CRITTENDEN IS ASHAMED
OF K. C. WATERWORKS
AFTER SEEING OMAHA'S.
City Executive Upon His Return
from Attending Municipal Con-
vention Will Make Every Effort
to Secure New System.
"I intend to show the visiting delegates, mayors and other city officials who will arrive in this city tomorrow the best in Kansas City, but after seeing the Omaha waterworks, I am ashamed for them to go over our system and see that we are so far behind.
"Omaha has a sewer and water system which is much better than ours, and while Kansas City is far ahead of the Nebraska city on many things, we must admit that in the matter of water system and disposal of sewage they have us beaten. I am sorry that every citizen of this city cannot see the plants and the system which Omaha has. That would be a more forceful argument for a new water system here than anything else could possibly be," said Mayor Thomas T. Crittenden, Jr., on his return from Omaha yesterday morning.
The mayor, upon his return from Omaha, where he has been in attendance upon the convention of the League of American Municipalities, gave out an interview to reporters in which he declared his regret that this city has not an adequate water system to display to the officials who will arrive here this morning to look over the city.
"Omaha," said Mayor Crittenden, "has one of the most elaborate systems I ever saw, and one of the like of which Kansas City should be the possessor. So far as concerns the finish of their plants, we do not care for such fine things, perhaps, for in that city society has dances in the water plants. The machinery is enameled, it is hand painted in some cases, especially the flywheels, but the point which struck me most forcibly was the fact that they have reservoirs there which hold 1,000,000 gallons of water. They have exactly the same conditions to meet regarding their river that we have, and the company which owns the water system recently spent $500,000 to put in a revetment like the one we are trying to get the government to put in.
"Their sewer system is a fine one, and so far in advance of that of Kansas City that it made me feel bad to look it over and then think of what we will have to do here before we are even in the same class with Omaha regarding the disposal of sewage.
"I believe we must have a water plant immediately which is adequate, and it seems to me that it is a matter which should be taken up at once."
