Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1918-04-26
THE WATER SYSTEM.

POSED to any plan by which the pres
snt inadequate supply Of water for tn
town may be amplified or sdde
to, &c.,
Mr.. Morrison certainly misappre
bends the position Of the HERALD; TO
We do not believe that he would In
nationally misstate its position Il
order to erect q target which he woul'
proceed to demolish with his chlorin
poisoned arrows.
We challenge any reader OF tn
HERALD to show where it occupied
the position ia which he would fail
place 1t.
School text books, over a hal
G 'ntury ago cautioned us agains
"she fallacy Of changing the point IL
dispute, in which one of the parties IL
long and difficult controversy, aftel
having tried in vain to establish hi
irrelevant conclusion, dexterously
shifts his ground from the point II
dispute to some other, and rertina-
clously claims that TO be true which
has not been disputed, while the true
matter of contention Is left, without
an honest confession of his inability
to prove his assertion"
The HERALD has distinctly pro-
tested against poisoning the pure soft
water, which has delighted
our people for over seventeen years
and upon which not even shadow
OF suspicion has been cast, with
water that is known to be filthy
and from which not even the chlorine
gas treatment will remove the
typhoid and dysentery germs.
He furthermore says that he "be-
lieves the water can be treated by
f tration and made pure and whole
some as that which flows into the
reservoir" This is a matter OF his
bslief, but cities with large. and costly
plants have failed to elimi-
nate typhoid fever germs.
The Shenandoah Valley has been
favored above many sections of the
Its fertile fields, its beauti.
ful streams meandering through its
entire length, and its lofty mountains
sending forth from either side streams
Of pure life giving water for the
luenchipg of our thirst, assure us
hat there is no fairer land in which
nan can live. To destroy the purity
If this water by inserting a poison
Which by its bad taste and obnoxious
dor bids US beware, is not only bad
out, in our opinion, is pure
madness.
Has there been a rapidly dlmin-
shing supply of mountain water? We
10 not believe it.
There has been greatly increased
and waste OF water.
There has been negligence in con-
the supply. The reservoirs
lave been permitted to leak, a terra
,otta pipe, half milein length. filled
u many places with rootlets that al
most stop the flow, and in some places
broken, has done service for seven
cen years. In spite of the opinion of
xperts, we believe the supply that
vas intended to flow through this pipe
las been materially diminished.
Mr.. Morrison cites the following
conditions: "a constantly increasing
number of cesspools in the town and
rom mum beriess bitches, drains, and
private sewers, whose
tagnant and polluted filth lies fester-
ny il unsightly pools along the pub
ic streets during the long and torrid
months of summer, eudangering the
health of every man, woman and child
q the town and also that of every
,ojourner who enters town." and then
asks docs the HERALD favor per.
conditions such as these in
W ooc stock?"
The HERALD favors neither the
oerpetuation nor the permission of
such conditions. AS the condition of
The streets has been advertised by
Mr.. Morrison, the question naturally
occurs to everyone, who is respon-
sible for this state of affairs? Has
not the property of the town been taxed
at a higher rate than that OF any town
in the Valley?
Have we no street Committee? Have
we no Street superintendent?
Has the government of the town no
power to regulate the installing of
cesspools, so that they do not become
a nuisance, annoying the neighbors
and befouling the streets? Shovel and
broom men with horse and cart
would do more to improve our streets
than experts with mathematical in
struments.
Nearly, If not all, corporations
make blunders and often pay very
dearly for them. Harrisonburg sank
an artisan we'll and put in pump.
ing station at the costs of thousands
of dollars, and then abandoned il
and went to the mountain for supply
OF pure mountain water. The town
continued to prosper until it became
a city. Shall Woodstock pursue an
opposite plan and poison our mountain
water, with chlorine gas. in order to
increase the quantity?
This is not ''prejudice," nor is it
the result of "prejudicial mind, -
but it can more properly be termed
prudence to prevent wild cat schemes
which would injure rather than bene
fit the town. He refers us to Wash
ington and Richmond as examples
Those cities at an enormous outla,
OF money, use river water, because
they havs no other, but neither ha,
such pu water as gushes forth from
our mountain springs.
I'D IL