Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-03-30
PLAN FOR filter AT THE RIVER
NOT APPROVED BY ENGINEERS

I
they did not fail to mention the low
bids, and also to make notice of thu
three most favorable bids. These were
one submitted by the Norwood Engin
! Filter company, and one by the Rob
erts Filter company. While not nam
ed in this order, these are the ones
forecasted by The Argus as the ones
favored.
| 1s Exhaustive Report.
| Elsewhere is published the full re.
port of the engineers. II is compre.
hensive, and deals with every phase
| of the problem. The advantages and
disadvantages are carefully consider
! ed. and both are fully summarized
! The report deals with the plans and
specifications submitted; the extras in
cost of building the plant at the river,
and difficulties likely to be encounter
| ed; the possibilities of construction
on the hill, and the subject of fire pro-
Election. The report is well worthy of
careful study by the citizens of the
| city. The discussion of fire protection
| is of particular interest.
Better Than Supposed.
In addition to the formal report,
George p. Prince of Denver, who act
cd with John w. Alvord of Chicago,
made verbal explanation to the coun-
Gil. showing again some of the advan-
tases of the hill site over the river
front location. THE people of Rock
Island are disposed to look on that
plant on the hill as greatly worse than
1t really is. 1t is constructed cheaply.
but the principles are there, and they
are good. The plant is apparently do
ing good work. But the difficulty is
in its size. Where the difficulty lies
is in the fact that you are trying to get
two or three times the service from
it that it is suited for, and taking off
o,50G,0O0 gallons where it will do good
work only for 100000 or 1000. 900"
Mr.. Prince expressed regret that
the work done by the city engineer
and the superintendent was seemingly
dlsregarded, and stated that their rec
concentrations should in no way be
considered a criticism of these Off,
GERS. In fact, he said, their work was
very creditable and they did well with
very hard problem.
Speaking of the bill proposition, Mr..
Prince declared that he would be will
ing to stake his professional reputa-
ton as an engineer on the success of
such plan, and he said that in this
he spoke also for Mr.. Alvord.
Speaking of the objection to the hill
site on account of the wear and tear
ION machinery, he stated that the say.
ing in the cost of the double pumping
that would be necessary with the plant
at the river would offset the cost of
wear and tear. and further than this,
III the estimates of the cost of the
plant on the HILL the engineers have
allowed $4,000 for the installation of a
sand catcher, and for other details
that will tend to lessen the wear on
the high efficiency pumps at the water.
lwCrks station.
Reject the Bids.
On motion of Alderman THOMPSON,
after general discussion of the sub
ject, the bids were all rejected by the
adoption of the recommendations rf
the engineers as given in the repo t.
The question of instituting new pro-
lceedings was then taken up. and Mr..
Prince was asked what he would sup
pose to be the best way to proceed
with a view to constructing a plant On
the hill. He suggested that detailed
plans be prepared, and bids invited
BY the preparation of complete plans,
he said. the city would be better able
to judge the bids in a comparative
way. Mr. Prince suggested that the
price of preparing the plans would be
about $1,000. and that the work will
require about three weeks.
He was asked to prepare formal
proposition to do the work, and the
council will hold another meeting to-
morrow evening to consider the mat
ter further. Alderman Thompson's
motion included a provision that steps
be taken at once to secure plans with
a view to the construction of me-
chanical plant at the reservoir.
Bids on Meters.
The clerk read bids from several
| meter companies, for % 5-S-inch
meters. Several companies sent word
that bids were forwarded under separ-
ate cover, and the bids have not Us
| yet been received. The bids were all
referred to the waterworks committee
| to report.