The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-02-06
BASIS FOR AN INVESTIGATION
TO THAT EXTENT HIS REPORT WILL
RECEIVE CONFEDERATION.
Vice President Davis Attends n Meet.
ing of the Health BOard-Dr.
Gels Talks.

the indianapolis Water Company, was pres
ent Mr.. Davis inquired yesterday IL the
board would hold a meeting and he learned
that one would be held at 4:30 o'clock TO
discuss the free vaccination scheme, which
has had abundant success. He attended
the meeting.
The board discussed the analysis of An
sill Moffatt, the chemist, whose analyses
} for twenty-one days in January were used
as basis for the charge by City Sanitarian
Buehler that impure water is gaining ad-
mission to the city mains. The board de-
clined to treat Moffatt's analyses as Off
cial, although DIR. Buehler accepts them
as official, the board regarding them as
| having been made privately for a newspa-
| per, which paid for them. The disclosures
were astonishing to the board, which had
| no previous knowledge that an investigation
was being made. This is peculiar, Mof
| fatt is supposed to analyze city water for
| the board. and has done so for years for the
| city for the privilege of using expensive
| apparatus owned by the board and also
using the laboratory. According to the
| disclosure. the city has had no analysis of
water this year unless 1t accepts Moffatts,
which the board will not do.
| BASIS FOR INVESTIGATION.
The board will treat Moffatt's analyses as
the basis for an investigation. They will
| stand as accusation against the water
| company, but will not be relied on until
an Investigation by recognized authorities
| has been made apd the result confirms
| them.
At yesterdays meeting Mr. Davis called
the boards attention to the contract in
reference to the purity OF water Sections
| 10 and IL of the contract read:
! 1T is hereby expressly agreed by the Indi-
annapolis Water Company that the water
| furnished by the water company to the city
| and the citizens of indianapolis shall be
good potable water
'.All questions in regard to the purity Of
| the water furnished by said water COM
| pany shall be referred to two chemists Sc
lected. one by the Board of Public Works
| and Board of Public Health and Charities
and the other by the indianapolis Water
Company; and in case the two chosen cam
| not agree they shall appoint chemist as
| umpire, and the result of any analysis
agreed to by said first two chosen, or two
| of the three II an umpire shall be chosen,
| shall be accepted as conclusive evidence
OF the degree of purity of said water. The
| expense of such analysis shall be paid, one
| half by the city and one-half by the Indi-
| annapolis Water Company. An analysis shall
be made at any time when the Board of
| Public Works and Board of Public Health
| and Charities shall require it,"
The provisions will be carried out Mr.
Davis mentioned as men likely to be con-
! sidered as psychologists Professors Mason
| and Whipple and George w. Fuller. Fuller
was used by the United States government
as a water expert several times. The in
vestigatons will include survey as we'll
as chemical and meteorological analyses.
HOMES OF SICK VISITED.
The water company yesterday started a
tour of investigation. The homes of those
now sick from typhoid fever were visited
to ascertain what use had been made of
city water. In one of the seventeen cases
reported by the board city water was not
used; in another the sick member had not
used it,; in another all the members were
well except the one i'll, and she had used
water in a downtown office building which
came from driven well; in another the
sick person had used water from a well
at the factory. where he was employed
The whole number of cases was not visited
Mr.. Davis thinks it will easily be shown
that the typhoid cases are not traceable to
the water supply
Mr.. Davis finds some things which he
says he cannot bring to a lucid condition
DR.. John f. Gels. who made daily analyses
FOR roo the company, ceased his work Jan
Gels had ceased DR.. Gels says his EN-.
ployment terminated then. Mr.. Davis
thinks it is strange that Moffatt did moi
begin his analyses until after Gels hac
stopped and also that he did not report hi:
chemical analyses we'll as his bacteria
logical AT Yesterdays meeting of the
Board of Health Mr.. Davis submitted :
copy of DR.. Cess reports up to Dec. 81
showing that the water was pota bic (whole
some. fit to drink at all times.
| DR.. Gels said yesterday that a chemica
analysis a meteorological analysis indie
pendent of a survey of the source of tn,
water was valueless in determining its pur
| ity Also. he said the number of baciIli di,
not make the Water impure, but it was tn,
character shown by differentiation. DR.
Gels said he had made no analysis of cit,
; water had been by his analyses potable a
: all times. DR.. Gels says he is a chemist
not bacteriologist.
THOROUGH PLANS.
! The Board OF Health will select it's chem
ist as soon as possible. When the two chem
lists have been named their investigated,
will probably cover a definite period an,
involve the whole system of supply. Tn
water company supplies the city from
3 driven wells. The water from them is lifte
by air and discharged into a reservoir o
, gallery, from which 1t is pumped into tn
1 city mains. Mr.. Davis insists that TIM
| supply is unimpeachable and that it's ade
| quacy i'm any emergency is unquestiona bic
| taminated by seepage. Neither. he saws
have the seals the canal fiume at tn
Washington-street pumping station eve
been broken nor that there is any way
either by pipe or percolation, that rive
or canal water can get into the gallery.
The company is adopting the sand filtra
ton system and building a large CALLER
near the aqueduct of the canal over Fa
| creek TO augment its supply from tina
| source. This sand-fitered water. he saws
Is not to replace the wells but is merel
10 provide for increasing consumption: Tn
sand filter gallery is now being connecte
with the pumping station at the junctio
OF White river and Fall creek by forty
eight-inch main which will pass under III
bed OF Fall creek. At the filtration bed
a pathogenic laboratory is being bull
which Mr.. DAVIS says will be, one of IN
finest IN the country. The sand filtratio
company is under bond of $4,000 TO insur
pure water from the system IL is installin
and TO that end has had constant analyse
made by DIR. Edmund d. Clark, of thi
city. formerly city sanitarian. who, Nj
Davis says. is a competent bacteriologis
Dr. Clarks work is for the filtration comps
n.y. however. and is confined TO the sourC
OF supply before filtration. and has nc
been extended TO the city water now