The Spokane press. [volume] (Spokane, Wash.) 1902-1939, 1903-04-10
N FAVOR Of
SEVER SYSTEM
Fourth Ward Residents
Believe It a Sanitary
Necessity.
QUESTION OF HEALTH.
Lives Are Endangered as Well as
Property Injured by fight
Against Measure.

A mass meeting Of Fourth ward
citizens was held In the courthouse
last night to consider whether that
thickly populated part of the city
should have a sewer system.
Judge J. d. Hinkle was made chair
M and Mr.. Goodspeed secretary. AL
len f. Gill; city engineer, estimated
the cost of the proposed sewer sys-
tenn at from $40 to 800 . lot, &C
cording to the location Of the prop
erty, and the cost to each property
owner for connecting his house with
the sewer at from $25 to $40. 1t will
be IL years before final payment on
the assessment win have to be made
AS it will take year to build a
sewer another year before the first
assessment will have to be paid, and
the total assessment will be distrib
uted over 10 years.
DIR. Kalb said: I'VE need sewer
and need it badly. 1t Is true our
gravelly soil gives a natural drainage,
but that won't last always. 1t Is
coming to VIII you pay 800 for a
sewer or 500 for a doctor?' l pre-
will regret having no sewer We
can not afford to do without it."
]. @. Grimmer said: "To clean our
cesspools and vaults costs from SIS
to 50 II year, If We comply with the
health regulations. At this rate when
10 years shall have passed We win
pay out nearly the cost of the sewer
and will have nothing but cesspools
to show for the expenditure"
Edwin Smith stated: MY child at
tends the Bryant school in company
with 900 or 500 other pupils. and
that school depends on u vault and
cesspool. Rather than see an cpl
demic of typhoid fever and lose my
little girl thereby l prefer to pay
my share of the cost of this sewer
system"
John Snyder said: 1.-The plumbers
tell me there is absolutely no dam
ger from these cesspools IL they are
properly constructed. The expense is
too great for us to bear at present
and l prefer to wait"
Mr.. Goodspeed: THE district is
becoming density populated as in the
where there is only one lot that has
not been built on. With no sewer
system lives as well az property are
injured. and the absence of sewers
is certainly a handicap to our part
of the city.
Attorney Gallagher: IT look to the
future. While there may not be an
unusual amount of sickness in this
ward at present, no one can tell how
long II will be until the gravel will
become so soaked that it will refuse
longer to care for the foul waste
and then we will be up against the
sewer proposition or the undertaken
Furthermore, you can not expect
people to buy property over here if it
becomes known that we intend get
ting along without sewer"
Joseph Lindsey: PERSONALLY.
agree with DIR. Kalb and Mr.. Gala
CHER and would like to have the
sewer. and think In the interest
of the Bryant school it would be
much better to have the sewer but
our health Is good. Houses over here
have been bought ON the instalment
plan, and many OF the people are in
numbered with other debts. so that
the building OF the sewer at present
1 believe would really work hard
ship on many"
Judge Hinkle: '"ro my mind there
Is only one side of this sewer oues-
tion, and that side is that we must
have the sewer. Part of this district
has been thickly built up for II
years and the question has come up
many times. with a sewer in tho
district it will be only two or three
years until property will. increase IS
per cent in value. more than an offset
for tho expense of the sewer"
J. c. Barline agreed with Judge
Hinkle. Councilman i. M. Woydt.
who introduced the sewer measure,
spoke briefly at the close of the meet
ing. assuming responsibility for the
Introduction Of the sewer ordinance,
and ended by saying II more than
one-half the residents Of the ward
petitioned the council against the
sewer he would vote against 1t, and
If more than one-half petitioned for
the sewer system he would vote for
1t. He answered questions bearing
on the sewer problem.
The meeting ended by the two petit
lions being started.