The age-herald., 1900-03-14
PRACTICAL TEST OF THE WATER SUPPLY Demonstration to be Made Be-
 fore Committee. INVESTIGATION UNDER WAY
 .4 ,.;
Superintendent Newbold of the Louis vile & Nashville Railroad on the Stand-W Waterworks Company
 Willing to the Proposition

| A practical test of the water supply of
 Birmingham and its pressure is to be made by the committees representing the Com l mercial club the Board of Trade and the l city council and the Birmingham Water l Works company. This method of settling 1 the much agitated question of insufficient fire protection was agreed upon lDy the com mittees and the Water Works company at the meeting held yesterday afternoon. Prior to the birth of the present contract between the city of Birmingham and the Water Works company all connections be- tween the water mains and the fire hy- drants in the business portion of the city
 were made with four-inch pipe. This, great many people contend is not sufficient to supply two lines of hose with enough water to give the pressure needed to sue cessfully fight big fire. The water works people contend that it is, although they say it is much better to have a six-inch connec- tion It was for the purpose of settling this question that both parties agreed to make the test.
 Most of the connections In the business portion of the city put in subsequent to the execution of the present contract which was signed in 1888, are of six-incn pipe.
 MT. Newbold on the Stand
 MT. w. M. Nemoold, superintendent of .l,. the first witness introduced at yesterdays session of the joint committee. The Met ropolitan hotel. where the fire originated was just across Morris avenue from the union depot, which is owned by the Louis- vile and Nashville Railroad company. MT Newbold arrived at the fire shortly after the fire department and realizing that the union depot in great jeopardy, he or dered the fire apparatus of the railroad company into use. Two streams from the hydrants under the car shed were played on the hotel.
 MT Newbolds statement to the commit tee was in substance as follows
 q arrived at the fire a few minutes after it began to burn and then heard that some of the citizens had held meeting and de- cided to call on Montgomery for aid. Fear ing that the Union depot would burn I sent to the shops and got the fire apparatus and ordered it connected with the tanks
 we didn't use all the pressure we had, but with what we did use water was thrown to the second floor of the Metro politan hotel. We held back 15,000 or 20 900 gallons to use on the depot in case the wind should change towards it. The water was carried through about 150 feet of hose, probably 200 feet. One of the hydrants we used is under the shed in front of the ladies' waiting room and the other a little farther down. We used a two and a half inch hose. but I do not know the exact size of the dischange nozzle, though think it is about an inch. From what I saw when I got to the fire supposed the water sup ply for the fire department was good, but in few minutes there was an apparent falling off in pressure, until the streams would hardly reach the first floor of the hotel. There were three hose in use in front of the hotel, but I did not notice where they came from. do not know just how long the weak pressure continued, though it seemed like long time. Louis- vlle and Nashville water was at that time being thrown to the second floor of the hotel. l cannot express a positive opinion as to the adequacy of the water supplied to the fire department, as I do not possess the information necessary to form a con- clusion."
 Major W. J. Milner
 Major w. J. Milner, former superintend- ent and general manager of the Birming ham Water Works company, was asked to take the stand. He said:
 ''I was connected wIJh the water works company from the time it was built in 1872 until October 1899, and was superin- tendent from January l, 1875, until last October. My duties required an active su- pervision of the property and of the con- struOsion of new Hines. I ann not now in- terested in the company and do not own any of it's stock. The company's first supply of water came from Village creek and was pumped into reservoir located between Th.rteenth and Fourteenth ave- nues and Twenty-second and Twenty -third streets, and from there flowed by natural gravitation through the mains to the city. We then had about forty pounds heiad and sixty pounds pressure. Three mains were laid into the city-one S-indh main down Twenty-first street, one Sdnch main down Twenty-third street and one 16-inch main down Twenty-second street. These are all now in use. The water supply came exclusively from Village creek until 1887, when we put in the Five Mile creek iine ualta dnUa