The Washington times., 1922-04-23
D. c. SEWERSAS
MYSTERIOUS AS
! THOSE Of PARIS
Jsan vaIIean's Famous Flight
Recalled by Local En-
gineers' Report.

Jean Valjean's famous fnght
through the sewers OF Paris in Les
Miserables." and CASTOR Lerous's evl
narrative OF the rat-catcher In the
Paris sewers, are recalled by j. b..
Gordon, District Sanitary Engineer
who superintends the intricate net
work OF tunnels beneath the streets
OF Washington. The history or the
sewers reads:
Years and years ago-in fact,
longer than most Washingtonians re-
member-goats gamboled on the
banks OF Tiber Creek and mosquitoes
held conventions above the sluggish
waters OF the James Creek Canal.
That was at the time when microbes
were safe from the prying fingers
OF science, and the pooulace OF the
American Capital was reyiling
Charles Dickens over back fences for
saying nasty things about Washing
ton, and America in general, in his
american Notes." and in Martin
Chuzzlewit."
Then Comes Sanitation.
Then along came sanitation, and
residents in the vicinities OF Wash
tngton's canals and creeks were made
aware that they were dwelling near
sources of disease" and were likely
Co contract fatal maladies and die
any minute. AS this happened be-
fore the organization of the Fedora.
ton of Citizens Associations, II is
unlikely that any resolutions were
adoptd by bodies OF indignant Wash.
tngtonians; but, nevertheless, the
sources OF disease" were ordered
filled in, or over, as the case
With the passage OF time and men,
and with the creation of new books
and medical opinions and celluloid
collars, all Washington's uncovered
waterways, which once had flourished
In malarial glory, became no more
than sewers, with the exception of
short strip of the James Creek
Canal, which empties into the East.
ern Branch.
II is believed that the far-famed
Dorsey Foultz was not the only fugt-
tive from justice to seek sanctuary
In the sewers of the city. Police and
sanitary officials claim that unaps
pretended culprits, who knew the
subterranean ways of Washington,
hid In them. and perhaps their sue
cessors still do, when the breath of
blue-coated Nemesis felt too warm on
the neck. Some knew the sewers
and escaped; others did not, and per-
ished in the gloom, their bodies
finally to be washed out into the
river, awful emblems of ignorance
and of the pitiless justice OF circum-
stance. So much for history.
Some Of the sewers under Wash
tngton are so large that a team of
horses might be driven through with
out difficulty. Others nre so small
that the inspectors must crouch low
and travel at a snail's pace. One va
riety has little footpaths on either
side, the water flowing I'm u concave
basin in the middle
''I know sewers here" said Cor
don, ''in which the inspectors have
TO attach creepers to the soles of
their boots. so swift is the current of
water. None except the most expert
enced inspectors are permitted to go
into these particular sewers, and
they do II sometimes at the risk of
their lives.
Risk Is Always Big.
eff an inexperienced man goes
down, he must walk between two
older men, travelling single file. As
far as know, none of our men has
ever lost his life during an inspec-
ton, but the risk is always there. II
I were to tell you all I know about
these Washington sewers, II would
take me two or three days, and most
Of the time, at least, the stories
would keep you awake"
Gordon is in favor of completing
the District sewer system as soon as
possible. Some work is to be done
in the outlying districts of Washing
ton, near the territory under the iur-
isdiction of the Washington Sub
urban Sanitary Commission. The
strongest argument, Gordon says, he
knows in favor of a clean, complete
sewer system Is the ballad OF Kip
linK's concerning the Hindu official,
who, chased by a mad elephant. fled
into a sewer and came close to physi-
cal ruination because OF the choked-
"a ~