The Opelousas courier., 1905-05-06
SensatiOnal-Afraid of Water.

Last Saturdays Clarion came out
with a scare-crow article under a
scare-line heading, 'The Water
works Tank Unsafe! It Stands q
Tower Of Danger to Life and Prop
erty. A Well Known Experts
Opinion" ETC., ETC., and then fol-
lows q characteristic article from
that unreliable journal in line with
the above caption, in which Mr..
Ewing is quoted as making some
very remarkable remarks on the
subject. AS the Clarion's authority
is a stranger here, and has no spe-
cial interest in this community after
the Jail is completed, we thought it
proper to get the opinion of some
expert on the subject whose inter
est in Opelousas is more than tran
sient, and therefore more apt to
carry some weight with the best
element of our people, whose inter
ests are at stake, and as Mr.. A. G..
Jones, superintendent of our water
works and electric light plant, was
perhaps the very best authority on
this subject, by virtue of his long
experience and excellent record, we
took the liberty to interview that
gentleman, and he gave us the fol-
lowing statement:
ssIn the summer Of 1902. while
Mr.. Sylvester was making the sur
vey for a sewerage system, DR.. Lit
tell had him take the levels of the
tank foundations. He found that
they were about two degrees out of
level, with the one On the northeast
corner lowest and the southwest
corner highest. At the time the
first article was printed in the Clar-
ion I took the levels and found that
the foundations we're not sinking,
as was then declared.
While doing the surveying for the
first sidewalks put down by Mr..
Craven, Mr. Roberts took the levels,
and he took them again last Taes-
day and found that there had been
no sinking in the meanwhile. There
/ lis no doubt that the tank is leaning
toward the northeast, and always
has leaned that way, but it has not
settled at all for the past three
years in spite of the fact that there
has been almost constant leakage
from the pipe due to the wrong
kind of pipe having been used, and
no provision made for expansion
and contraction.
/ I was authorized, about month
1ago, to put in a wrought-iron pipe
and expansion joint in place Of the
cast-iron pipe now supplying the
| tank. The materials necessary have
been ordered, and the work of chang
ing the pipe will be completed in {
/ few days. With properly screwed
Il ioint pipe and expansion joint there
will be no leakage whatever.
| There can be no danger OF thu
| tank tipping over until it has Leaned
far enough to allow plumb line
/ dropped from it's center OF gravlt!
Go EaIl OuISluc JIG ouoC' Ano SoS
iof gravity of the tower and tank Ii
probably somewhere about the cen
q ter of the bottom of the tank or tn
top Of the tower, therefore it woul'
be necessary for the foundations OF
one side to sink out OF sight befor
/ this could happen. Since they re
fused to sink when the water wa
around them there is no probablllt
; of their sinking after leakage |
stopped.
Mr.. Sylvester did not consider, q
!, the time he first took the Levels
8 that it was enough out to make
]. worth while to level the tank, bu
!. If the proper authorities consider
necessary now. there is no reaso
e why it should not be done, as 1t WI
/ mot amount to much in either COS
! or trouble. !,
!, The town authorities have no d'
y sire to allow it to remain III All vi
8 safe condition il it can be proven
q be so, and the public can depen
elupon it that everything necessal
g will be done to prevent it from tai
r ing. or even getting into cond
8 ton in which it is likely to fall.