Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1901-05-04
It Does Not Drain Anything Except the
Pockets Of the Taxpayers of
Chicago.
It Does Not Purify the Drinking Wate
Which Is Worse Now than
Ever.
It Simply Furnishes Graft for the Gang
and More Experience for the
People.

lie DTaIHase SHUaI lS Inc tTcutcst
Fraud of the age
Everybody believes that 1t is.
Experts know that 1t Is.
Mr.. Gordon II. Mott, one of the ablest
and best known civil engineers In the
West, writes thus on the subject:
TO The EditOr:-A recent article on
drainage canal matters entitled value
of Channel Proved by Hardest Kind
of Test" is not correct nor equitable
as to its statements and conclusions.
So far as the general public knows the
sO-called drainage canal, at present. Is
simply endeavOring to dispose of the
sewage which emptlcs direct into the
main river and the north and south
branches, mainly the sewage Of the
south branch as Il matter of fact. This
must of necessity leave out Of consider
alton the territory from which the sew
age now. as formerly, emptles into the
lake; undoubtedly, 'this would be two.
thirds, II not more. of the entire sew
age of the city. This leaves only one
third Of the entire sewage for attempt
ed disposal by the sO-called drainage
canal. According to the statement Of
Chief Engineer Randolph. the canal
was operating under flow OF about
100000 cubic feet per minute, and this
In the endeavOr to take care OF one.
third of the city drainage district. 1t
does not require any great amount Of
| arithmetic to disclose that in order to
meet the demands for full sewage. u
| flow of 100000 cubic feet will be need
ed-a much greater flow than the canal
IL capable of safely passing-evcn II 1t
could be obtained by the fallaclOus
recourse of widening and deepening
the south branch, which. as n matter
of engineering. no doubt might be sue
ccssfully performed, but, rs q remedy
for the inability of the canal to per-
form the work required, the result will
be q failure.
| According to the statements of the
publication referred to the health de.
partment found the drinking water to
be pure. Would it be otherwise with Il
northeast wind prevailing ut the time
of the rainfall, which wind would tend
to hold the sewage back and prevent
IL from reaching the lake? The cOndi
tiOns and not the drainage canal may
have been the reason of the water
being pure as alleged. Reading the
statement purely ana simply on the
fact as stated, the conclusion seems in
evitable-the past pollution of thu
drinking water arose by reason of tho
one.third of the total sewage formerl!
dumped in the river and which 1t il
supposed the canal Is now preventing
from flowing into the lake. The two
thirds Of the sewage which Is now, al
formerly, flowing into the lake, does
not, according to the statements of thu
article, pOllute the water TO an eNten
TO render 1t impure. This being thu
condition of things as admitted by th'
article, why Is there any necessity o
this hasco about widening and deepen
ing the river particularly the soutl
branch: 1t Is conceded that the lak'
water Is pure, with two-thlrds of th'
sewage still pouring into it ana it Il
claimed, on the part OF the drainage
trustees and the champions of the so
called drainage canal, that the cana
Is taking care of all sewage which on
ters the river-then what Is the neces
sity of providing more, when there Il
already a sutticicncy; of course, thcr'
may be n bare possibility that the pres
cnt channel Is not dispOsing of the one
third OF the sewage, but this can hard
ly be possible in view of the assurance
of the engineers and trustees of TIT
drainage canal that with the full lega
flow any bad effects can be cOunteract
ed. The article does not say how, bu
the way is evidently known, as II,
guessing is permissible. 1t is too BAT
that it was not known, years ago, tha
two-thirds of the sewage does not pol
lnte; 1t is the one-third that does tn
business. 1t is simple when you onl,
know how.
Again, the article after stating tina
the canal was operating under mai
ural gravity flow of about 100000 Gu
bic feet per minute, concludes with tn
remarkable statement that at the lega
; flow of 100000 ian unheard-Of rainfa
, would not pOllute the city's drinkin
water" Here we have reaftirma