The record-union., 1899-02-09

three sources Of supply many cities, in
Guiding his own, would be glad to
have The only thing we did not have
was the ability to choose which we
wanted. He laughingly doubted if we
really wanted clear water.
This expression from. Professor Ris-
ing bears the more weight because
SINCE he examined into our water sup
ply some years ago, he has studied the
water supply systems of Europe and
America.
/ opposed the Henry contract be-
cause Of the nature of the contract and
because my intimate knowledge of the
city debt enabled me to appreciate the
falsity of the statement of the Mayor
and city officials that this city could
not issue bonds in excess of those then
outstanding and thus construct her
own water works. I have always felt
that the city should investigate for IT
self the well supply. 1 believe the
City Trustees are now alive to the sit
uation and will go far towards clean
ing up the we'll and filter questions
this coming summer
The question of we'll water is wheth-
| er we have it or not That of filters
| is whether we can afford them or not
provided we do not have good natural
water-a question which should be an
| swered first The proposition of sup
ply from the mountains depends upon
whether the interest on the cost of the
plant exceeds the cost of pumping, or
| the cost of pumping and filtration, if
| it is possible to get a supply of noun
| tain water that does not need fiterins
which is doubtful.
| The Chamber of Commerce has been
| slandered because of some supposed
collusion with the Henry suit Now if
! there is any collusion, am the respon-
| sible party because it was upon my
recommendation that the Chamber Of
| Commerce pushed the test of the wells
while we had a phenomenally dry year.
| Immediately after the publication Of
my clear water message to the directors
the Henry suit was revived. We de-
| layed further action until the attor-
neys for the city advised US that tests
at distance from the Henry wells
would not prejudice their case.
| AS to the insinuations regarding a
! land scheme, our petition to the Trus-
| tees plainly indicated that we wanted
| tests made outside of lands we had
| bonded. I fell that if we get we'll wa
ter it would be better to tap the under
ground flow as 1t approaches the city
from the east, rather than after it has
| passed the city to the south. If the
| tests were to be confined to our wells
they could be completed at very small
| cost.
| Whichever water supply is adopted
| will require the expenditure of hum
dreds of thousands of dollars on wells
| or millions on filters and filtration CT
on mountain supply. Ordinary business
precaution would lead to the expendi-
ture of few thousand dollars in i'll
vestigations. This would be similar to
! getting a counsellors opinion on a
doubtful legal point or paying the ex-
penses of a test case to determine some
proposition that would otherwise re-
main doubtful
| Without going into details as to wells,
| river or mountain water, will say, that
my Investigations have led me to con-
clude that if we have pure water in
| nature, there is no need of going to the
| expense Of purifying water by filrra-
ton. The we'll supply should, there
| fore, be tested first as it may render
| the tests of filters unnecessary. We
know we can get good water from the
mountains or from the river if We have
| to go to that expense.
We know that we can filter water by
slow sand filtration, and, perhaps,
cheaper by mechanical filtration Slow
sand filtration will not only take out
the mud and other coarse particles in
suspension, but also over SO per cent.
of the finer bacteria or micro-organ-
isins. 4, I want TO. emphasize the new
ideas concerning filtration which owe
their origin to the recent discoveries of
Koch in propagating bacteria They
are that the bacteria are stopped to a
certain extent by the finer particles of
sand to which they cling and form a
! film on the surface of the filter. Here
the heterogeneous consume each
other and are in turn burned, as it
We're by the action of the air. Inter
militant filtration has been tried with
a view of Fastening this burning, or
| oxydizing process.
Our Committees on Water Mains,
High School and Sewers have made re-
ports. that are on record. With regard
|
can say that my Investigations have
led me to feel that they are much more
valuable than would appear from the
opinions of some of our members for
whose opinions, however, I have great
respect.
So much for our actual necessities,
and l will close by calling attention to
/ the suggestion / made to the directors
at their last monthly meeting. 1t was
that this chamber lay out plans for a
driveway and endeavor to mold all pub
lie improvements incidental thereto so
| that they will conform to the general
plan, whether these improvements come
/ this year or within the next ten years.
This is my castle in the air. The only
question is, has the Chamber of Com
merce the courage to recommend it's
construction? 1t does not seem to me
/ to be beyond reach. In fact, it seems
/ easy. Most European cities of pretense
| and many cities in the United States
| have their driveways and parks. In
| our own State we are familiar with the
parks of San Francisco, and one does
not have to get off the train at Los
Angeles to see the effort there at ar
! tificial lakes and boulevards
AS long as eight or ten years ago
I visited Riverside, and was driven
from the hotel out Magnolia avenue and
back to the hotel. 1 came away think
ing Riverside the most beautiful place
| on earth. A year or so afterward
| was driven along the best streets OF
Pasadena and was similarly impressed.
1t was not until three or four years ago