Mr. SLOMAN. Prefacing what I have to say, I desire to state that I
was born and brought up in the city of Detroit. I have practiced law
during the past 37 years. I have had a summer home during the past
18 years at what is called Sans Souci on the St. Clair River about
midway between Detroit and Port Huron.
Some little time before your commission was appointed, on an occasion
when my eldest daughter was down in the city and there was apparently
an epidemic of typhoid she contracted typhoid fever, and we came near
losing her. It was that which caused me to interest myself very much
in this question of the water supply and its pollution.
Our summer home has a frontage of about 1,400 feet on the river, on
the south channel, where all the boats pass. Only as recently as two
weeks ago last Saturday there came down the river a quantity of oil
in the form of scum that covered the river from the center clear to
the shore. An east wind that was prevailing at the time blew that
stuff over to the shore, and the launches and rowboats stationed
at the dock were covered with that oil clear to the gunwales. It
was almost a day before we could get a drop of drinking water from
the river. It was that situation that I called to the attention of
the minister of fisheries, to which the letter that I have here is
a reply. The oil supply supposedly came from the Imperial Oil Co.
at Sarnia. The quantity was simply enormous. It came down in spots,
covering an area of over 40 feet square. It looked like filth.
Mr. POWELL. Was it black?
Mr. SLOMAN. No; it was a dark brown.
Mr. GARDNER. Was it raw oil as it comes from the earth?
Mr. SLOMAN. Evidently so. Underneath that, of course, the marks
of the oil were apparently in the usual form in which it is found
floating on the water.
Mr. TAWNEY. Has that condition happened only once?
Mr. SLOMAN. No; it has happened before, but not to the extent that
it did at the time I refer to. No one who has lived up there and has
seen conditions and is at all familiar with fishing can help but
realize that another happening of that kind will interfere seriously
with fishing.
Mr. MAGRATH. You had better read that letter that you received from
the minister of fisheries.
Mr. SLOMAN. This letter comes from the deputy minister of the naval
service. When this condition presented itself I at once got in touch
with the United States Engineer office in the expectation that some
one on the American side who had the power would take some steps to
prevent its recurrence. Upon calling up the Engineer office I found
that Col. Patrick was about to start for the Mexican border, and he
could not give it any attention. He was fearful that the matter might
not receive proper attention from his office, and it was not strictly
in his line. Inasmuch as the stuff had apparently come from the
Canadian side, I got in touch with the minister of fisheries, because
I understood that on a former occasion they had gone after this
oil company. It is not an uncommon occurrence to find oil in large
quantities coming down the river there. Over in Mitchells Bay large
quantities of carp have died as the result of an accumulation of that
stuff that has floated or drifted over there on account of the wind.
In reply to my communication I received the following letter:
OTTAWA, _June 22, 1916_.
SIR: I have your letter of the 19th instant with regard to
the pollution of the Michigan side of the St. Clair River
by heavy deposits of oil, apparently coming from a plant
operating at Sarnia, Lambton County, Ontario.
Your representations will be referred to the department of
game and fisheries, Toronto, which administers the fishery
regulations for Ontario, and immediate attention will be
requested in the matter. I am, sir,
Your obedient servant,
G. J. DESBARATS,
_Deputy Minister of the Naval Service_.
ADOLPH SLOMAN, Esq.,
_Counselor at Law, Suite 330, Penobscot Building,
Detroit, Mich._
In trying to ascertain what was the real prolific cause of the
fouling of the water supply I tried to decide in my own mind in
watching the boats pass by to what extent they were responsible for
the contamination of the water supply. I wish you gentlemen could
have the privilege of standing with me on my dock some night to see
the condition of the water. You would raise your hands in holy horror
and say, Is it possible that this is the stuff which the people are
obliged to drink? The rays of light penetrate the water and show
the impurities in it. There are no words that can express the foul
condition of that water, and we get our drinking water from that
source.
Mr. TAWNEY. What is the relation of the boat traffic on the river to
this pollution?
Mr. SLOMAN. With regard to the sewage?
Mr. TAWNEY. Yes.
Mr. SLOMAN. I believe that at least a quarter if not a third of the
foul matter that is deposited in the river comes from the vessels.
And I want to say to you that I have never been able to understand
how the rights of human life ought to be set to one side for the
rights of property, what earthly justification there is for allowing
these vessels to deposit their foul matter in the river when they
could take care of it by incinerating plants. They may say it
would put them to some inconvenience. What of it? I think we have
a right to have health considered first. Not only that, but take
the condition that existed 25 years ago. The water of the Detroit
River was considered the finest in the world for drinking purposes.
