human system. About the middle of the nineteenth century there arose what was known as the filth theory of disease; it was thought that many diseases actually originated in putrefying filth. In 1847 there was created in England the Royal Commission on "Health of Towns," the duties of which were to investigate and report to Parliament on the cause of epidemic diseases so common in the towns. As a result of its investigations, laws were enacted which at first permitted and later made mandatory the discharge of domestic sewage into the drains and culverts of the towns. It is now known [25] that filth is not the cause of disease, but only the vehicle for the transmission of disease germs, and it has been learned that cleanliness is the vital essential of sanitation. No municipal work, except a pure water supply, has a greater effect upon the health and comfort of a community than a properly designed and operated sewer system whereby the filth is promptly removed in underground channels. Such a system makes possible the abolishment of privy wells, which are a menace to public health by pollution of ground water and by transmission of disease germs through flies. It has been stated that in Nottingham, England, over a period of ten years 15 times as many typhoid cases developed in houses with privies as in those having sewer connections. It was formerly thought that the air in sewers, commonly called "sewer gas," was the cause of many diseases. Careful investigations by sanitarians have shown that this air is really much freer from bacteria than ordinary street air; this is due to the moist surfaces of the interior of the sewer holding the germs, whereas the dry street dust allows them to be carried about by the wind.

The water carriage of sewage was a distinct. sanitary advance, inasmuch as it removed the filth of the towns from the dwellings of the citizens, but the discharge of untreated sewage into water courses transferred the nuisance to the streams. Prior to the discharge of sewage into the water courses they were, according to the standards of that time, fit sources of water supply. But the pollution of the rivers, the increased demand for water supplies, the raised standards caused by the increasing knowledge of sanitation, all acted together to demand the treatment of the sewage and the purification of the water as a protection to the public health.

It is now conceded by all sanitarians that surface waters in populated districts are unfit for water supply without [26] purification, due to pollution from surface washings, occasional and constant pollution from individuals and communities. Evidence is available to show that the public health is as well, if not better, protected against water-borne diseases ( such as typhoid fever) by efficient purification of polluted water, as by the attempted protection from pollution of an impounded supply used without purification. For example, the City of Hamburg, Germany, obtains its water supply from the Elbe River, which is tidal. Eight and one-half miles below the water intake the screened sewage from 900,000 people discharges through submerged outfalls and the flood tide carries some of the sewage past the water intake. Water filters were installed in 1893, and since 1894 the typhoid death rate of Hamburg has averaged less than 4 per 100,000, reaching as low as 2.7 in 1907. The filtration of the water supply of Philadelphia has been the principal factor in lowering the death rate from typhoid fever from an average of 60 per 100,000 for 1902-1906, when unfiltered water was used, to 7.5 in 1914, when all the water supply was purified.

To purify sewage to a degree which will render it innocuous to health entails an expense which is not commensurate with the benefits derived therefrom. And furthermore, [27] even if all towns on a watershed were provided with complete sewer systems and sewage treatment works designed to produce sterile effluents, they must be provided with storm water overflows and emergency by-passes which, at times, allow crude or partially treated sewage to reach the water courses. The protection to the public health from water-borne diseases can best be obtained by the treatment of sewage to such a degree that the water into which it is discharged can be safely and economically purified, so as to always afford a pure and wholesome water supply. The river water should also be not so polluted but that in times of emergency or shut-downs of the water purification plant it can be temporarily sterilized by calcium hypochlorite or other sterilizing agencies.

Considering the matter in the light of the above, it may be stated that the first part of the problem of sewage disposal confronting the City of Philadelphia is to collect and treat the sewage so as to protect the public health and to prevent undue pollution of the water taken from the Delaware River at the Torresdale Water Filters.

The Comfort and Prosperity of the People

Sewage contains the wastes of domestic life and industrial activity, a considerable part of which is organic matter and, therefore, subject to change in conditions; when sewage is discharged into insufficient volumes of diluting water this change occurs by putrefaction, which is offensive. The discharge of large quantities of crude sewage at frequent points into the streams and rivers which flow through the city causes deposits, which decay, give forth malodorous gases and create discomfort to the people who live or pursue their various occupations in the vicinity; such conditions also result in the depreciation of property values and' make it undesirable to construct manufacturing establishments [28] along their banks, where the many men and women operatives are compelled to pass the entire day under unpleasant and uncomfortable conditions. Foully polluted streams flowing through sections of the city convert what might be attractive residential sections into slum districts, where buildings are erected and housing conditions exist which foster unwholesome conditions of living.

