Jasper County Democrat, Volume 6, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 January 1904 — SEWER DIDN’T WORK. [ARTICLE]

SEWER DIDN’T WORK.

The Ten Thousand Dollar Make-Em-Self dot Clogged. The denizens on the banks of the-Make-Em-Self let out a mighty roar Thursday morning, when they awoke to find their residences surrounded with several inches of water —and in some cases several feet —their cellars and basements flooded and Cain raised in general by water which, generally, at such times, had flowed down the Make-Em-Self before that hitherto com-mon-place, though esused and discussed ditch was dignified by the present republican city council with a ten thousand dollar sewer. Just where the trouble lay is still a mooted question, but the “January thaw” sent down suoh great volumes of water that the old ditch bed, above the sewer, overflowed and raised Ned. In some cases fires were put out in furnaces and considerable damage was done. The whole territory in the northaest part of town was under water and much difficulty was experienced in getting about by the denizens of that quarter of the city. Some people claim that ice had frozen over the new sewer’s outlet at the river, thus blocking up the same, while others say that the sewer was not properly put in, or is too small. At any rate, the flood is the worst ever experienced along the Make-Em-Self, and those who have been compelled to pay big assessments to put in the sewer are keeping the atmosphere blue in giving expressing to their opinion of the “improvement” and also the council who made or caused the same to be made.