The city was comparatively small as considered to its population of
to-day; the tonnage was small as compared with what it is to-day; but
with the increase of this tonnage and the increase of population,
together with the fact that vessels have been built in the past few
years of heavy draft, it has been utterly impossible for nature to
take care of what it would ordinarily take care of in the matter of
pollution.
It is usually said that water purifies itself every 7 miles. These
vessels coming along there churn that water up above the intake pipe
and the northeast winds blow that stuff over. Those boats with big
drafts churn up that stuff all the way up to the ship canal, and with
the wind blowing from the northeast, it riles over the city supply
intake.
Mr. MIGNAULT. Where is your property?
Mr. SLOMAN. At Sans Souci, which is on Harrisons Island, about 3
miles southeast of Algonac, on the south channel of the St. Clair
River.
Mr. MIGNAULT. How far from Sarnia?
Mr. SLOMAN. It is about midway between Detroit and Sarnia, and Sarnia
is directly opposite Port Huron.
Mr. MIGNAULT. Then, it would be about halfway between Sarnia or Port
Huron and Detroit?
Mr. SLOMAN. Approximately.
Mr. MIGNAULT. Of course, the pollution which you mentioned comes from
above.
Mr. SLOMAN. It comes from above. At Algonac the oil apparently does
not go down the north channel, but goes down the south channel. When
an east wind is blowing it can be plainly seen on the shore. For a
week no woman could attempt to step on that shore without ruining her
dress.
Mr. MIGNAULT. Did I understand you to say that your property is on an
island?
Mr. SLOMAN. It is on Harrisons Island; directly opposite is Squirrel
Island, and directly opposite that is Warpool Island.
Mr. MIGNAULT. Your property is on the American side?
Mr. SLOMAN. It is on the American side.
Mr. POWELL. Did you make any inquiries as to how the Imperial Oil Co.
allowed this stuff to escape?
Mr. SLOMAN. No; I did not get up there. It has not been my privilege
to get up there since this occurrence, but I at once got in touch
with the authorities that I thought would handle that situation.
Mr. POWELL. It may have been due to carelessness.
Mr. SLOMAN. It looked as though they had let go what might be
considered a tremendous quantity of oil. No ordinary quantity could
have made a showing such as that did.
Mr. MIGNAULT. How often has it happened?
Mr. SLOMAN. In different forms it has been going on for four or
five years. It has come down two dozen times--not in that quantity,
but the water would show traces of oil below the surface and on the
surface.
Mr. MIGNAULT. Do you mean that it has happened two dozen times in a
year?
Mr. SLOMAN. No; during that period of the past four or five years.
But it is not only that; when an east wind blows we get on our shore
the garbage and foul matter that comes from the vessels. This year it
is particularly hard on us because there never were so many vessels
going up and down the river as there are to-day.
Mr. POWELL. How long ago since this happened?
Mr. SLOMAN. Two weeks ago last Saturday.
Mr. POWELL. Coming up the bay this morning, at this end of the
Livingstone Channel, just about the Limekiln Reef, there was a lot of
stuff on the surface that looked like raw sewage.
Mr. SLOMAN. Well, there probably was; but the Limekiln crosses below
the city of Detroit, while this was above.
Just a thing or two more I would like to say in that connection. As
I say, I was born and brought up here in the city of Detroit, and
I will give way to no one in the matter of loyalty to the city of
my birth, but Detroit is confronted with a problem that she must
absolutely take care of, no matter what the cost is. It is merely
a question of time when the water supply will be absolutely unfit
for drinking purposes. We are drinking to-day chlorinated water. It
was only a matter of a year or two ago when they cleaned out the
reservoir of the waterworks, and I would hate to tell you what they
found. There were two skeletons among the objects found there and a
lot of very foul matter. The middle and wealthier classes are not
drinking Detroit water; they are drinking well water, simply because
if they use Detroit water they must drink this chlorinated water. The
question is whether Detroit ought not to build in the future so as to
conserve life rather than property or expense.
The city of Grand Rapids was confronted with a similar condition
in 1913. Grand Rapids is a city of about 115,000 inhabitants. They
undertook to discharge their sewage into the Grand River, and one
of the towns below there filed a bill in the State court for an
injunction to restrain the city from letting its sewage go into the
river. I would like to call your attention to that case because it is
full of facts; it is full of the testimony of the engineers.
