bringing sorrow and trouble and expense to over 5,000,000 homes, directly affecting the welfare and happiness of probably 25,000,000 people, and indirectly affecting the interests of all. And yet, the bestposted scientists claim that at least one-half of all this enormous sum could be saved by proper living, which would more than double the happiness and vigor of the people and render them much more capable to deal intelligently with the perplexing problems before them. Nothing better could engage the attention of those who are interested in the conservation of our natural resources. In conclusion, I have the utmost confidence in the ability of the American people to solve all problems if they will only take the time necessary to study existing conditions thoroughly, and kindly and thoughtfully devise ways and means to accomplish desired results. Our forefathers met and solved wisely and well the problems before them. Other and greater problems now confront us; let us meet and solve them with the same patience, the same foresight, and the same patriotic devotion to country and posterity, and all will be well. Mr President, I thank you and the members of the Conference for your kind attention. [Applause] Mr BRYAN: Mr President, I offer the following resolution: Resolved, That this Conference records its deep regret that Ex-President Cleveland is prevented by sickness from participating in this historic meeting; and that, in extending to him a cordial greeting, it expresses a sincere wish for his speedy recovery. [Applause] Mr President, I move the adoption of the resolution. The motion was seconded by several voices. The PRESIDENT: The resolution is before you. If there is no objection, I will declare it adopted by acclamation. [Applause] The motion is unanimously adopted. Governor BLANCHARD: Mr President, there may be other gentlemen who have not had an opportunity to speak either today or the two previous days of this Conference, but who have gone to the trouble of preparing remarks.. I move that all such Conferees, whether they be Governors or gentlemen who have been invited here as assistants to the Governors, be permitted to have their speeches or remarks printed in the official Proceedings of the Conference. Governor MEAD: Mr President, I would suggest, with your permission, that a committee be appointed to edit, because there might be some things submitted that would simply be repetition. The PRESIDENT: I understand, Governor Blanchard, that your motion refers particularly to the gentlemen who were to read statements today, but who have not had an opportunity to present them, that those papers shall be printed in the Proceedings? Governor BLANCHARD: Yes, sir. The PRESIDENT: If there is no objection to that, it will be so ordered. [After a pause] It is so ordered. Governor HOCH, of Kansas: Mr President, I understood Governor Blanchard's suggestion to cover a somewhat wider range. I understood his motion to include all those gentlemen who have not spoken at all, but who have papers or remarks that they would like to submit, that they may have the opportunity of filing them, and that such remarks or addresses will be printed in the record. I should also like to suggest that those who have spoken, but did not have prepared papers, be permitted to prepare their papers and furnish them for printing. Governor BLANCHARD: I accept the suggestion of the Governor from Kansas, that the gentlemen having the privileges of this Conference who desire to prepare papers be allowed to file them, and that they shall be printed as part of the Proceedings. The PRESIDENT: Has an editing committee been appointed? There should be, I think. Let me suggest that the papers be submitted to the Resolutions Committee, to be passed on by them before being printed. Governor BLANCHARD: The objection to that is that all the gentlemen composing that committee are likely to leave the city today. For one, I must leave tonight; and, therefore, I do not think it practicable for the Committee on Resolutions to undertake that duty. The PRESIDENT: You could depute it, Governor. Governor BLANCHARD: With that understanding, Mr President, the Committee will undertake that duty. And now, Mr President, this Conference having accomplished its mission, I do now move that the Conference adjourn sine die. The motion was seconded by Governor Davidson and others. The PRESIDENT: Gentlemen, you have heard the motion. Before putting it, let me extend a word of thanks to all of you, to the Governors and the other guests, for coming here. The White House has held many distinguished gatherings in its day. I do not believe it has ever held as distinguished a gathering as this, composed of the Executives and representatives of the Executives of all the States of the Union. I thank you for coming; and I can assure you that, at least, no