New-York tribune., 1907-11-12
THEY SHOW THE MAYOR
RESENT HIS CRITICISM.
metropolitan Seacerage Commission
ers Tel What TkeY've Done.

The Metropolitan Sewerage Commission was
nnetaphoricsly knocked into heap by the criticism
by the Mayor last week. The Mayor said the COM
mission was q sort of moribund body. This com
mission was appointed in June of 1906 by act Of
the Legislature. The members are DIR. Daniel
Lewis, president; All. Provost. tr secretary Pro-
fessor Oln II. Landreth George A Soper and
James H. Fuertes.
Members of the commission got together yester-
day to consider the remarks of the Mayor. He is
reported to have said that he had asked for the
resignation of the members and also that if they did
not send in their designations Immediately would
starve them out. from which II was said il would
generally be supposed that the members were de-
pendent upon their income as members Of the
commission for their livelihood. The Mayor is also
reported to have said that the commission not
in harmony. To prove that the Mayor wrong
in this criticism. the commission got together yes
terday-that is, all except Professor Landreth, Mr..
Soper and Ny. Tuertes.
report prepared In advance to show what
had been done. and then it. was given that
the Mayor had not asked for the resignation of
any of the commission members. that two had
fered to retire NIessrs. Soper ana Fuertes). and
that the Mayor had ignored the designations.
The commission reported that the individual mem
bers had rot received any recomponse for work
done that the appropriation OF $1,000 had not been
used, and that work of the most Important charac
ter had been done in the interests of the city The
commission asked for $500 recently round out the
S5,oo1 allowed by the Legislature and the Con-
granted. The commission insists that unless the
last appropriation is granted the work of the body
will have been in vain.
Not cent has any member of the commission
received remuneration. The members were to
have received a per diem payment. but after the
Mayor heard what the commission wanted he ap-
parently forgot all about Il. The commission said
that $4,000 would be necessary 10 bring the work
to proper completion and to recompense the mem
bers for their work. The Mayor heard all this,
nodded IN seeming approval squeezed the hand of
each member he said good night, and then ap-
parently forgot all about IT, Then came his crit- ,
cism. The commission has prepared the following
report prove that il has not been idle:
Number Of meetings held by the commission, "A;
p6Tsjesl Chemical and bacterial properties 9S6
number of samples of muds analTzed for phNsi-
cal chemical and bacterial properties. 'G5.
cial studies
whole from Yonkers to Sandy Hoo and the East
River affected by normal conditions and by
10 When 9oating and SUSPENDED sewage is car
spections determine the extent to which float
tons, sampling and anayZing of the waters at al
depths from shore to shore at yaTloms snd P0ndIs
ings and borngs into The harhor bottom ana @ Iu!I
se ene ana @f R da ~ IeaTches herofore under
taken by the United States government
Then come the special studies: investigation Of |
jacent 10 important sewer outlets, and in Graves
end Bay. Kill kul Newark Bay, Gowanus !
Canal, Newtown Creek, Harlem River, etc; in !
vestigations the suitability of harbor water |
street sprinkling and flushing (at request of |
harbor water upon the copper sheathing of ships |
(at request Of Maritime Exchange
This outline was prepared soon as the Mayors |
remarks In The Tribune read. The Mer- |
chants Association. which has been cooperating
with the metropolitan commission, is in thorough |
sympathy with the latter. Edward Hatch jr, |
the chairman of the pollution committee Of the |
Merchants Association, said yesterday:
do not like to criticise the action Of the |
Mayor but in my opinion TO approve the further |
prosecution OF the work of the Metropolitan Sew
erage Commission which has done much IN the |
collection of data and statistics relative to the i'm
pOTtant subject Of harbOr pollution, would be one
of the most important acts OF his administration |
and one of which he would always have reason /
be proud DR. George A SOper. who rendered |
was, according TO newspaper report, al engineer |
IN the employ of the Standard Oil Company. That |
company OF the largest polluters of the |
waters of New York H2rbor. and IT is thought |
in quarters that this report gave rise TO !
the talk of diSsenSiOn which has existed the |
commission. Or. Soper denied that he was con-
nected with the Standard on Company. He has
believe the waters around New York Overbur-
dened with sewage. although good judges esti-
mate that there 1000 900 gallSS of sewage
deposited each day, and that when the New Jer-
sey sewer IS constructed there will be 5O0O00O00
gallons additional PreconceiVed notions of this
sort would hardly make one impartial
missioner