The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-04-29
GOODSELL TELLS
 HIS VIEWS ON
 POLLUTION BILL
Believes Sound Acts As Huge Antiseptic
 Tank fOt Sewage
Says Present System of Sewage Disposal for Shore Towns
 Can't Be Improved

To the Editor of the Farmer-Sir:
 At the hearing before the Commit tee on Public Health and Safety at Hartford April 2S. 1913, with regard to the pollution of the waters on i'm land streams and tidal waters border ing our coast under biA No. 7os, the oyster industries after months of ad- vertising efforts in the public press throughout the State. and with the as- sistance of engineers from other States, brought forward the following arguments. Mir. Osborn Congelton, Sanitary Engineer of New York stated there was a black belt of typhoid fe- yer surrounding New York City and vicinity and other sections bordering the Rivers of Pennsylvania, New ter sey and Delaware, on account of the pollution of their rivers and tidal wa ters. These conditions of typhoid may exist as he claims in these several To- cations. but no announcement of the same has been published up to the present time in the press. He stated that for two cents a head per person per week, certain contractors were ready to guarantee to eradicate all foul odors and sewer pollution from the sewers in our several cities. This statement is probably based on some new sanitary sewer system. which up to the present time has not been in stalled in any of our large cities. from which we would be able to. gather suitable data and comparisons for proper Investigation. And the claim in regard to the profitS that could be reclaimed from large quantities or waste matters such as the eludEe that is left after the sewage is purified at the settling basins Is prObIenaaticai, when Engineer Caapp of Frc#idence says Tt has been ascertadned by Ac- fuaI tests, that this sludge -4g SD much diluted by being water Borne for long distances, the refuse cannot be made available for fertilizing purposes. The original sewage from the City of Pasa- dena, California which has been called to our attention is used under the following conditions: After passing through settling tank only, this sew age is distributed over the city farm lands for fertilizfng purposes by frri- gation methods, to which there Is a strong objection made from adjacent land owners, who claim this method of irrigation is a public nuisance. Many of our cities have no large areas of land suitable for using raw sewage for farming purposes in this manner, and it is very doubtful if the citizens of our different cities or towns would not also strongly object to such foul conditions Have the parties adwocat- ing this bill produced any analysis from we1l-known chemists that would show at what per cent. the waters were polluted adjacent or >near these oyster grounds, or proved that the oys- ters taken from the oyster beds along our shores are diseased?
 ''The dredging of oysters along our shore front is going today the same as it always has done, and these oys- ters are being shipped to all parts, Of the country for consumption. The green substance discovered on the oys- ters cultivated along our coast, has been of many years standing, and the cause of this green substance Is at tributed Do the growth of 8 grass or weed on the bottom of the oyS7r beds which creates stringent tastf out not unhealthy to eat, therefore t Q pollu- tion of the waters of Lon Island Sound cannot be claimed at this late day as being the cause of the green substance on the oysters.
 ssH so, would it not be the part of honesty that all oysters placed upon the market for sale should be distinct ly labeled as being grown in the pol 1uted waters of Long Island Sound bordering on the State of Connecticut, or have the State Board of Health give certificates as to the sanitary condition of the oyster beds and the purity of the, oysters taken from these beds before shipment
 (Contdnued on Page s.)