Evening journal., 1906-09-07
Friday, September 2, 1905.
scARINo THE cITY 10 ApPRoPRIATE

THE city is again threatened with an ep-
dcmic of typhoid fever due we are told,
to the inadequate sewer facilities OF the Kentmere
and Highlands section of the city.
Joseph Bancroft and Sons Company addressed
the Board OF Street and Sewer Commissioners re-
Gently on the matter Of sewer break near their
mills and declared the matter a menace to the
health of the community
he engineer in charge of sewers George f.
Ropmel, declares conditions to be exaggerated,
and states that some of the statements made in
the Bancroft communication cannot be maintain
cd, and that the conditions cannot have existed
long without his having known of it.
Now comes the typhoid fever scare, and a cry
for the expenditure OF more money for larger
sever and better drainage facilities for that sec
tioe OF the city.
We have noticed that the typhoid fever cpl
demic plays an important part in all movements
to secure larger appropriations for the Street and
Sewer Department or greater expenditure Of the
department moneys in certain sections Of the
city, and TO us the epidemic looks more like a
sympathetic or scare argument to secure large
expenditure Of money in the Kentmere section
for the benefit OF favored ones
Pollution Of the Brandywine has long been the
favorite theme of the advocates Of filtration sys-
TEN to cost million dollars when completed, and
as an excuse for the expenditure of thousands Of
dollars in building larger sewer mains but were
a few hundred spent by the Board Of Health and
the Street and Sewer Department in an intelli-
gent and thorough investigation of the causes of
pollution and the sources of pollution of the
stream, and in the prosecution Of those whose
properties contribute those causes, the opportun-
ity for raising hue and cry over typhoid fever
and polluted water in order to have more money
spent on them would be minimized
Great industries along the Brandywine now
contribute largely TO its pollution. When the
reservoirs used by these factories are clean
ed the people of Wilmington get the benefit Of the
accumulated scdimentatiou When the drainage
pipes from these great factories break or over
flow and pour dye stuifs, colorng matter and filth
into the Brandywine ii is the taxpayers of Will
mington who must drink the impure water and
stand the cost Of repairs under penalty of a
threatened typhoid fever epidemic.
Time and again the sewer engineer has worked
night and day upon the repairing OF bad breaks in
sewers in order that the city might be saved from
serious menace TO health, but Mr. Rommel de-
clares in this instance that the first notice he re-
ceived OF the break was through the newspapers.
and after an investigation, does not believe the
situation is as serious pictured or that the de-
partment is wholly responsible for its existence
We would rather believe Mr. Rommel than tn,
statement of those who would benefit by the ex-
aggeration OF conditions in the expenditure by
the city OF a large sum of money in their section
and in the increasing OF real estate values.
THE EVENING JOURNAL favors every
move which will make Wilmington healthier
cleaner and more beautiful, but we believe sucl
improvements should come as needed by tn,
city's growth, rather than be forced by an cpl
demic scare such as seems to have been promul
gated for the purpose OF benehting private prop
erty at the expense OF the public.
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