The protection of the upper Schuylkill River and Wissahickon Creek from the sewage pollution of the city has made it possible to maintain the water in these streams in such clean condition that thousands of citizens enjoy exercise and recreation in boating upon them and picnicking with their friends and families upon the beautifully wooded banks. Compare these with the present conditions along Frankford Creek and that portion of Cobbs Creek where the sewage has not been intercepted, and the possibility of attractive development along these latter streams may be comprehended. The removal of the sewage by the intercepting and collecting sewers will make available the shores of the rivers for commercial purposes and the laying out of attractive boulevards and esplanades; undesirable and insanitary conditions having been removed, the banks of the creeks will then be suitable for development for park and pleasure-ground purposes, all of which will tend to increase the welfare of the city and promote the comfort and prosperity of its citizens.

Development of the Port and City

Philadelphia has long enjoyed the reputation of being the great fresh water port of the Atlantic coast. The United States Government, recognizing its advantages, has established a great Navy Yard at the southern end of the City. Large sums of money have already been expended [29] upon the development of the harbor and of the great commercial avenue along the river front and it is contemplated that the City, the Commonwealth and the National Government will, in the future, make large appropriations to increase the commerce of the port of Philadelphia. To maintain the reputation of this port and to utilize the improvements to the fullest extent, it is necessary that a high sanitary standard be established and that the channels and banks of the navigable streams shall be kept in decently clean condition.

At the present time, great sewers discharge their foul contents into the docks where there is not sufficient current to carry the sewage away. As a result, many of them are grossly polluted by the decomposition of the sewage sludge, and nuisance to sight is caused by the faecal matter and scum floating on the surface. When steamships and tugs enter or leave these docks they stir up the deposits upon the bottom, adding to the nuisance, and they lie in this foully polluted water while landing their passengers and loading or unloading their cargoes, which frequently consist of fruit or foodstuffs. It is, therefore, imperative that immediate steps be taken to intercept the sewage which is now tending to create disgraceful conditions in the docks.

Mr. John D. Watson, Chief Engineer of the Birmingham, England, Sewage Works, in his report to the

Metropolitan Sewerage Commission of New York City, speaking of pollution to harbors, makes the following statement:

"Many years ago the Clyde became so foul that even poor trippers declined to board pleasure steamers nearer to the Broomielaw than Greenock, several miles down the river. Since that time large sums of money have been spent on sewage disposal works, but the bad reputation justly associated with the name of Glasgow harbor years ago will not be got rid of for many years to come."

[30] It, therefore, behooves the City of Philadelphia to prevent the development of similar conditions along the river front; for the correction of such conditions costs far more than their prevention in the first instance.

The magnificent development of the Thames Embankment at London, the boulevards and esplanades along the banks of the Seine in Paris, and commercial development of the Elbe at Hamburg and Dresden, and the attractive appearance of the Main at Frankfurt, and of the Danube at Vienna, could not have been possible if these streams were as foully polluted as the Schuylkill River is at the present time between Fairmount Dam and the mouth. The intelligent interception and treatment of the sewage have made possible these developments in foreign cities and have brought a great wealth of commerce to their ports.

It is essential that if our port, in competition with others seeking trade in South America and through the Panama Canal, is to be successful, that all the conditions which go to make aport great shall be found here and one of the most important of these is that the waters of the river shall be clean and the docks into which the vessels enter shall be free from the sleek and slime now discharged into them from sewers along the river front.

The Economical Expenditure of Funds

The whole future of the city, its economic growth, development and maintenance demand the proper distribution of public funds so that each function of civic life will be provided for in proportion to its needs and the benefit that should be derived therefrom.Modern cities are engaged in a great variety of activities and almost innumerable functions must be provided for in order to conserve the public health, guarantee the safety and promote the comfort and welfare of the citizens. The funds available should be apportioned so as to obtain [31] the greatest resultant benefit to the public at large and to the advancement of the commercial and industrial interest of the city.

In recommending expenditures for the construction of intercepting sewers and for sewage treatment works it has been borne in mind that only such expenditures should be recommended as in the light of modern practice and experience, are absolutely necessary. These expenditures are recommended in amount and in progressive order, so that each step in the work shall yield the largest results commensurate with the funds expended, and that in the end the city will have a plant capable of treating the sewage to the extent required and also So designed that it may be extended from time to time to care for the increasing volume of sewage and to provide for a standard of healthfulness which will equal the ideals at that period.

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