East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1912-08-15
RESTORING A RIVER
TO FORMER BEAUTY
State of New Jersey VIII Spend $12,-
100000 on Sewer To Stop Contain
inaton of the Passaic BY Inhabi-
tants of Valley.

New York.-What probably will be
the largest sewer i'm the world was
begun to drain the Passaic river val
ley in New Jersey, and restore to its
former beauty one of the prettiest and
most valuable rivers in the country.
This trunk sewer will carry the ref
use OF a population numbering be-
tween 100000 and 100000 to the
seaboard, where enormous reduction
works will dispose of it so that 1t
will not contaminate the waters of
| New York harbor.
Until fifteen or twenty years ago
the Passaic. which is navigable from
! its mouth to Newark bay to Paterson
for vessels drawing twelve feet, was
the inspiration of many landscape ar
lists. Along both banks were fine old
country estates, many of them the
homesteads of wealthy and aristo-
cratic New York families. Those
homesteads are deserted now, most of
them in charge of caretakers, while
the owners wait for the return of the
natural beauties of the stream. The
river bends and twists gracefully and
each bank Is overhung with great old
trees, which have refused to perish
from the poison that has been dump
ed into the stream.
With the tide water going as far
as Paterson it was once the finest
boating stream around New York. Be-
fore Paterson became the silk city"
and before Paterson erected its tre-
mendous mills which have emptied
their poisonous dyes into the river the
Passaic was alive with canoes, yachts
and the EARLY models of power craft.
Channel Lured Manufacturers.
Then came commerce. The excel
lent channel lured manufacturers be-
cause they could get their raw pro-
duct and their coal by economical wa
ter transportation and then their fin
ished product by water to the sea-
| board which meant not only one
opening to the American market
through railroads centering in New
York harbor, but egress to the mar
kets of the world.
Silk mills were built in Paterson
until now it manufactures more silk
than France. Passaic built cotton,
woolen and worsted mills and estab-
lishments to dye the raw silks, woolens
and CCttons.
Each mill has a sewer opening in
to the / assaic river and it was not
long before the pollution drove all
the fine fish out of the river. Dis
carded dyestuffs turned the river
black and with the rise and fall OF
the tide the banks became unsightly
with refuse.
Quickly spreading industries added
greatly to the population of these
cities and i'm consequence the sewer
age increased and added to the refuse
from the factories it made an odoI
in the river that quickly drove all the
aristocratc residents along the shore
away.
They closed their houses and lef
caretakers, but they did not offer theil
estates for sale feeling certain tina
river and valley so naturally beau
tiful could not forever be so desc
Grated. They have held on to theil
titles and it is believed the Passai'
soon is destined to be the haven o
as SeleCt ana exclusive COlOIy al
that of Tuxedo park or Lenox.
Barred the HOmeseekers.
The odor from the river KEEP
homeseekers from the city from build
ing near it, and the entire valley 70
quarter of a mile on either sid
of the river has been deserted ex
cept for the big mills. Many of thes'
Industries employ 1000 and 800
women, girls and men, while severa
have 10000, 1000 and 5000 EN-
ployes each.
Agitation to clean the river ha
been going on since it was first pol
luted 1t took form in congress fiv,
years ago in a law which provided
that after December 1, 1912. no sew
age or refuse should be dumped in
to the Passaic river, a navigabl
stream, and therefore, under the jur
isdiction of the war department
This time recently was extended
year. because New York state op
posed having the trunk sewer paral
leling the river terminate in New
York harbor waters. There was loni
I,o ic