The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-05-17

Upon the desk Of Water COMMISSIONS
Benjamin c. Adkins are two small bottles,
the one containing an ugly dull brown fluid.
the other filled with a bright and clear
liquid. The first is plain mud-laden Mis-
souri, River water. the second is the game
relieved of sediment By a weir settling sys-
TEN.
The former is the kind that has made st.
Louis the ~auKhirE stock of the country.
The latter is that which the Water Com
missioner and the Board of Public Improve
ments propose to give the city in the future.
The city officials. including the board
mentioned and the Mayor. after two years
OF hesitation and investigation of various
schemes. are decided upon a plan by which
the murky water. save in the river itself,
will be no more. The day of MD baths
in ST. Louis soon will have passed away.
The most optimistic at this time do not
expect that the water basins will be trans
formed into mineral springs. but even the
doubling Thomases believe that the water
works will not be in the future a Mudlavia.
The prospect of a sparkling. cold. crystal
line stream issuing from the bathtub fau-
Gets is not held forth. But promise is given
of a good. clear, wholesome water.
Hiram Phillips. President of the Board Of
Public improvements. and Benjamin c.. Ad-
kins. Water Commissioner. are convinced
that the most practical solution of the
problem is the installation of the weir sys-
TEN. This means a protracted settling of
the water after it enters the intake at the
Chain of Rocks.
No sooner had Mr.. Adkins been confirmed
in his new position than he tackled the
water question with a vim. Accompanied
by Mr.. Phillips, Wharf Commissioner Jo-
seph P. Whyte, Park Commissioner Au!l
and Street Commissioner Varrelmann. he
visited Omaha and Kansas City, both Mis-
souri, River towns. dependant upon this
stream for water. The plant at Omaha, a
weir system, met their approval. Conse-
quently the board is now agreed, upon a
course and will lose no time in carrying out
its ideas.
NEW BASINS.
Mr.. Adkins is now preparing plans for
new basins at the Chain of Rocks and for
rearranging the old ones. No time will be
consumed advertising for bids, in the usual
way. The Water Commissioner is unre-
stricted. The city ordinances give him more
freedom than any department head. With
the money at hand to perform the work he
will go ahead aid have it done, under his
W supervision. and by his own men.
The money is enough only for rebuilding
the six old basins. The two new and larger
basins proposed will involve an additional
expenditure of about $4,000. This will be
asked of the present Assembly.
The plans for reconstructing the basins
are not yet decided upon in detail. It Is
determined. however. that the plans as out
lined by Former Commissioner Flad will
~ ~-1ltG.5 AZ AJl,yo- xrftp h--x-
study out his plans this week and expects
to complete the work within a short time.
He thinks that the work can be designed
and carried out by the employees of the
Water Department.
The problem which Mr.. Adkins promptly
!, essayed to solve has been paramount to the
city for eight or ten years. N. L. Hol-
man. who was Water Commissioner from
1887 to 1899. proposed a filtration of the
city's supply. His first important move
was the removal Of the intake tower from
Bissell's Point 10 the Chair of Rocks. At
the Chain of Rocks the filtration was sug-
| gested.
The expenditure to put the change into
operation was large. The House of Dele
gates at the time was an intractable body
and no appropriation could be obtained.
Then arose the opposition to alum which,
as a coagulant, figured in the proposed fl
trattcn. The prejudice against alum, which
the Public Health Society," the same that
has obtained SO much prominence recently
fomented. became SO general that any alum
scheme from that time was black-balled in
public opinion.
Within the last two years the Meramec
Idea and the Missouri River natural fl
ter. were proposed, argued Investigated