Mr. POWELL. The plaintiff’s appeal succeeded?
Mr. SLOMAN. Yes; the injunction was granted, and the city of Grand
Rapids was given one year in which to take care of that sewage
matter. When it comes to the question of what Detroit should do
in the way of purifying its waters, I am not prepared to give any
technical information--that is for the engineers--but I do wish to
say to you that if you will examine this case you will find testimony
of some of the ablest engineers in the State of Michigan as to
what ought to be done. If I may be permitted, I would like to call
attention to some features of that case.
Mr. POWELL. Give the full citation of the case.
Mr. SLOMAN. The case is reported in One hundred and seventy-fifth
Michigan, page 503. The title is Attorney General ex rel., Township
of Wyoming _v._ City of Grand Rapids.
Mr. POWELL. That suit was brought on behalf of the Commonwealth?
Mr. SLOMAN. It was brought on behalf of the village of Grandville,
which felt the effects of the foul matter that was being deposited in
the river. The court in that case said:
This is a proceeding by information in the nature of a
bill in equity filed in the name of the attorney general
upon the relation of the township of Wyoming, through its
township board, its board of health, and its supervisor,
and upon the relation of the village of Grandville in said
township and certain riparian owners upon Grand River in
said township against the city of Grand Rapids, its common
council, its board of public works, and board of health,
to declare and to abate and restrain the continuance of an
alleged public nuisance. The nuisance is claimed to result
from acts of the city of Grand Rapids in conveying through
artificial means its sewage into the Grand River, which
flows down the river and is cast upon the land below that
city, and particularly upon those lands which are adjacent
to and within the village of Grandville, and there created
a public nuisance. It is also claimed that the emptying
of sewage into the river so pollutes its waters as to
constitute a nuisance in the waters themselves by reason of
the odors therefrom and the contamination therefrom.
The city of Grand Rapids is located upon both sides of
Grand River: its population in April, 1909, when the bill
was filed, was upward of 110,000; its sewage is carried
into the Grand River through sewers, which aggregate
upward of 171 miles in length, without purification of any
character. In addition to this the night soil from the
outlying houses which have no sewer connection is collected
in barrels and dumped into the Present Street sewer, and
flows into the river. The township of Wyoming is located
south of the city of Grand Rapids; the river, after passing
through the city, flows southerly and westerly between the
townships of Wyoming and Walker. On the south bank of the
river, at a point where it turns abruptly to the west, and
about 7 miles below the city of Grand Rapids, is located
the village of Grandville, with about 750 inhabitants.
Considerable area in Grandville is low; there is a ridge
of high ground along the river bank, which is 5 or 6 feet
higher than the low ground behind it.
It appears that the river overflows its banks once or
twice a year; at these times of overflow a large area in
Grandville is flooded, and the river becomes very much
wider than it is ordinarily and the current increases
rapidly. As the river goes down and after the water ceases
to flow back into the river a pond of about 20 acres is
left in the edge of the village, the escape of the water
back into the river by flowage being prevented by the
higher ground next to the river. The water left in this
pond is from 4 to 6 feet deep, and gradually disappears
through evaporation and seepage into the soil.
It is the claim of the complainants that the emptying of
the large amount of sewage produced in Grand Rapids into
the river contaminates its waters and fills them with
impurities which are carried down the stream as it flows
to, and into, or through the village; that, as the water
goes down, the substances and impurities which are in it,
due to the sewage, whether visible or invisible, are left
upon the surface of the ground, and there decomposition
creates such odors as to constitute a public nuisance in
the village. The most of the houses in Grandville surround
the flooded area, and there are four houses and eight
privies within the area covered by water in ordinary flood.
There are many more houses and privies covered by the
highest water known in Grandville.
Now, you have identically the same situation here that they had. You
have the towns below us here of Wyandotte, Trenton, and others that
abut on the Detroit River. They occupy the same position with regard
to the city of Detroit as did this town of Grandville with regard to
the city of Grand Rapids, and, inasmuch as the city of Detroit sooner
or later is going to be confronted with the question of whether or
not they must take care of the sewage as between those towns and
it, just so the question might as well be disposed of by Federal
legislation.
Mr. POWELL. In the absence of any special statutes on the part of
your State, your common laws are precisely the same as the Canadian
common law of Ontario, and the principle is very clear. I do not
think there is any necessity of citing any authority on it. Every
lower party is entitled to have the water flow to him in its crystal
purity.