body of guests has ever been more welcome than you have to the White House. [Great applause] Thereupon, at 1:30 oclock p. m., the question having been taken on the motion of Governor Blanchard, and agreed to without dissent, the President declared the Conference adjourned sine die. 56254-09-18 SUPPLEMENTARY PROCEEDINGS OPENING STATEMENTS FOR SIXTH SESSION CONSERVATION OF LIFE AND HEALTH BY IMPROVED WATER SUPPLY GEORGE M. KOBER, M. D., LL. D., PROFESSOR OF HYGIENE, SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY, WASHINGTON, D. C. Water is a prime necessity to man not only as an article of food but also for the proper degree of cleanliness of person, clothing and dwellings. So homes sprang first into existence wherever nature yielded a bountiful supply of water. Look where we may, the land supplied with a spring or traversed by a stream constituted the first choice of our sturdy pioneers. In our towns and cities the question of water supply has been solved by the introduction of public water works, but even these instrumentalities are not of modern origin, for in a visit to Rome we will be shown aqueducts covering miles on miles which were begun 312 B. C., many of which have been renovated, and attest the munificence with which the ancient capital was supplied with one of the first sanitary requisites." Sources of Water: The water which we require for our daily use comes to us from the clouds in the form of rain or snow. Of this a certain amount is evaporated; another portion may be collected in cisterns, another soaks into the earth to reappear in the form of springs, another portion flows off in the direction of surface slope to join the ponds, lakes, streams or rivers, or it may penetrate the earth sufficiently deep to require us to dig wells for its collection. The sources of our water supply may therefore be classified as rain and snow water, surface water (including ponds, lakes, streams and rivers), and ground water, including springs and wells. a According to Forbes, cited by Mason (Water Supply, 1897, p. 5), the entire length of the aqueducts in English miles would be 381, yielding a supply of 332 gallons per capita upon a basis of a population of one million, at a cost according to Pliny of $12,700,000. The amount of water available for community purposes depends on the precipitation and the precautions taken in a given watershed for the conservation of the waters. The mean annual rainfall for different portions of the United States has been tabulated by the United States Weather Bureau; it averages some 30 inches. Fanning gives the average of 40 inches for New England and the Middle States. One inch of rain would amount, according to Church, to nearly 10 tons per acre; or on a house roof of say 20 by 20 feet area, one inch of rain would be about 250 gallons. With a rainfall of 40 inches per annum this would amount to 10,000 gallons, or 27 gallons per day. The average daily supply per capita in most of our Northern cities ranges from 20 to 127 gallons or more. PUBLIC WATER SUPPLIES The needs for community water supplies are met according to the location of the town or city with reference to the availability of springs, streams, rivers and lakes. Since springs rarely yield a sufficient supply of water for general use, it is perfectly natural that in the majority of instances surface water, like streams, rivers, lakes or ponds were utilized for public water works and when these were not available, recourse was had to shallow and deep wells and so-called filter galleries. It is interesting to note that according to M. N. Baker the number of towns in this country before 1800 having a public water supply was only 16, supplying about 2.8% of the existing population; in 1850 there were only 83 public water works, supplying about 10.6% of the census population; in 1897 the total number was 3,196 supplying about 41.6% of the population. The number has greatly increased, but exact information is not available. COMPOSITION OF RIVER WATER River water is a mixture of spring, ground, rain, and surface water. The English Rivers Pollution Commission in its Sixth Report estimated that about one-half of the water descending as rain finds its way into streams. Rivers are always purer near their source; the amount of impurities increases as we descend the stream, since the water-courses are the natural drainage channels of the country and the wastes of human life and occupation find their way into the streams. It is for this reason that rivers, after passing through cultivated valleys with cities, towns or settlements along their banks often contain a dangerous amount of mineral and organic matter. Thus the Mississippi at Minneapolis contains only 18.6 total solids per 100,000, while the same river at St. Louis contains 244.3 per 100,000. a Manual of American Water Works, 1891 and 1897 |