FIRE AND WATER

FIRE AND WATER

THE faulty construction of flat houses in New York City has caused the insurance companies to advance the rates on this class of risks in some cases one hundred per cent. And yet fires in flat houses built according to the latest plans are much less frequent than in the older structures. Insurance companies lose less from fire in this city, according to the number of policies and the number of fires, than in any other city in the United States. This ⅛ because there are better buildings and because of the excellence of the Fire Department.

HE experiments which have been in progress I for some time at Pettaconsett, R. I., with a view to purifying the water supply of Providence,by a system of filtration have been completed,and the report of Mr. WestonFwho has conducted the experiments, is now in the hands of City Engineer Shedd, and will be submitted to the committee in the course of a few days. The report is a simple statement of facts deducted from the experiments that have been carried on, but what deductions will be made from these facts is a matter to be determined by the committee when the report is laid before them. Since the appointment of a State Commission to consider the sources of the pollution of the Pawtuxet river the manufacturers have evinced a lively interest in the matter, and various suggestions have been offered as a remedy against pollution. In regard to the construction of storage reservoirs, which is one of the methods recommended, Mr. Shedd said that, while that would be a good thing for the manufacturers along the valley, it would not be of any material benefit to the city of Providence. What the city should do is to keep out all the wastes possible, and then filter out what is left. If all the wastes are kept out of the river that is practicable, the remainder can be filtered out, and the city of Providence will have just as good’water as there is in the country. The construction of storage reservoirs would be beneficial to the manufacturers insomuch as they would ensure a supply of water during the dry months of summer, when the river is low. For the city to contribute towards the building of such reservoirs for improving the water supply, Mr. Shedd thinks, would hardly be the proper thing.