The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-10-03

ter river and pointed out that much l expense in construction of sewage could be saved by allowing the Roos- ter river to carry off the surface wa | ter and to build small sewers to han | dle the other class Of sewage. He personally had spent much time in | looking into the proposition and only
 a lew hours before had communicated With pr. Root of the State Board of l Health and asked him if it was like ly that the State Board of Health would insist that the sewage be taken from the Pequonnock river. Dr. Root had told him that in his opinion it was likely that such a step would be taken. Dr. Townsend, secretary of
 the board, told him the same thing. MT. Vincent said that there was am- pie reason for making a change, Nhe
 tune is now here, and the city can afford it. if it follows the lines of the report of the commission.
 Andrew M. Cooper, chairman Of the subcommittee of the board of appor- t1onment having to do with sewers also went into the history of the de- Velopment of the Herring plan to it's
 present stage, and said that on the strength of the report of the commis-
 s1on the sewers recently built have
 been designed to conform to the sys-
 tenn.
 He said he had been interested in
 the proect himself for several years,
 and recently when the committee was
 discussing sewer construction, he ask
 ed Alderman O'Neil, the chairman of
 the committee on sewers of the com
 mon council, if he had read the Her.
 ing report. O'Neil admitted that he
 hadn't. Then he said that Commits sloner Goodsell had resented his inter-
 ference.
 Walter B. Lasher of the paving commission told of the conditions in the Pequonnock river. He said it was so contaminated with sewage that the
 brine used in tempering steel in his plant, on the river was useless, and that the extra expense to his concern on that account was $50 daily.
 He closed the arguments of the ad- vocates of the system.
 Lynn w. Wilson who arrived just at the close of the arguments for the system, explained in opposing the scheme that he came unexpectedly. because his friend MT. Goodsel1 who expected to speak in opposition was stricken with a cold that prevented his speaking.
 MT. Wilson attacked the Herring re- port as being highly incomplete and said that if any of the business men who were advocating the adoption of the scheme for the city's future growth were to have such a report presented to them in their individual lines of business, they would hesitate a long while before acting without much further information.
 In the first place, MT. Wilson said, the report does not point out the cost or maintenance of the system, when it is once established.
 Again there is no estimate of the capital cost For instance, the report intimates that the oyster properties l. cated. There is no estimate of this cost which MT. Wilson said may reach anywhere from $500.00O to $1.- GOO, ,00O
 Again, MT Wilson said that the quantity of water in our rivers is am- pie to handle the sewage of Bridgeport of the future
 He spoke also of the cost of sewers the ultimate coSt-falling upon the home. It is a charge not upon wealth or property but a charge upon land. This means that the burden must fall upon the home. It is only just that the city should ponder well before placing this great burden upon the owners of the small homes. and it is also highly proper, he argued that the city's representatives should have much more complete information as to the system than is embodied in the report, before proceeding along any such radical lines as are indicated
 U. s. Commissioner Peck ridiculed the idea of establishing huge pump ing station, and the treatment of the sewage before pumping it out to sea. Taking the words of a great physician, he said that nature is the only phy- sician, after all. Salt water is the greatest antiseptic in the world, he said, and, the sewage of Bridgeport with natures treatment will never give the citizens cause for alarm.
 He recommended the sincerity of the men who made the report, hut said it is characteristic of men advocating such report to be impressed with the absolute necessity of it's adoption. He recalled a scheme that was once laid before the city to bond for $400.- 900 to build macadam streets, of great effort to foist the scheme up on the city, and of the city's having even though those who fath- cred the plan predicted disaster as an 
 Then he asked the advocates of the Herring system where they would put the pumping station. The storms of protest about a garbage plant would be mild. in comparison to those that would brew in event of the city's att tempting to locate such an establish ment.
 He said that inland towns alone nave the need or dispensing or the sanitary sewage so called. Where the towns are on salt water nature takes care of the problem. He called atten tion to Havanas land locked harbor, of the fears that once existed that disease sprang from the sewage, and of the laying of the ghost by the of theN mosquito.
 Speaking as private citizen and taxpayer, he said he believed the time is ripe for the city to go slow on the matter of expense With bond issues of $S00.00O impending. he said the idea of further expense, not justifiable. is 1 to be we'll considered by those en- trusted with the expenditure of the l