The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-08-30

SEWAGE FROM CITIES THE CAUSE

The condition Of the Passaic River dur
ing the last week has been particularly
bad, says the Newark Sunday .Call," and
the Sunday CAR has heard manufacture
ers along the river front declare that the
nuisance from the sewage stencil was SO
great that it interfered with labor. and
certainly some sickness and. perhaps,
worse have resulted, When the wind is
east the western bank of the river stiles;
when it is west. the complaint comes from
the other side. Among those who have
complained Of the conditions are the
Clark Thread Mills, owners and opera
tors; the iron firm of Hewes & Philips,
and their men; the Atha & ~Illingworth
Company; the Ballantine Brewing Conn
pany; in fact every shore owner. We
mention a few names for the purpose Of
localizing this truth: that the business
interests Of Newark are suffering and that
large taxpayers demand relief, for them
selves and for the thousands Of their en-
ployes.
1t will be said tina this is the same
a matter Of fact, each August tells a
worse tale, and the season of nuisance
now extends beyond the summer months.
The offense is not limited, as formerly,
to Newark and its environs, but is vile
as far as Paterson. No part of the river
escapes. And it is bound to grow worse
year after year, for the quantity Of pure
water in the river is decreasing, and the
quantity of sewage grows constantly,
while the collection of sewage deposits
has now grown so great that the river
is no longer capable of seif-cleansing dur
ing the Hood periods. Numerous bars
have been created in the bed of the
stream, from the same filthy source, in
terfering with navigation.
If the cities which offend the laws of
God and man by thus polluting and filing
the Passaic River with their drainage
were willing to endure the offense and TO
wrong their ~neighbors. regardless of
health and comfort. they could not con-
tinue to d. so, under the ruling of our
courts. Paterson is today prohibited from
constructing new sewerssby an injunction
of the Court of Chancery. and Newark
is practically under the same ban, by the
injunction against the greatly needed re-
lief sewer. The Court of Errors and APP
peals will soon pass upon these decisions,
and there is no reasonable doubt that the
will be most positive as the
injunctions are based upon the simplest
doctrine Of the law, the duty Of the courts
to protect one mans health and property
from injury by another.
The last Legislature lamely attempted
to act upon this question, but It was
overcome by timidity and prejudice. A
sewerage commission was created at the
last moment. with authority to veto new
sewage systems which were not properly
planned. but with special and imperative
directions not to interfere with existing
systems. Bellevilla or Nutley might be
prevented from emptying sewage into the
overburdened river, but Newark, Pater-
son, Passaic, Rutherford and the other
real offenders must not be touched. M
v~estigation was directed-and the appro-
priations committee forgot" to provide
money for it. A legal means for uniting
the communities for action was provided,
but the law for this purpose was SO
greatly altered from the original meas
ure proposed by a legislative commission
that it would be difficult to operate UNI
der it in the case of the Passaic River.
Is another session Of the Legislature
to pass with similar neglect Of this terri
BILE evil. 1t seems incredible that legis-
aators could continue to be SO Indifferent
to a situation so appalling, and It must
be that the will yield to public senti-
ment and enact the needed laws. These
consist in either comforting Upon some
State authority the power to require the
remova Of sewage; or, in directly requir-
ing the cities on the Passaic River to
proceed with the necessary work. There
is no real obstacle to either course, If it
be attacked with sincerity and earnest
ness; but heretofore the legislation has
been Of a character to evade the issues,
rather than to meet them The fear of
offending some one interest or political
or corporate power has been back Of much
of this legislative timidity. Either of the
laws proposed in 1887 and 1889 would have
met the evil. and there are other means
of reaching the same end.