The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1905-03-07
rnE sEwRRAeE QuEsrIoN.


state sewerage board that Morristown
has no sewerage is attracting consider
able attention from the papers of the
state, and is in itself pretty broad
statement. Sewerage is the removal
Of offensive or dangerous matter from
the habitation, and looked at in the
broad light Morristown has sewerage.
Although the method of removing
sewage from cesspoOls in the thickly
settled part Of town by tank wagon is
expensive and antiquated yet it is
sewerage in the strict sense of the
word.
| The late DR.. Barker used to con-
tend that the use of Individual tight
cesspools with wagon removal OF sew
age was preferable to the general pipe
system, as in the latter case unless
plumbing was always in the best of
condition the householder was at the
mercy of every careless or ignorant
| person in town.
That Morristown has been retarded
in growth by the lack of public sewer
system is also true. There are I'M
doubtedly persons who have gone else
where rather than Morristown, be-
cause they have been told that we
have no sewers. There are also other
people who have moved out of Morris
town giving want Of sewers as a reason
who moved because of other conditions
about which they cared much more
than sewers. The changes have been
rung on the mystical word sewer until
many people are in that condition Of
mind where they would move into a
house with a sewer emptying over
the back fence and breeding disease,
rather than move to a more heathful
locality where The state board or some
one else said there were no sewers.
Outside Of these areas what are the
conditions. Norristown is located on
natural disposal bed. A man opened a
cesspool some time ago after constant
use for seventeen years and found four
inches of water In the cotton. Many
other persons have had cesspools in
use for longer time than that and
never had occasion to open them.
Both the hospitals and many of pri-
yate residences have the Waring sys-
tenn of sub-surface disposal in success
full operation and costing little for
their maintenance. One gentleman
has installed Dippler plant for the
disposal of the wastes from his resi-
dence and it is doing fine work, turn
ing out effiuent water so clear thai
several local parties have tasted it. BY
the way there is only one other plant
of its kind In the United States, al
though it has been a successful system
in Germany for some years. Figures
are now being made on other plants
OF the same system here.
There is at least one large tract of |
ground where the purchase of lots in
cludes the right to use the sewers put
IN ten years or more ago. The method
OF sewage disposal is just as good as in
many towns, which look down on
Morristown saying we have no sewers.
The report goes on to say that there |,
are no serious engineering difficulties
yet the commission apparently forgot
unless they had in mind general dis
posal plant, the tunnel from Chatham
to Millburn and the tunnel or pump
necessary to concentrate the sewage
in one place in Morristown. While of
course no engineer would balk at the
tunnel yet if the trunk line as talked
Of should be bnilt, Morristown would
be at the end Of the longest trunk
sewer in America.
A sewer system is needed in the
thickly settled parts of town, but as
a prominent citizen expressed it, Nor
rlstown needs a sewer no matter how
restricted its usefulness or crude the
Of the sewage as an advertise
ment. We who live here know the
but others who do not
listen to the clamor of those who
would direct to some other town per-
sons who desire to settle in Norris
town.