position. He is opposed to emptying the
sewage in the river in front of the city,
and he is also opposed to the whole work
being done in one year and the issue
of notes by the city to pay for it.
Let the council adopt a new plan," he
said. with the outlet at Fort Boggs. Then
let it undertake the work in sections, COM
pleting g. section each year and paying
for it out of the city budget for the year.
In that way it can avoid issuing notes
and the work could be done by our home
people. This would make the cost lighter
upon the property owners, as only one
section of the city would be taken up at
a time.
''The property owners of this city are
in no condition to pay $3.50, 600 for sewerage
connections in one year" declared Mr..
Fawcett. 1T will cost that much in ad-
dtion to the $3.50 600 which the system will
cost the city direct. In addition to the
house connections themselves it must be
remembered that there are several thou
sand houses which will have to be provid-
ed with water closets. This will
have to be done at the ex-
pense of the owners and largely
among a class of people who are not
accustomed to such conveniences and
where they will prove a constant source
of worry and expense. There are 1000 TO
5000 houses where such provisions will
have to be made. Estimating the cost
! at $50 each for 4.OO0 houses and you have
$4,000. Then there are 5000 or more
houses which already have, sewer connec-
tons which will have to make
| connection with the new system
| Estimating the cost at the low average of
| SIS per house, and you have $225O00 or a
total cost to the property owners for house
connections of nearly $3.50 900. Every sensi-
BILE man in the city of Savannah, knows
| that the property owners are in no condi-
ton to bear such a burden in times like
| these"