Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-12-02
Dixon After DefLers
of the City's Water
Cnnilnn.d frnm rage ono

Continued from Page Ono
where hundreds Of bags Of the clay" were
stored They looked like flour bags piled
one on top of tho other
The superIntendent thrust hand into
one Of tho bags and drew forth a handful
Of white substance resembling talcum
powder.
Placing some on the end Of his tongue.
nc observed
You see II is quite harmless"
Hero is what Doctor Dixon had 10 say
about that clay"
1T ls not clay NJ ALL" he said. 1T ia soda.
and n too much Of II ls allowed TO escape
into the water supply IL will seriously irri-
tate the Intestinal tract Of the water users.
1T la soda that causes the water To be
milk white opposite the Nixon Paper Com
pany plant, and II W. soda that causes the
scum on the shore opposite the plant of
Collins a. Aikman We are going to visit
these plants today and subject them 10 "A
rigid inspection These plants claim that the
waste which Rushes forth into the Schuyl-
kill contains only twelve per cent OF soda.
n this ls 70 II can do no harm. but we
are going up today to find out N II does
contain only twelve per cent. These plants
have been pretty busy lately and may not
have been giving the matter proper atton-
ton"
An Official OF the Philadelphia Paper
Company denied that the dlrty-looklng
water pouring from his plant into the
Schuylkill mcnaced the water supply
at E Just water from the condenser In
tho engine room and there a no harm in
II. II you want 10 find any pollution go
further mp the river to Lafayette or Bridge
port"
In dealing with the hint Of this official
that the pollution was further UP the river,
Doctor Dixon said
~ am certain that II In not farther tip
the river. The pollution In coming from the
slF NlHF ri.
ough investigation Of the paper mills and
then we will give the iron and steel mills in
Manayunk n good looking over. II may he
that In these iron mills employees have been
washing rollers In the river. causing grease
and chemicals to get into the water We
are going to get right down to the source
Of the trouble and will make n careful In
spection. subjecting all suspected water to
n rigid chemical analysis
The thing that strikes me as strange
though is that the water In tn. SchuyIkiIl
does not taste or smell thu same as the
water from the same supply when drnwu
through the pipes out In West Philadel-
phia."
The Manayunk bank OF the Schuyltill for
some distance up and down tho river re.
sembles a large-sized city DUMP In tho
rear OF the Philadelphia Paper Company are
stacked about forty tons Of rusty iron wire
which is used for the balnR OF paper waste
oINNh hli AAplk NHt river Dunk are ashes
tin cans, rubbish and all kinds OF waste
In the water near the shore n
large quantity OF rubbish has been dumped
The river near the mills has n dirty blush
hue, as II II was laden with filth Nearly
all Of the plants discharge waste water
OF some sort in the river. The spectacle
by the river at this point is not
calculated TO inspire West PhiadeIphians
with confidence as to the purity of their
water supply.
Doctor Dixon said that he would take
no action to close down any OF the mills
unless he IL assured OF clear case against
the offenders
Doctor Dixon stlll blames in part the
decay OF, organic matter in the water
supply. Tests OF the water have revealed
the presence of large numbers OF micro
which biologists know to be re-
sponsible for certain water navors and
tastes some OF which are chemical in char.
acter. The unsavory flavor is not harm.
ful. Doctor Dixon states.