The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-10-24
lnventS Scheme To Automatically
 Keep Cellar Dry

NOop UCliQI Uly Hartford. Oct. 24.-Ancient Romans d1d not know that water will seek US own level and they built trestles to carry their wooden water pipes at uniform grade across depressions in the earth's surface The most an- clent of Hartfords inhabitants knows that water hereabouts seeks it's own !evel, and since Hartford was in it's ln1ancy inhabitants Of ti1e city adja- cent to the Little river and Bushnell park nave had many demonstrations In their cellars of this simple result Tn hydraulics. The Hotel Garde eel lar has always been in trouble in nlgh water and many other proper ties along the river in that section or the city have also suffered.
 Plan to Keep Cellar Dry. For a number of years the Hart 1ord Manufacturing company, then making envelopes for the govern ment. suffered loss and damage through water entering the cellar of It's plant at the corner of South Ann ana Pearl streets, but six years ago the late Merrow Chapman of Man cnester, then manager of the con- pany, secured the services of Luther w. Burt, civil and hydraulic en- gineer of this city, to work out some plan to keep the cellar of the envel- ope concern from flooding.
 The buildings of the company ram DIeo around over an irregular piece or iand at the corner of Pearl and Soutn Ann streets, with Jewell Street the only bulwark between the cellar walls and the river. The property came up against the city fire engine house and the Zion M. E. church on the north and the Y. M. c. A. prop erty on the west, and the cellar in the envelope concern buildings was so low that 1t always flooded at the rising of the river. Valuable bags of glue and other stock was kept stored in this cellar which was only about six feet below the first floor and at its bottom had an average ele- Vatlon of about twenty-five feet above the United States base of low water on the Connecticut river. The com pany had to practically keep an extra force of men on hand to hustle the goods out of this cellar in wet times.
 Six years ago this month MT. Burt set to work on plans to remove this situation and he worked out so in genious and yet so simple a scheme for keeping the cellar always dry that it is wonder that all con cernS in that section of the city hav- ing trouble with flooded cellars do not ihaugurate a like remedy. MT, Burt'S devices have been in opera tion nearly six years and Charles Sloane, now general manager of the Hartford Manufacturing company. and Superintendent Johnson will tell you that they have worked perfectly all the time.
 Problem of Waters.
 Here was a. plant carrying a con- siderable amount of heavy machine and employing a number of girls, and in the general scheme to be worked out MT. Burt took into consideration two things-the taking care of tho sewage and taking care of the clear water. A public sewer ran through South Ann street, but city ordinances would not allow clear water from in- side a building to be flowed into city sewes-they are for other purposes.
 MT. Burt's first move was to get rid of the toilet closets in the cellar and these he had carried up onto the first floor. Flood water percolated through the stone foundation walls and these were first made tighter. Then came the problem of a suffi- cient pumping plant to take care of the seepage, and in this plan of inn provements MT. Burt caused the eel lar to be dug foot and a half lower.
 Simple System Does the Work.
 The system of drainage installed seems very simple now that it is in operation. There are three or more divisions of the building and each has d C0lldT. IlOOTS Ol tu6S6 CSlldIS made of cement-a1 slope slightly toward the sides. At the sides are small gutters about four inches wide and two or three inches deep, next to the side walls. These gutters carry the seepage to catch basins are laid under the cellar floors and all bring the water into a main drain which empties into a stump.
 In the stump is an iron gate which in times of very little water is open, allowing an uninterrupted drainage into the intercepting sewer, but as in times of low water there was very little trouble the workings of the sys- tenn in high water is the interesting point
 When there is any amount of wa ter to be taken care of the iron gate is closed and the water is pumped au- tomatically by a centrifugal pump over an elevation into an attached receiving chamber which communiz cates with the outside intercepting sewer by drain pipes. A new pump house was built for the purpose and in it was installed the pump operated by an electric motor with a direct current. In the stump is properly arranged float which when it rises to a certain point forms an electric con- nection, the motor commences to run the three inch pump begins to work, the water pours into the receiving chamber and is taken care of by the intercepting sewer and no water forms in the cellar.
 Reasonable Expense.
 The making of the alterations and installing the draining system occu- pied only two or three months time in spite of the fact that the work was done at some disadvantage, the soil dug out of the cellar and the cement pipes, etc., that were used all being taken out and in through the celler windows The cost of this system was entirely within reason and rem dered it feasible for a concern to whom cellar space was valuable.
 NEXT PRESIDENT A DEMOCRAT.
 (New Haven Union.)
 F. H. Hemingway of this city, whQ