Mr. SLOMAN. There is no denying that proposition. This case is only
interesting, gentlemen, with reference to the fact that it involves
the inquiry as to what could or might be done to overcome the
difficulty. In that respect it applies here very strongly. That is
why I read portions of this authority at this time:
The bill of complaint, among other things, states that
the system of sewers in the city of Grand Rapids does not
cover the entire city, there being about one-quarter of
the inhabitants of said city who do not discharge their
refuse, of the character ordinarily discharged into and
carried away by sewers, into the sewers of the city, but
who discharge and deposit their filthy and unhealthy
refuse into vaults and cesspools; that in the past such
refuse, night soil, and unhealthy substances have been,
and were at the time of filing the bill, collected by
scavengers for said city and carried into the country,
outside of said city, where the same was buried in deep
beds, without creating any nuisance and without injury to
the health of the surrounding neighbors; that there was,
at the time of the filing of the bill, under contemplation
by the said city of Grand Rapids, and its said authorities
had recommended and intended and threatened to put into
operation, a plan whereby the said refuse and night soil,
then collected by its scavengers, would be carried to and
emptied into the said Prescott Street sewer in said city;
that the authorities had voted and determined to dispose
this refuse and night soil, and they were about to commence
the emptying of said sewage and night soil into the said
sewer and were at the time taking steps, or about to take
steps, through the expenditure of public money, for the
emptying of said refuse and night soil into the said sewer.
The bill states that the night soil so collected amounted
at that time to from 150 to 180 barrels a day, and if
emptied into the said sewer would be carried into the
Grand River and would greatly add to the pollution and
contamination of its waters, and that the same would create
a public nuisance in the rendering of the waters of said
river injurious to users thereof; and by the overflows of
said river and through deposits along the banks thereof
of deleterious, unhealthful, and noxious substances and
through the creation of noisome and unhealthful odors
arising from the waters of said river so contaminated an
additional public nuisance would be created; that the
township board of health of the township of Wyoming had
taken action in the matter, in accordance with the statute,
and had published this action, in which it protested
against the emptying of sewage and night soil into said
sewer, as contemplated by the city, and had declared the
same to be a nuisance and a source of filth and cause of
sickness in said township, and injurious to the health of
the people thereof. * * *
The bill further claims that the use of the waters of said
Grand River by the said city in the manner which was then
contemplated would be improper, unwarranted, and unlawful,
and would constitute a daily menace to the lives, health,
and comfort of the persons residing along said river and in
the township of Wyoming and in the village of Grandville
and would fill the air with noisome and noxious odors and
pollute the air in the neighborhood and render it unfit to
breathe; and that the said city could satisfactorily and
economically dispose of its refuse matter, night soil, and
sewage in any other manner or through different methods
than were then contemplated, without injury to the health
or lives of persons and without creating a public nuisance.
The bill prays that a permanent injunction be granted
against the city of Grand Rapids and its said boards,
officers, and agencies, restraining and preventing it, or
them, from continuing to discharge the sewage which it then
discharged into Grand River and requiring it to abate the
nuisance which it then maintained in the pollution of the
waters of said river. It also prayed that an injunction
issue restraining said city and its said officers and
agencies from carrying into effect their threatened
and contemplated plan of emptying into said sewer the
refuse matter and night soil then being collected by the
scavengers of said city for the purpose of conveying the
same into the Grand River, and that they be restrained
and prohibited from taking any action or in any manner
ordering the performance of any act on the part of any of
its officers or boards having the tendency to carry into
effect the said threatened action, which would result in
said nuisance.
The court in this case enters very largely into a discussion of the
expert testimony that was given with regard to the relative situation
of the town, the amount of filth that was deposited in these waters,
the extent of the pollution, the size of the city, and the means and
ways whereby this pollution might be overcome. It gives the testimony
of the experts, and one of them I have particularly in mind was a
witness named George S. Pierson.
