The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1906-10-11
AN APPEAL
To the People Of Marietta for Better
Sanitary Conditions and General
Civic improvement.

Der ZfLn, as appears from an announce
ment in the Journal, be called upon to
decide question which, in the writer's
Iopinion, is second in Importance to no
material problem that could be pre-
scented for their consideration. allude
to the proposition to establish for this
place system of municipally-owned
water works and sewers.
First and foremost, the health of our
city imperatively demands that our
lpeople should have pure water-uncon-
taminated by typhoid fever germs-to
drink, and that all filth, fruitful cause
of typhoid fever and other diseases,
should be conveyed by sewers from
lpopulous centers to places where they
will do no harm. This proposition ad
mits, believe, of no doubt whstever
There may be some doubt as to all the
causes that will produce typhoid fever,
but it is now about universally agreed
that impure water is source in which
the germs of this disease are created
and by their being taken into the sys-
tenn through this medium, the malady
is propagated.
That the sanitary conditions in Mari
eta are entirely unsatisfactory, admits
lof no controversy. Walk on some Of
| the smaller streets of the place ard OBJ
serve the dangerous nearness of places
Of necessity, and stables, to wells whose
water is used for drinking purposes.
In many cases that I have observed,
such utilities are not more than twenty
or thirty feet apart; and there may be
many houses with lots of from thirty
to fifty feet front, all in row, and with
such conditions, thus causing each we'll
to labor under much greater conditions
Of impurity than if one lot thus situa-
ted was isolated. The germs of disease
arising from this filth sink into the
earth, and are then conveyed by subter-
raneous water into wells. The nearer the
wells to the seat Of the germs, the more
certainly the germs will find their way
into the wells. repeat, to take such
water as this into the system for any
length of time, is as sure to cause ty-
phoid fever as a dose of calomel will
produce a flow Of bile. say nothing
of the awful and unhealthful effluvia
arising from the few open sewers OF
the town, and from filth left where it
has been produced.
Marietta may not have more typhoid
fever than other towns equally popu-
lous without sewers, but it ia almost
certain that we have every year many
more cases of this frightful malady
than are necessary, or which could be
prevented by proper precautions.
In the next place it is to be observed
that there is probably not another
town of the size Of Marietta in the
State which has not sewers. LAGRANGE,
Newman, and other places smaller than
ours, adopted some time ago the neces-
sary sanitary appliances, thus doing
their duty towards the health of their
! citizens, and at the same time adver-
Using themselves to the world as live,
up-to-date communities, in which out
: side capital and new citizens, desiring
healthful surroundings. would fnd
!, prosperous and safe conditions. Does
! Marietta wish to lag behind in this
, matter of superlative Importance, and,
in effect, inform outsiders that she is
slow-going, and if other people wish to
/ enter her borders, they must do so at
} the risk of their health? Is she not
|, willing to do what smaller towns have
done for their own citizens, and as an
, inducement for others to become their
} citizens? It is not an imaginary idea
that persons from distance who are
inclined to become citizens of our
town, hesitate to do so because we
have no sanitary appliances. have
heard more than once, from persons
who are in a position to know, that
such condition exists.
In the third place, all agree that it is
! idle to attempt to have sewers unless
the city owns the water-works which
supply the water for the sewers. This,
for the reason that all the houses with
in the corporate limits will be required
by ordinance to have sanitary connec-
tions, and the water which will be used
by them will have to be paid for. It
would be manifestly improper to dele
gate to a private corporation the right
to perform this public duty, giving
J this corporation at the same time the
right to fix the rates for this service,
which rates it could alter at pleasure,
increasing the amount to any figure it
might desire, and this figure the public
would be required to pay, if the sewer
system was to be effective, by every
house in town using it. The sewer sys-
tenn would be useless if any one not
liking the rates should decide to aban-
don the sanitary connections Gas is
now done with the electric lights at
pleasure,) and return to the former