Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1900-08-31
WON'T KILL GERMS.
Capt. Dent Says 1t is "a Waste of Mon
ey to Build Filtering Plant.

WHEELING, w. Va, Aug. %, 1900
To the Editor of the Register.
Sir-As one ounce OF prevention is
worth pound of cure, and as a piece
of advice to the members of the City
Water Board who are now considering
the advisability of erecting a filtering
plant, and the taxpayers in particular,
would respectfully request the publ
cation of what Captain Dent says:
If the s2,500,000 appropriated for
filtering plant for the city IS expended
upon the system of sand filtration |
hear the powers that be have IN view,
it will be a waste of the taxpayers
| money"
Captain Dent was formerly mem
Der of the United States geological sur
vey corps, and has officially tested the
water used in many of the large cities
Of the country. He has inspected the
filtration plants of Paris and many
other European cities and is thorough
ly familiar with that subjec. Il make
use of forcible language in this con-
nection," continued he, because ! an
now a permanent resident of Pitts
burg and consequently dislike to see
! vast sums of money expended for d
plant which will be of little benefit TO
the community at large. / mean those
who have to drink the water from the
rivers hereabouts, and there is scarcely
anywhere in the country where there
are worse germ-polluted streams. That
is why system should be built that
would eradicate the typhoid fever and
| malarial germs and thereby benefit the
! 400, 900 souls who reside in this vi
| cinity.
Il regard the theories advanced by
pretended experts and members of
commissions aud others that sand fill
tration gives false assurance to the
/ masses who are compelled to drink
PittSburg'S germ-polluted water. A
person who knows anything about such
matters knows that the typhoid and
| malarial germs cannot be removed
/ from water by filtration The only
way to destroy these germs is by boil
| ing the water. Gravel filtration, or
| even machine filtration, only removes
! the suspended matter in the water. or
| ganic and vegetable, it Is technically
! called. 1t is true filtration will make
| the water clear as crystal and delight
| ful to look at, but it may still be
teeming with disease germs l know
this to be fact, as | have in my pro-
fesslonal capacity tested the filtered
waters of $50 cities in the country
and | found that all the clarifying Of
the fluid possible to be employed by
| tho Of oh I II
not interfere with the germ life Boil
ing the water, or rather by applying
heat OF certain temperature is the
only way to remove and destroy the
| germs. This can be accomplished by
! the use Of boilers especially construct
| ed for that purpose, and which are in
use in Paris. There can be a flltering
| plant as well for making the water
| clear and free from organic and veg
! etable matter. The boiler system can
| be built very cheap and be connected
| with gravel or sand filtration. First
| let the heat be applied to all water
reaching the plant by the infuent pipe
| This plant can be built very cheap
and will not cost one-third of what it
! is proposed to eXpend for the big
works the city is talking about erect
/
| ing.
when l advanced this theory Of
germ destruction in New York city
was told by college-bred experts that
there was no need for germ-destroy
| er, as the filtration plant, about fin
ished, would serve for that purpose
| offered to forfeit to the city $4,000
| if did not find typhoid and malarial
germs in the water which had been
| thoroughly filtered. This offer was
made to overly confident owners and
hackers of the system. No person
would take up my challenge. l will
make the same offer here and will
| make a chemical test of any sample
of the fluid given me. l will show up
the humbug features of some Of the
claims made by city officials and other
experts K.