The witness, George S. Pierson, called by the complainant,
testified that he was a civil engineer and had made a
specialty of sanitary engineering for 25 or 30 years; that
his work in a large measure required the supervision of
plants for water purification and installation of septic
tanks; that he had supervised sewage purification plants at
Hermosa, Cal.; El Paso, Tex.; Marshalltown, Iowa; Fond du
Lac, Wis.; Jackson, Durand, Ithaca, Bay View, Charlevoix,
and Lake Cora, Mich., and quite a number of smaller
installations; that he had visited most of the plants in
operation in Massachusetts, including those in Worcester,
Amherst, Andover, Gardner, Framingham, Natick, Brockton,
Lawrence, and others; that those plants were in successful
operation when he visited them; that he had experience in
estimating the cost of erection and maintenance of such
plants. The witness described modern methods of sewage
disposal, including septic tanks, and that the septic tank
is almost universally used in this country in the first
and even in the final stage of the process; that this
accomplishes sufficient purification of the sewage so that
it can be emptied into a stream without damage or creating
a nuisance; that the septic-tank process is in successful
operation in cities the size of Grand Rapids; that the
recent tendency had been to relieve streams from pollution
by purifying the sewage; that a sewage purification plant
of a city the size of Grand Rapids is feasible; that the
cost of operation of a septic tank is nominal, only an
occasional cleaning, at periods varying from three months
to six years; that the water consumption of a city is an
indication of the amount of its sewage, because practically
the entire water consumption finds its way into the
sewers; this may be increased by rains carrying with them
the street washings; that in providing a septic tank to
ascertain its size we ascertain the daily total flow.
The witness further testified that he had made a general
estimate which would be sufficiently large to cover the
cost of a sewage-disposal plant for Grand Rapids, and
he could positively say the cost would not exceed his
estimate; the approximate cost would be $1 per capita; for
a city the size of Grand Rapids it would be about $100,000;
this is based upon separate septic tanks without the cost
of connecting the sewers; that the cost would not vary much
whether one or more tanks were used; that if a separate
tank were installed at each sewer outlet the cost would
be slightly more, probably not more than 25 or 50 per
cent; that there is a slight odor from a septic tank, not
materially different from the odor of any sewer discharge;
if the tank discharges below the water level the odor is
masked; the septic tank alone reduces the amount of organic
matter in the sewage and the number of disease germs and
brings it into such condition that upon discharge it is
rapidly purified; that the odor would not last long after
the discharge; it would be very much minimized from the
sewage being put into the water and the duration of the
odor would be less, and it would disappear within a very
few hours; that in his judgment the sewage of Grand Rapids
in Grand River would not purify itself before it reached
Grandville; that unless the stream has a very rapid flow
there is immediate sedimentation when sewage is discharged
into a watercourse; that it continues until a good part of
the solids are lodged on the bottom of the stream; that
if there is a considerable sedimentation between Grand
Rapids and Grandville the effect of high water would be
to dislodge it and carry it on; that the pollution of the
stream at that time would be much increased from what it
would be if the current did not take up this discharge;
that the increased pollution of the water caused by this
would be apt to leave deposits at Grandville that would
increase the smells.
On cross-examination the witness testified that his
statement as regards the sediment on the bottom of the
river was not based on actual tests in Grand Rapids; that
it depended to a considerable extent on the rapidity of the
flow; that material settling to the bottom of the stream
would not cease to be contaminating for quite a long time
and would never become pure with additional material from
day to day; that he was not familiar with the river between
Grand Rapids and Grandville; that sewage odor from a stream
within clearly defined banks would not be particularly
noticeable for a great distance, it might for 5 miles, but
would be reduced; that he had made no test between Grand
Rapids and Grandville to see what settled to the bottom
of the river; that his statement was general from what he
supposed, and that he did not know the velocity of the
stream between the two points; that while there is no great
amount of purification in a sluggish stream in a distance
of 6 or 7 miles, the faster a stream flows the farther the
impurities are carried in a given time; that it might be
said it was the general rule in Michigan for cities having
sewer systems to carry the sewage into streams; that Grand
River at Jackson is smaller than at Grand Rapids, and
that Jackson has the largest municipal sewage-reduction
plant that he knows of in this State; that the sewage
there is purified by filtration; that the largest plant
he ever established is at Auburn, N. Y. (50,000 to 75,000
inhabitants); that Worcester, Mass., with a population of
125,000 to 150,000, has such a tank; that the contaminating
influences of the sewage of the city the size of Grand
Rapids would not be as great if the sewage were not carried
out into the river by artificial means, as there would
be purification of the organic matter by the soil; and
if it were not for the sewers there would be very little
contaminating influence upon the waters of the river.
And they then proceed to discuss the judgment of other experts, who
are referred to in the opinion. The opinion is somewhat at length,
and I do not care to take up the time of the commission by reading
it, but will be very glad to leave the book with you during your
visit, or you can take it along with you and return it to me.
Mr. MIGNAULT. What was the order?
Mr. SLOMAN. Requiring them to proceed to establish a septic tank, and
at a later time the court gave the city a year in which to do it.
