Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-01-17
Pure Water.
TO the Editor of The Evening Star:

To the Editor of The Evening Star:
Water from the earliest times has been
regarded the symbol Of purity The
sparkling dew drop, the refreshing rain,
the bubbling spring, the dancing rivulet
the pellucid stream or lake. the Deep cold
well, the crystal snow, the glass-like ice
to the eye present the embodiment of
purity and healthfulness. 1t may be trans
parent and sparkling, grateful and refresh
ing, and yet this apparently pure health
giving water has carried in ages past and
is today carrying, disease and death to
H,yriads of the human race. Modern
science, with ruthless hands, tears away
the veil which hides from our unaided eye
the working of natures laboratory and dis
pels our fondest illusions. 1t teaches us
that the moss-covered bucket Is eu-
phemisnl for Misunderstanding diseases,
ard the life-giving element we SO eagerly
guam may be foul with pollution from sta
be, privy or defective sewer. Absolutely
pure water does not exist outside of the
chemists laboratory, perhaps not outside
OF the chemists ideal formula. Even the
Vapor in the atmosphere which surrounds
our earth is laden with impurities and rich
IN minute organic life. The gasses emanat-
ing from decaying organic matter rise in
the air and pollute water while in a state
OF Vapor
In the cloud form of vapor and rain, before
1t falls to earth, it is also contaminated by
smoke and the mineral fumes of factories
On the roofs of buildings it is again con-
taminated by vegetable growths. by paints
and by poisonous eXcreta of birds. On I'M
Cultivated grounds it is further polluted
with decaying leaves, rotting wood, dead
weeds and the putrefying remains of wild
animals. On cultivated grounds it dis
selves and carries along manures etc In
towns along the river, kitchen Stops butch
ers' offal, decomposing garbage, stable re-
I ant Of hHCr
AS water flows from the surface of the
earth, and from springs under the earth
forming streams and rivulets that wind
their devious way to the upper Potomac,
all the sources OF contamination here enum-
Grated unite to render it unfit for domestic
use. No wonder high medical authorities
have attributed one-third the diseases that
aiiiict humanity to the use of impure wa
ter.
The Importance. nay, the vital necessity
for pure water supply for our people
must be conceded. AS the city increases in
population the difficulty of procuring a
wholesome water supply and the dangers
OF pollution are correspondingly aug
n,ented.
1t is fondly imagined by many that the
purity of water can be positively deter
mined by chemical or biological analysis
While water in which gross impurities are
detected by either process is justly con-
demned as unfit for use, the reverse of this
axiom by no means follows.
Water analysed today and found unob-
jectionable may easily become foul with
pollution tomorrow. Again. water pur-
posely polluted with typhoid fever poison
has been pronounced of good quality by
chemical tests. Until we can recognize the
germs of the various filth diseases, the BIZ
illogical analysis of water can give only
negative results. There is every reason to
hope that success will crown the pains
taking efforts now being made to isolate
and determine other poisonous germs but
even then their exclusion from our water
supply must continue to be our only safe
guard. Upper Maryland is a well-Watered
state, and its surface along the upper Po-
tomac is not so thickly settled that suit
able area for wholesome supply cannot
be found. Such localities should be Sc
cured without delay and Zealously guarded
against contamination. 1t needs no argu-
n'ent to convince a thinking man that this
course is true economy. What ought to be
done iE ell cases should be done at once.
1t is we who are interested in this mat
ter, now in our own time and generation,
for what does 1t avail us that our city is
supplied with pure water twenty years
from now If at that time it be remarked of
us, Yes, l remember him we'll; he died of
typhoid fever more than a decade ago."
And 1t is an easy matter for Congress to
SC arrange the financial burden that part
of 1t shall fall upon those who will here
after participate in its benefits. Let Con-
gress guarantee to our citizens two SAM
tary requirements:
/. Purity-Absolute freedom from appar-
ent and possible, both present and future
tates undisputed control and watchful SUI
pervision of the watersheds and the sur
face area supplying it.
2. Quantity-Water in sufficient abund-
ance and cheap enough to be used freely
for domestic purposes by all classes and
the closing Of private wells and springs
which are always liable to pollution.
January IA, 1898. o. T. BEAUMONT.