Newark evening star and Newark advertiser., 1912-11-23
PASSA|C VALLEY
I SEWER DEFENDED
East Orange Club Hears Views
of Speaker Against
River Pollution.
NEW MEMBERS NAMED
FOR THE ANANIAS CLUB
Considerable Time Devoted to
Answering CIaIrns of Or.
Synnott.

Only one speaker was called in by
the First Ward Local Interest Club
Of East Orange last night to defend
the project of the Passaic Valley
Sewerage Commission plan of purify
ing the Passaic river, at the public
meeting held in the auditorium or
Franklin School, but his statcinentS
so stirred. up the three speakers for
the joint sewage disposal committee
of East Orange, Orange and Mont
clair that they devoted considerable
] time to answer his claims, and the
audience apparently enjoyed the
naming of new candidates for the
Ananias Club.
Councilman Edward S. Pierson'
chairman of the joint committee;
Samuel Whinnery. consulting ensl7
neer. of East Orange, who is q mem-
her of the advisory committee OF cit
izens, and Engineer Fred T. Crane,
of Orange, in their talks spoke for
the separate disposal plant. While
DR.. Nj. J. Synnott. of Montclair, was
the speaker for the commission.
The failure of the city with the
plant constructed in 1888, when q dis
posal plant was erected in the First
ward. where the meeting was held
last night, was made strong point
with DR.. Synnott In the claims he
made against the plan of having
separate plant He made the state
ment that in ten years time adverse
legislation will result in the contem-
plated plant having to be abandoned
by the three municipalities If their
moral courage did not lead them TO
give it up sooner.
Councilman Pierson took umbrage
at the statements made by DR.. Syn
mott after the physician had left the
hall at the completion of his address.
saying he was sorry DIR. Synnott had
not remained so that he could hear
the statements offered In rebuttal.
DIR. Synnott told the audience OF the
last East Orange failure in the treat
ment of sewage, and said the project
cost the taxpayers 100000, and the
final cost was brought to double that
amount as a result of the damages
that had TO be paid to property
owners. This MI. Pierson took issue
with, as he said ne had been unable
70 find through Investigation that
damages had been paid.
Mr. Aafnndad riOnf ~
the city to construct plant of the
kind proposed outside of the munich
pality. 1t had been said in various
discussions that the city was trying
TO put in the back yard of someone
Else what it did not desire itself, he
said, but the city was unwilling to
place anything in another munich
pality offensive in It's own territory.
He declared the objections to the
plant going into Soho were senti-
timental and nearby were only a
cemetery and the Isolation Hospital,
DIR. Synnott held up as an example
the plant at Chatham in the early
part of his talk and told the audi
ence it was bat q short ride by au-
tomobile to where this plant was
located, If they desired to convince
themselves further on the subject.
Repairs will soon have to be made
through the State Board of Health.
stated the physician; germs were not
removed as expected and the odor
from the plant can be detected a
half-mile away.
The location of the proposed tanks
in Soho was bad, DR.. Synnott held,
and legislation would result in the
place being given up inside of ten
years Persons are sent to the hos
pital there, where 1t is necessary to
obtain the purest of air. he said, and
it did not seem fair or human to
force on those patients foul air and
gases from the disposal tanks under
their windows. 1t is hard to keep
nurses at the institution now, but
with flies carrying filth and disease
from the tanks to the hospital it
would be almost impossible to have
doctors and nurses remain there, he
held.
If it is the intention of the advo-
Gates of the separate plant to as
sist the cemetery near where the
tanks are to go, as had been stated
in their arguments, DIR. Synnott said,
it would preye.a good scheme for the
purpose. A sewage disposal plant
in that neighborhood would be
crime, he declared, and he told of the
possibility Of legislation. adding it
would be likely as a result of what
had been proven through the use of
the tanks proposed sewage would
still be dropped into the Passaic and
the commission would surely pre-
vent its continuance, with great loss
10 the three municipalities He also
claimed that all disposal tanks were
nllisances.