Year: 1879

Aha :. RepuDl lean - II that paper.


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The water Question.


No doubt the article in another col
umn, furnished by City Councilman,
in reference to the perplexing water
question, will be read with much inter
est by our citizens who are all directly
interested in having good water and
plenty of it. The plan proposed BY Mr.
Chandler is . new and novel one, but
when properly viewed, there are none
who will say that it is impractical. The
people of Wilmington are exceedingly
sood-natured to put up with the impure
water that is sometimes furnished them
I, drink, and the wonder is that they
have not long ago rebelled against bfv-
ing poisoned water forced up from the
creek into the basins, from whence 1t Ia
distributed all through the city. 1t is
sheer nonsense to suppose that two
kinds Of water can bs sent down the
same stream, one kind pure and the
other impure, and that the pure can be
pumped up and the impure left to run
on its way down 20 the greater rivers
below. The testimony is undisputed
that sometimes the water Of the Bran
DIVINE is as black as ink, made SO by
poisonous drugs and extraneous matter
let into the creek from the manufac-
tories up the stream. So poisonous are
the waters rendered that fish are al
most instantly killed aud float upon the
surface. II is said that this only occurs
on certain set days, when the pumps
are stopped until the nauseous sicken-
ing mass floats by. This may in great
measure be true, but it is difficult to
understand how stream that floats
down poisonous masses of filth and pet
rification one day, car be perfectly clear
the next day, and it has happened that
the poisonous mass has been sent on
its way down the creek without notice
having been given to the engineers at
the city mills to enable them to stop
the pumps, and as q consequence por-
tions of this poisoned water has been
pumped up into the reservoirs and used
by our citizens. As time goes on manu-
factories must and will increase along
the Brandywine, and as a consequence
the health and lives of the citizens Of
Wilmington must become more endan-
gered. This alone will necessitate a
removal of the base of our water supply
farther up the creek, and the sooner
this is done the less cost it will be TO
the city.


When this is done, the whole Brandy
wine below the bass of supplies could
be thrown open to manufactures, and
indeed the city itself could hardly ap-
propriate its water rights to a better
purpose than to build number of mills
and rent them to small manufacturers,
who have not the means for erecting
large works but would become good
tenants to the city. The plan proposed
by Mr.. Chandler is a new one in so far
az i. does away with pumps at the base
Of supply and thereby brings the water
down into the city basin through con-
duits by its own natural force of gravi-
tation to the basin which he proposes
should be built on the City sand lot.
His plan he claims and with strong
show of reason would save s., 500 in
the expense of fuel and the running OF
pumps which would be sufficient to pay
the interest on the cost of the proposed
new works. 1t is very evident that
something mast be done before long to
supply the city with purer water. A
great many expedients have been resor-
ted to but all seem to have failed. The
same black inky colored water courses its
way down the Brandywine, but increases
in quantity. The question shall the
great factories on the Brandywine, that
gave employment to probably thou
sand hands be closed, or shal i the city
go around those factories and bring its
water from above them. Sound reason
would seem TO dictate that the city
would be largely the gamer by going to
Rockford dam for her supply as it would
not only do away with poisoned waterbut
all restraints Icing removed, the in
crease of manufactures below the base
of the water supply would bring in a
largely increased revenue in the shape
of taxes to the city. Mr.. Chambers
article however will speak fer itself on
this point and We bespeak for it a care
full perusal.


WHILE THE Democrats have a great
deal to say about the obnoxious pres
ence of Kellogg in the Senate, BY what
they call bogus Legislature they have