New-York tribune., 1906-11-21
JAWECO'S ABLE PU MPER
SIL4S TITUS HAS BRAINS.
That's Why He Is Dra7oing $4,000
Ont of the City.

Sllas w. Titus is plain with the bark
on and he hangs out" down around the
Jameco city pumping plant east of Amityville,
on Long Island He knows a lot about pump
ing water. He knows so much about pumping
water out of Long Island sand that he is max
ing S0oUO year out of the city with ridiculous
ease. He knows much about it that the
engineers in the Water Department. when
S1lass name is brought up smile a bit and say:
Yes Silas knows thing or two about pumps"
Down at Jameco Where the peep toads make
music in the springtime. and where it is pretty
lonesome unless you making money out of
the city, they call Mr. Titus Moses Titus. be-
cause he smote the earth and made both water
and fortune spring from it.
The Water Department officials have been
watching Silas for more than year now. and
in that time they have had one of the cleanest-
cut demonstrations OF the value of brains that
ever has come under their observation.
year ago the city was maintaining a pump
ing station at Jameco which furnished the
Brooklyn water system about 100000 gallons
of water day. The Water Department thought
that was doing pretty good for JameCo. 1t was
just about year ago that Silas happened
along. He dropped in Commissioner Oakley
and the department. engineers and he suggested
that the Jameoo pumping plant might be forced
to 40 a good deal better work if the right kind
of a pumping system was used
Silas came around two or three times with the
same suggestion. He became an unweIcome
caller, but he finally made the Water Depart
ment proposition. which in effect was that he
would furnish bond to take over the manage
ment of the Jameco plant provide the city its
ordinary quota of 100000 gallons of water a
day. and for all water ia excess of this stated
amount he was TO get pay at the rate of $40 for
every million gallons. Moreover. Silas5 said he
would turn over to the city free of charge
everything in the way of improvements that
he might make in the pumping plant.
1t would hardly be putting it too strong to
say that the Water Department officials thought
they We're selling Silas large gold brick in
getting his signature to contract embodying
the foregoing features.
Easy Mark Silas! Guess he'll be glad to quit
at the end of two years Well have some new
pumps at the end of two years"
These were some of the things said at the
time. SilaS went to work. He ripped out the
old pumps. and in the same we'll holes that the
city had been using for years he put some new
but comparatively inexpensive pipes and at the
pumping station he installed new airlift pump
he had had it ready by February last. The more
he fixed things up the better the Water Depart
ment officials liked 1t, because the contract gave
everything to the city in two brief years.
The remainder of the story is soon told The
city thought il had the laugh on Silas. but it
didn't Silas started UP his plant without loss
of time The first day he pumped more than
three million gallons. The second week he had
forced the output to four million gallons a day.
At the end of the first month he had it CLOSE to
six million gallons. To-day the capacity is
about 8 400 900 gallons day. about 100000
in excess of contract requirements. Seven times
$40 is $3.50 day. That is what the city is
paying for Silass brains. 1t is said that the
improvements to the plant cost Sas less than
100000 1t is estimated in the Water Depart
ment that Mr. Titus is cleaning UP a net profit
of more than $4,000 a year. The city is glad
to get the extra water, as the Brooklyn supply
is