Connecticut western news., 1917-10-18
Letters From the People.
WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE,
 AND NOT A DROP FIT TO DRINK.

Mark Twain once said that ever since the world was created, men had talked about the weather but nothing had ever been q Jne about it. Canaan seems to talk great deal about the highly perfumed water supply of the town but nothing seems to be done about it. The water smells bad. In plain unvarnished English the Canaan water supply S-t-i-n-k-s! It also doesn't taste goo1. In these days of stress and trial would suggest that we be as philosophical as possible. Our dogs are being kept chained up so we won't go mad, and we are going mad from hear. ing their continual barks and whines, but that is because we lack mental boise and balance; so do the dogs We should accustom ourselves to stinking water for the sake of advancing the business interests of others. This is Altsuism-loving the East Canaan Chemical Works as ourselves and better.
 Let us make virtue of business necessity that .poisons our fish, and turns our stomachs We have parted with our fishes in the lovely streams about us, but we find that we can live without fish, and probably we shall all live our appointed time if we do keep on drinking, cooking and bathing in the sludge and seepage of the East Canaan Manufactories, probably small doses of wood alcohol every day in the week won't hurt us anyway, nor any other of the chemical compounds that killed off the fishes, frogs and whirl-i- gig beetles. Such creatures should not be so fnicky. l move that we offer to pay the Canaan Water Company more water rent, that is higher wages for their splendid service. The water is, of course. made richer for, all these chemicals and rich scents being added unto it and we should expect to pay more for that which is strong enough to kill buffalo.
 When we bathe, we can hold our noses with our left hands and scrub ourselves with the right. No trouble to do this, you see. When we wish to drink, hold the nose in the same way, and remember tha people who are any. body have always gone thousands of 1 famous hot and cold springs, and most all of them have had to hold their noses in order to gulp it down. Let us pos i sess our imaginations in patience, and try to think how mucn worse it might be if we had to take our Canaan Carlsbad and White Sulphur from the sewer system. Even though honest chemical experts should declare that there is nothing harmful to human l health and life in the water supply, does that mean that from hence forth whole township must be compelled to use water that is unfit for dog to drink or go without? Nasty tasting, and smelling water is an abomination and the fishes and pollywogs showed good taste in refusing to live in it
 How about the water tax; seems as if water that the towns people have to pay for should be fit to use.
 We read of great coal operating company in Pennsylvania that has perfected system of purifying water so that all chemicals are eliminated that make it bad for ordinary purposes and the streams have become free of polluted water.
 An interesting and timely article but too long to quote from. wish only to point out that this stinking town water has become nothing less than an unbearable nuisance to the public that is obliged to use it or go without water. We are all paying good money for water that is bad bad smelling, bad tasting, and undoubtedly hurtful. The Farmer has been accused of mur- dering New York infants because he wants one cent more a quart for milk but we haven't heard that the Canaan