New-York tribune., 1907-06-24
THE FoULrNG OF THE HARBoB.

An an+ retort was made the other day by
| "The Newark Evening News" upon some New
Workers who with more animation than infOrma-
| ton or Judgment rage against the po4utlon Oh
New York Bay with Eau de Passatc' from inc
| proposed New Jersey trunk sewer, with the
shrewd reminder that New York Is ltself already
nollutlng those waters with Eau de Battery,
| Eau de Manhattan" and Eau de Harlem'I 10
| a far greater extent than all the communities
| Of the Passaic Valley are likely or able to do.
| The point must be regarded as we'll and truly
made New Jersey has just as good right as
| New York to use the Hudson and the bay as an
| open sewer, and New York has no moral right
| TO object To do so would be an egregious ex-
| ample of the big pots calling the little kettle
| black.
There is another point however, which New
| ark ought to consider as specially aHectlng us
| own interests, and of which the United States
| government might we'll take cognizance. That
is that the proposed sewer will be grave men
| ace to the commercial facilities Of the New Jer-
sev METROPOLIS and will cause them injuries
which will have to be abated at much cost. lt
will pour vast quantities Of solid matter INTO
the harbor OF course, New Eorks sewers do
that on n much larger scale. But these latter
empty their contents into broad and deep waters,
with strong tides and currents so that their
discharge does comparatively little harm
though II QOcS SOillc udlLl' uo tLO AN'u Iva
dredging along the waterfront proves. But the
Passaic sewer would pour its contents into mar
row and shallow waters with feeble currents,
where IT seems certain the solid matter would
largely be deposited. The channels would be
made shalOwer and 4 serious obstacle to naYi-
cation would be presented. Now, Newark wants
and ought to have a deep waterway from the
Passaic 10 the Atlantic. 1t would be poor policy
for her TO fill up the channels Of her own com
merce and il would be with poor grace that,
having done so, she could ask the United States
government to deepen those channels again.
Our Newark friends should distinguish, also,
between those New Workers who so idly clamor
against Eau de Passdic" without appreciation
of the facts and those who are intellgently and
discrimuatingly moving for general sewerage
reform The Merchants Association Of this city,
which IS leading the campaign against the pour
ing of crude New Jersey sewage Into the Staten
Island kills. has for still longer time and with
even more vieor been fighting against New
YorR's own dciilement Of the harbor waters. 1t
is earnestly opposing the Bronx sewer scheme,
which in at least one important particular Is
worse than the Passaic scheme, inasmuch as 1t
would bring Into the Hudson huge volume Of
sewage from an alien watershed, while. Of
course, the Staten Island kills are the natural
outlet for the Passalc Valley. 1t has, moreover,
with some effect urged n comprehensive system
Of redemption of New York Harbor from much
Of the food OF crude sewage from this city which
is now so wastefuly and hlthily poured into IT
Our attitude toward the whole matter is per-
fectly simple. We do not for moment question
the urgent need Of improved sewer systems In
the Passaic and Bronx valley. They were
needed long ago and should have been supplied
long ago. But sanitary and economic well
as aesthetic grounds do not believe in pour
ing crude sewage into either potable or navigable
waters If 1t is possible to do otherwise. In
these two cases it is easy TO do otherwise. 1t is
probable that the construction of trunk sewers
would be the best means Of giving relief to the
communities of the two regions in question.
But those sewers should not empty directly into
the river, the harbOr or the Sound, but into sew
age farms rendering works, where the solid
portions would be retained for industrial utiliZa-
ton and only the iuofensve and innocuous
liquid part be permitted TO escape into the water
That is what has been done by other commu-
mites far larger than these and far less con-
yenently situated for the purpose, and it has
been done with ease and profit, and that is what
the communities of the Passaic and Bronx val
leys should do