The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-01-17
RAVINE ROAD SEWER
St. Lucy's Church Asks to
Have It Ripped Out and
Nuisance Stopped.
VICE CHANCELLOR PIYNEY AN EXPERT
Demonstrates the Possibility
OF Putting a Bend in Pipe
and Remedying the
Evil.
VICE CHANCELLOR PIYNEY AN EXPERT

"
Models of sewer connections were on
Vice Chancellor Pitney's desk today, IN
Chancery Chambers, and with them HIS
Honor showed lawyers and witnesses, en-
| gagged in a case before him, that besides
his accomplishments as a lawyer and a
jurist, he was perfectly at home with
| sanitary science as applied to sewers.
The case in question was that of st.
| Lucy,s R. C. Church against the Ravine
| Road Commissioners, T~heophilus Butts,
Edlow w. Harrison and Michael T. Con-
molly and the Mayor and Aldermen of Jer-
sey City3for the purpose of procuring a
mandatory injunction to compel the many
~endan to rip out the Ravine Road
Sewer at the interception with the Grove
| street sewer at Fifteenth street and stop
| the horrible smells in the neighborhood
of that section north of the Erie Rail-
road tracks.
The injunction proceedings came up a
| year ago before Chancellor McGiH, who
referred it to Vice Chancellor Pitney.
Only one days testimony was taken then
and today was the resumption of the
case. For the compliments appeared
Counsellor w. H. speer, Jr., and for the
defendants City Attorney John w. Queen.
The case in a nutshell is that in con-
~strueting the Ravine Road those
responsible have made a junction at the
point mentioned, Grove and Fifteenth
street, which has caused the Grove street
sewer to be practically useless in that it
cannot carry off the sewage matter, and
there arises stenehes which have en-
~dangered the health of the people of that
section. Schools have been seriously af-
fected by the lowering of the Grove
street eve at the point of inter-
section to permit the Ravine to
pass over it, which causes a Judgment of
filth which the flow in the sewer is UNI
able to carry off.
John McAuliffe, of No. 604 Grove street,
who have been very active in opposing
the sewer, and who made models of the
intersection for use in court, was the
first witness. He testified that at low
tide in the Grove street sewer on both
sides of the intersection, were only about
Is to 10 inches of water, whilst in the
section of the under the Ravlne
| sewer there was an accumulation of filth.
Charles Hill, of No. $40 Grove street,
said he had looked into the manhole of
the sewer when the other was in course
of erection. and had observed mud and
had detected smells. There was a great
quantity of dirt in the Grove street
sewer to the north of the intersection.
The trouble was, he said, the Grove
street sewer couldn't clear itself. He
had detected the smells after the build
ing of the Ravine sewer.
i ssWhat were these smells?" asked Law
yer Queen, in eross-examination.
"Oh, come ~interposed Vice Chancellor
| Pitney, hes not an expert at stenches,
unless he's been at Cologne. where, as the
lines rum
Hays, rags and hideous wenches
Distinguish Cologne with its seventy
Laughter.)
six separate and distinct stenches.' :,
Principal J. 7, Mackey, OF PUBLIC School
No q. at Twelfth street, was the next
witness. and he said that the children in
his school came from the section north of
the Erie tracks. Because of the smells
he had applied to the Board of Education
to repair the ~cesspools. Last June he had
three hundred children absent from school
because si%xty-nfne houses in which these
i children lived had cases of diphtherla and
| scarlet fever.
William G. Barr, a mechanical engi-
! neer of No. 25 Eighth street, said that
the Grove street sewer at the point OF
intersection was too low to take away the
| water. 1t could be remedied.
.-Of course it could ~interposed the
Vice Chancellor, taking up the tin model
of the sewer. I'm a bit OF an engineer
myself. The continuity of the flow IN the
| GROVE SlTHSl Swivel pSSA DHOhS
| this interrogation permits the sediment to
gather in the box. The result IS an ac-
cumulation of filth. What would you do,
Mr.. BARR"
and make it continuous"
Exactly" said the Vice Chancellor still
with the model in his hand. The Grove
street pipe should be left straight, SO
that the flow should be continuous. The
| wave in the Ravine pipe Wouldn't hurt.
There's head enough to drive it away,
sAVould it not decrease the. flow OF the
Ravine sewer?' asked Lawyer queen OF
aof course" replied the Vice Cham
cellor. sit would, but only a little. II you
fiatten the periphery it won't carry nearly
as much as before you fiattened it. To
do that you must widen the area. It
would DO dangerous to put a bend IN the
Grove street pipe, because there's not
head enough. but there's 76 feet through
the Ravine sewer sufficient to drive away
all hard matter. It's perfect nonsense to
pretend TO the contrary. It's only a mat
ter of a few dollars. 1t won't effect the
people on the Hill, because when there's
| rain there'll be pressure
The hearing was adjourned because
Rev. Father Boylan was unable, through
4 religious duties. to be present. His testi-
mony will close the case for the complain
ants
On the defendants side Messrs. Harri-
son, Earle and others will be called TO
show that the Ravine Road does not
4 cause the nuisance complained