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The Water Works—A Celebration in Contemplation

About This Item

  • Title: The Water Works—A Celebration in Contemplation
  • Creator(s): Walt Whitman
  • Whitman Archive ID: per.00686
  • Source: Brooklyn Daily Times, : 2. Our transcription is based on a digital image of a microfilm scan of the original issue. Microfilm of original issue held at Pennsylvania State University Libraries. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the journalism, see our statement of editorial policy.
  • Editorial note: This piece is unsigned, as was the case for most of Whitman's journalism. However, this editorial is part of a series of texts that deal with a coherent theme that has been identified by the Whitman Archive journalism team as likely authored by Whitman. This decision is based on a combination of historical and (auto)biographical accounts, similarity to contemporary Whitman writings, a history of scholarly attribution, extant clippings retained by Whitman, computational stylometric analysis, and, in some cases, manuscript evidence in Whitman’s hand.
  • Contributors to digital file: Elva Moreno Del Rio Francesca Boston Samantha Gilmore Karie Cobb
  • Cite this page: Whitman, Walt. "The Water Works—A Celebration in Contemplation." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 17 July 2024. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: per.00686.xml (TEI)
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THE WATER WORKS—A CELEBRATION IN CONTEMPLATION.—

We understand that the Water Commissioners will address a communication to the Common Council on Monday asking leave to appropriate from the Water Fund a sum sufficient to pay for a grand Celebration of the introduction of water into the cityÔa celebration that shall be worthy of the importance of the event and shall approximate in some degree to the great Croton Celebration in New York1, years ago. It is said that the Mayor and a majority of the members of the Board are in favor of the project and, most probably, leave will be granted as requested. About the middle of December will be the time selected, and it is proposed to make no half-way work of it but to have a grand procession, a splendid dinner, interesting speeches and such a demonstration, generally, as Brooklyn has not seen before. Meantime matters at the works are progressing satisfactorily. Next week the forcing pumps and pump-wells will be thoroughly tested and the water will be admitted into the reservoir. Week after next the pipes will be tested, section by section, and all imperfections remedied. In connection with the proposed demonstration, there can be but one opinion. So many chances for displays of this kind have been suffered to pass unimproved that Brooklyn has earned rather an unenviable reputation for want of public spirit. This is an occasion that should not—that cannot be passed over without a public display that shall mark the appreciation of our citizens of the vast benefit conferred upon them. Let us have a celebration worthy of the occasion and of the city.

Notes:

1. The Croton Aqueduct was constructed between 1837 and 1842, and it carried water 41 miles from the Croton River to reservoirs in Manhattan. [back]

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