That same situation presents itself with regard to Detroit. Every one
of these towns and cities abutting on the river are in identically
the same position as the city was when it filed the bill.
Mr. POWELL. Why did the owners not file a bill before?
Mr. SLOMAN. I think they were guilty of doing the very same thing
as the city of Detroit was. If you gentlemen had a large farm and
a lake upon it, and anybody filled it with excreta, you would not
drink the water, but we are drinking from a pond in which millions,
I might say, deposit their filth and excreta. I took this matter
up, when my daughter took ill, first with the city board of health.
Mr. Keefer was the health officer, and he attributed the typhoid to
the milk supply rather than the water, but was willing to cooperate
in any measure that would bring about a change in the conditions
that existed. I then took it up with the State board of health, and
finally with Washington, and shortly afterwards it was found that
there was an arrangement between Great Britain and the United States
for the appointment of an International Joint Commission, and finally
your body was appointed. I got in touch with Chairman Tawney, giving
him some data in regard to this matter, and I had hoped to be present
at the former meeting of the commission, but was unavoidably called
from the city, which made it impossible for me to appear before you.
Upon the land we take care of our sewage through cesspools, which
consist of practically a large dry-goods box, made of 2-inch boards,
rather than of the thin material of which dry-goods boxes are made,
inverted, with the opening off, so that the opening is right under
the soil and the sewer pipes are connected with it. The soil is of a
sandy, gravelly character, which carries off the impurities.
Mr. TAWNEY. How deep are your cesspools?
Mr. SLOMAN. We can not go down below 4 feet before we strike the
water, but there are proprietors above me who run their sewers into
the river.
Mr. MIGNAULT. All these sewers are private sewers?
Mr. SLOMAN. Yes.
With a view of getting the latest thought on the subject, I got in
communication with the health board at Lansing, and desire to submit
Bulletin No. 2 of the public health board of this State, for the
sewage disposal of single houses and small institutions, in which
they deal with the question of disposing of the sewage of the schools
where they have not sewer facilities. They also give a diagram of a
septic tank, by which it is claimed the solid matters are taken up
with the earth, while the water that comes out of the septic tank is
pure water. If it were possible to build septic tanks for Detroit,
whereby the excreta might be disposed of in the soil and the pure
water brought to the river, the danger would be reduced to the
minimum, but unless Detroit takes some active and effective measure
along that line we will be confronted in a short time, especially
with the tremendous increase in our population and with the great
increase in the industries, with an increased death rate. It is
merely a question of time when the death rate will be appalling. I
say that with a due sense of the responsibility I am assuming and an
appreciation of the facts. I have watched this thing very carefully
and studiously. One moment more on the question of cost. The question
of cost ought not to be taken into consideration at all. You can not
measure the loss of lives by cost, and the city of Detroit can not
afford to destroy the unique position it occupies among the States
of the Union by being backward in the matter of taking care of its
sewage and by losing such a water supply as it had years ago, when it
was the proud boast of the city of Detroit, which to-day it is not.
To-day it is a stench in the nostrils of every community where they
take the water from the river passing by their doors. I sincerely
hope the Federal Government will take the matter in hand in such a
way that it will not be optional with the cities to determine whether
or not they will spend the money, but that measures will be passed
providing means for dealing with the waters on the Great Lakes, and
that the engineers will deal with the question in the best light;
but foremost of all, you must stop the boats from depositing excreta
in the water, and if you do not, no matter what you do, you can not
take care of this pollution. It is simply awful. Just think of the
traffic running up and down the river, and all that foul stuff and
oil and grease and dirty water deposited in front of your doors. We
have the boats passing in front of our doors every day, and when you
stop to think of it, it is an awful matter and Congress should not
wait a moment to take action on it. If you do not the upshot will be
you will kill every fish in the river; you can not help do it. If
we have a continuation of what has occurred during the past two or
three weeks, from my knowledge and experience as a fisherman who has
been going up along the river for the last 30 years, you will kill
every fish in the river, because the foulness gets to the bottom and
permeates that entire body of water, and nature, struggling as hard
as she will, can not possibly take care of it.
I just wish, as a lay citizen, only having the interests of my city
at heart, and feeling that the matter of life and health is of
greater concern than profit, to urge that you will in your report,
as far as it lies in your power, bring to the attention of Congress
the really awful condition that exists along our shores, and ask
that some measures be taken to remedy something which, if it is not
remedied soon, will result in a tremendous loss to the city, which
you will be sorry for in later days.