New-York tribune., 1907-11-13
REPORT ON FILTRATION
MAY MEM BIG FIGHT
Nets Opposed to Making .4ppro-
priation for Work.

The Department OF Water Supply. Gas ar,
Electricity will issue its report this week ON
filtration 1t will be in the form OF book. ana
will herald a crusade for the publication OF tha
cty's water supply that will be begun at onca
Unless Controller Metz backs down. there will ba
a lively contest in the Board OF Estimate ana
Apportionment. The water department. is no-v
ready to go ahead. It's experiments have been
completed. The problem Of problems how 70
cleanse the refuse saturated sand. has been
solved No other great city has the lates.
method OF doing this. From a probable cost O.
S17,OOO.O00 the figures have been hammered
down TO S9.OOo.0OO by this new method Tia
crucial contest will be over the appropriation OF
$4O0OO00 for the building of the first half oc
the plant
The problem that has confronted cities about
to install filtration plants has been the prope-
cleansing of the sand after it has been in uss
for a period of months. The old method was to
shut down part Of the plant and then labori-
ousIy to remove the accumulated muck. New
sand was often necessary, and there was con-
tnuOus large expense. The water departments
has adopted a new method. automatic
cleanser. which cleans and aerates the sand
without interfering with the regular operation
Of the filter.
Everything is ready at Jerome Park for the
ment has its plans made-the drawings, calcula-
tions and all the technical whatnOts entering
into the work are stacked up ready to be used
the very day that the Board Of Estimate and
Apportionment says "yea" to the S4,OOO,OO0 re-
quest.
What will Mr.. Metz do?'' IS the question that
has been bothering Mr. O'Brien. But the Mayor
is friendly to the filtration scheme. and further
more. he is a good friend Of Mr.. O'Brien- The
should Mr.. Metz emit blue chemical sparks and
some fumes Mr. CoIer would oppose him. and so
would Mr.. Ahearn. That would mean seven
votes. and two of the borough presidents ara
counted upon to come along handily to give the
necessary majority vote, even though President
MCGOWAN of the Board of Aldermen should hold
off, which he is not expected to do. And there
may not be any fight. and in that case filtration
is promised as a fact by December. 1909.
The need of filtration of a water supply has
been acknowledged by large cities in this coun-
try and in Europe. and The Tribune has urged
that the water for this city should go through
the purifying process. It's value as a safeguard
to health was seen In Hamburg in the cholera
epidemic and in large cities where typhoid was
practically epidemic. Here distributing reser-
voirs have TO be cleansed periodically. The last
time measurements OF the big basin were mad,
in Central Park the depth Of the deposit varied
from nine to thirty-six inches \ breeze over
the sparkling waters carries with # the dans
odors Of decay. The analysis does not show
dangerous impurities. but the water Is not
pleasant 10 the nostrils nor TO the taste.
A typhoid epidemic is possibility here. The
active crusade for protection last spring by The
Tribune prevented one; and a last tragic re-
minder Of the narrow escape this city had was
the death from typhoid recently in the water
shed of the wife of a health officer. who Iabored
long to bring about condition OF safety for tbs
millions this island.
There was at time contest between the
Aqueduct Commission and the Water Depart
ment for the authority to build the filtration
plant. II not a very savage fight and the
Corporation Counsel when Mr. Ellison wa
Water Commissioner decided in favor OF Mr.
Ellison. Those were the days when Mr. Eli
son one OF the Mayors most intimate
friends.
Mr.. Metz was seen yesterday about the con-
tract He would not say whether he would
favor IL. In fact. he bridIed and almost tossed
his head. Money, Well. that term meant so
much to SIr. Metz that for the space OF two
minutes he was speechless. Then he expostu-
lated Money for filtration was almost an I'M
possibility he said, and he sniffed the air
like a charger his favorite devil on the VIM
dow sill turned and cast baIeful glare around
the ROOM No money for filtration. And that
means that there will be the stiffest kind of q
fight when the question comes up. The Con-
troiler may even so so far as TO refuse 70 GER
tify the finding OF the Board OF Estimate az
this time. Mr.. Metz would not say that he
would disapProve OF filtration as filtration but
as method or manner OF drawing money!
Well. the disturbance in the Stewart Building
whenever money is mentioned in the Controllers
presence at this time has a serious effect on tho
architecture. But the opposition may be modi-
fled when the time comes. and it is likely that
the Board OF Estimate will find "a wy" as
Barrie's Sentimental Tommy used TO say.