The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1904-04-27
LAURENs. $. c., April ~, 1904.
No Time for Sewerage.

twice and perhaps three times before
they vote to bond the town for q system
of sewerage. The state constitution
precludes the contracting of q further
debt of more than forty or fifty thou
sand dollars. Such q sum would be a
mere bagatelle in the installation of a
system in q town OF the are of this. 1t
might be possible with 1T to provide
sewerage for the public square, the To-
cality proximate to it and along por-
tions of Main street. It might be even
possible to extend it to one Dr. two
other localities. When the money had
been spent it would be found that more
than half the population would be
without the system and with no hope of
obtaining 1t for years. A long period
would have to elapse before money
could be again raised by bonds. Con-
sequently, admitting the advantages,
most Of the people would be paying adj
ditional taxes for the benefit of a few.
Unless the system should be given to
the whole community no substantial
sanitary results would follow.
The additional tax would not be the
heaviest burden added. Sewerage con-
veniences of the cheapest kind would
cost thirty dollars for each house, for
the average store building with Offices
on the square the cost would be at
least sixty dollars and for every negro
cabin the expenditure would be $4,000.
Unless the sewerage connectio MS were
made rigidly compulsory upon all
owners of dwellings,, adjacent to mains,
the system would be worse than useless
as a health measure, To make these
connections with 800 houses would be
the imposition at one time of q tax Of
some $1,000 on the community, with
the benefits to be derived going to a
mere fraction of the community.
Laurens Is perhaps the hilliest town
in South Carolina. It's natural drain-
age is exceptionally good. 1t has never
known an epidemic Of fever. Hundreds
of towns loo sted in fiat regions and far
larger and richer than this have been
and are without sewerage. For about
100 years the capital of this state with
u population of 10000 people and up
wards was without It.. In all this time
1t did not suffer but enjoyed better
health than the average community. 1t
is situated On a level plain,
Laurens is located in the red clay
region. Our streets necessarily are in
miserable condition after winter
weather sets in. This disadvantage
must be overcome. The town cannot
grow until it is overcome. Such com
munities as Greenville, Anderson and
Spartanburg recognize this and are
building passable streets. They did
not attempt to obtain sewerage unit,
they had populations more than double
that of Laurens with taxable assets
perhaps four times ours. Th, work
that Laurens has done in macadamizine
streets is the best work it has eve,
done.
Already our water supply IS INSULT
clent. Sewerage would double the
demand. Our resources are barely
adequate to provide the water supply
needed for fire protection and purposes
o:her than sewerage. Taking all these
patent facts into consideration, the talk
OF sewerage at this stage of the towns
growth seams EXTREMIST folly. The
system would doubtless make possible
welcome household conveniences to a
part OF the populations; but as already
pointel out the extension of the sys-
TEN to u pat and not to the whole of
TIL, t,wu would bo TO eliminate sani-
orally. There is no ""gument 10 right
or reason to legis e an additional
tax for a favored fe