New-York tribune., 1907-06-21
WATERW0RKS BEGUN.
TURNS FIRST SOD.
Cfy's s16I 100000 CatsklH Enter
prise Formally Started.

transferred to the side of a steep little hin Just
across the gorge OF indian Brook. UP in Putnam
County. yesterday afternoon And there was
good reason for the presence of the men who
run the wheels Of Office, since it was there that
Mayor Mcclellan turned the first sod in the con-
struction of the Catskiu waterwor&s. the addi-
ton TO New York's water supply that will cost
$161 100000 and is the greatest engineering work
ever projected by municipality
The ceremony was witnessed by S50 Office
holders and citizens of note who had come as
the guests of the Board of Water supply and
had journeyed over the mountain roads for three
miles from Cold Spring to the secluded hillside
1t was toilsome bit OF travel for the last stage
and tired sun bistcred audience spread OUT on
the treeless grass before the temporary grand
stand But those present We're impressed vita
the full Importance of the work the beginning
of which they were to see The affair was simple
and religious in its tone. for, besides speecne7
by Mayor Mcclellan and j. Edward simmons
president of the Board of Water supply, there
was prayer by ArchdeacOn Thomas, the repre-
sentative of Bishop Potter, and a benedlc'loh oy
Monsignor Lavelle, vicar general OF the di"ceSS
of New York
FIREBOAT SALUTES WITH WATER
Nevertheless. the trip going and coming, had
the pleasant features of some sort OF offlcisi
picnic and at one stage Of a May walk ZOE
srOwn-up persons. The steamboat @AioiiIS'
trimmed with bunting and flying i white banner
l
Inscription Mayors flag" left Pier \. at the
Ratterv. shortly before o'clock although ner
official time was 9 a. u. But that delay, mayo
was because there was so much handshaklns On
the pier and also because. ControiieE Metz was
late.
din of vbistling and an appropriate salute from
| the freboat New York, that was lying on tle
Battery basin and let loose with her deck
pipes" AS the streams of water shot hlsh INTO
+ the air like smoke tney caught the sun ana
formed a tiny rainbow Then the Water supply
! C,Iee club. made up Of forty yonns engineers.
representing twenty-five different colleges. sang
/ As representatives of the six hundred assistants
! under J. Waldo Smith. the chief engineer OF the
/ Job they knew whereof they sang One of thei7
| first efforts was aimed directly at the qulet'
smiling little chief who retired to the saloon
! 1t follows:
EysTyeody works works for, for Waldo sI
To dam the Hudson River
The work wen do for waido
Ven ean on YOU for three cheers
+ As the big white boat passed along under the
/ misty Palisades the orchestra and the gee eIuo
/ took turns in Frightening things up BesloeS'
there were three heroes who walked stif1y. but
not from pride since that is not heros part
I Who were they? Why, Aldermen DOWNING
Linde and Wentz. who went down TO Pnila-
deIphia only the day before and met dereat at
the hands Of the COunCilmers OF that place
/ And also there was JOHNNY oliver, brother or
Paradise Jimmy Oliver, who joined M the
I choruses and sang with the band
When all hards piped to luncheon they
found the tables literally supplied with the
clear. cold water from the Catskius TO obtain
/ which the S16l 100000 is to be spent The
/ walters kept the jump reflling glasses.
and just as the boat reached the dock ar Cold
/ Spring the glee club at the table end
/ clinked glasses s II sang:
Down. down. down where the Beaver flows foUa.
Through in swamp sussishy goes goes.
The % %osls9.s are s saGSs. ,; II han & hairs - dog
Down where the Beaver XIII flows
Cold Springs entire population seemed to be
massed about the wharf. so much so. in fact.
that four New York patrolmen srom the City
/ Hall station marched off TO fend a way for the
I vOyagers-
SOME FORCED To WALK.
In the open lot Off the per we're twenty auto
mobiles. numbered like racing cars. and twenty
five wagons of every sort. The motor cars were
for the officials. and the wagons SOr the Others
There three miles to be covered. and tho
. carriages started off through the dust in q
long slow walking line like the tail end Of
+ circus procession. The automobiles whizzed
back and forth twice between Indian Brook
and the boat before the last carriage in the
line became stalled mile from the brook. and
the driver told the passengers they might as
we'll walk They and about hundred more
did the same. From the road they trailed down
a path 10 the bottom of the gulch foot
bridge and up the long hill to the little yellow
Z pine erandstand with its waving flags
And then they had time 70 realize that the
work about to be begun meant that the entirs
Esopus Valley. across the Hudson. Is TO %
turned into a great lake by means Of the hugo
I Ashokan dam. From this lake, fed by the Cats
kill streams will be projected the aqueduct. al
large as a subway tunnel its channel Eeishr
being twenty-seven feet This aqueduct in its
Journey will dip under the Hudson at Storm
. ofr nv an SiDhOQ
again beside Breakneck Mountain. where u VIII
make it's way to the Croton system At the
spot where the ceremonies were held part OK
I the aoueduct system will be begun at once, since
the contract has already been let. This part
will he finished. il Is expected, in six years.
when 25OWO.OUO gallons a day will be added
tn New YOrks water supply And when the
entire system is completed in about twenty
Years the water supply will be increased oy
6O0,O00.OOo gallons day.
ONLY TWO WOMEN PRESENT.
In the grandstand besides Mayor Mcclellan.
sat Mr. simmons. president with his associates
on the Board of Water Supply. Charles y Chad-
wick and Charles A Shaw. All the members OF
the state BC ard Of Water Supply were there
I we'll as the Aqueduct Commissioners. William
H Ten Eyck and John ]. Ryan, and John H
/ O'Rrien Water Commissioners. Corporation
Counsel Ellison and his assistant. George L.
Sterling who has been handling the Condemna-
tion proceedings to get the land for the work.
were also there Then there were COntrOher
Metz and Bird s COler, Louis F. Haffen. Joseph
. Bermel and George Cromwell, Borough Presi-
dents with the Municipal Civil Service Ccmmis-
sioners. William +. Baker, X ftOSS appleton ana
Alfred r. TaIey.
Besides these and other ofTlcehOlders there
was on the platform John Bigelow. the author
and statesman. who. despite his ninety years.