USA > Pennsylvania > Erie County > A twentieth century history of Erie County, Pennsylvania : a narrative account of its historic progress, its people, and its principal interests, Volume I > Part 69
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In the borough days, as has been stated, the financial difficulties that arose drove the council to the necessity of issuing scrip. The same troubles were encountered after the city had been in operation, the first instance, however, the difficulty arising from conditions and circumstances apart from the management of city affairs. It was in war time, and there arose great difficulty in making change, for the reason that all small coins had ceased to circulate. Councils at length took cognizance of the state of affairs, and after considering the sub- ject, on September 22, 1862, voted to issue city scrip in the denomina- tions of 5 cents, 10 cents, 20 cents and 50 cents "to supply the present great deficiency in small change." It was in a sense a patriotic meas- ure, simply forestalling the general government at Washington, but its principal design was to accommodate the citizens of Erie. The scrip was issued in exchange for current funds, and was redeemable upon demand, and it was provided that the funds derived from the exchange should be properly invested so that it would be available for redemp- tion when the necessity arose. The issue of scrip began in October, 1862. The committee to have direction of affairs in connection with this business were Wm. A. Brown and John R. Cochran and they appointed Vincent, Bailey & Co., leading bankers, trustees of the fund. This provisional money was not long in circulation. Pretty soon the government "shinplasters" made their appearance and these, with the postage stamps which lent their adventitious but efficient aid (so long as the "gum stickum" lasted) supplied every want. On May 11, 1863, the first instalment of the city scrip was retired, $1,500 being burned and "totally destroyed." On June 22, $3,700 was burned and on July 27, $2,000. In August, 1863, the trusteeship was discontinued and the treasurer was appointed to look after the redemption. It ap- peared that $18,000 had been issued of the scrip and of the proceeds $11,500 was invested in a first mortgage on real estate and $6,500 was placed in the hands of the trustee for the purpose of meeting demands for redemption. To the present time there remain in the hands of citizens here and there samples of that scrip, kept as interesting relics.
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They bear the signature of Prescott Metcalf, Mayor, and J. F. Down- ing, then clerk of the Select Council, and the only person still living who was connected with the city government when the issue was made is Mr. Downing. Of the councils that effected its retirement when redemption had begun, by consigning it to the flames, only Col. J. Ross Thompson survives.
The city councils in the days of the war period were distinctly patriotic. In the borough days they used on occasion to vote an appro- priation for fireworks on the Fourth of July, as a manifestation, no doubt, of the possession of some measure of the spirit of '76. But in war times the method of showing patriotism was different. It was no doubt a war measure that demanded of each member of the council that he take an oath of loyalty to the government of the United States, but councilmen went further in holding up the hands of President Lincoln. Along with the records made of providing scrip for small change are the entries that tell of providing a fund for the support of the families of drafted men while in the service, and the reports en- tered from time to time show that a goodly number of families were relieved from want by the council fund.
The last issue of city scrip was in 1873, and was declared to be "a necessary expedient of the times." That year will be remembered as the date of the great panic, but the condition that obtained in Erie had not the remotest connection with Jay Cooke. At the time there was a large amount of unpaid warrants outstanding which could not be paid. Contractors, employes and other creditors of the city were under the necessity of having their warrants discounted, and a neces- sity existed, or seemed to exist, for a class of orders of small amount that would serve as convenience in making change, to take the place of the warrants. The scrip was therefore issued and in time became to a certain extent current. Redemption proceeded as funds were avail- able to that end, so that in 1881 Mayor Jones reported that :
The original amount of city scrip was. $99,995
Amount unissued and on hand. 6,585
Total issued $93,410
Redeemed to January 1, 1880. $88,497
Redeemed January 1. 1880 to 1881. . 4,621 93,118
Outstanding $ 292
There was a bonded debt of the city, but at the time of Mayor Jones' messages there was besides a floating debt of considerable pro- portions. Those were the days of small things, or, at least, the days when, with the city, money was scarce and hard to get-or else the
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members of council were inclined toward the extravagance of order- ing beyond what they had means with which to pay. Warrants were issued, however, and these receiving the endorsement of the treasurer, from that time bore interest and were discounted by the holders. In the message of Mayor Jones, of 1880, he reported warrants in circu- lation amounting to $25,827.25 and advised that measures be taken to redeem them. In the year 1881 it was reported that the floating debt had been reduced to about $15,000, and Mayor McCarter, in 1882, reported that there were no warrants outstanding, bearing interest, all having been paid during the past year. There has been no floating debt since.
It was at this period that the city's credit rose above par. Large undertakings had necessitated the issue of municipal bonds. There had been several issues previously, at first of securities bearing ? per cent interest, and in the early seventies a series at 6 per cent. They had been floated, but at a discount. Early during the incumbency of Controller Chas. S. Clarke it became necessary to issue a new series, and he proposed that they be made to bear 4 per cent. Although councils were doubtful of results, that rate was adopted, when, much to the surprise of most of the members, the issue was disposed of and netted a premium. Beginning with 1892 bonds of the city of Erie pay 31/2 per cent, and are readily disposed of. The total funded indebted- ness of the city June 1, 1908, was $785,654.73, while there was in the sinking fund $420,490.42, leaving the net debt of the city $365,164.31.
The period at which the community of Erie first felt the true im- pulses of the city ; the year in which it stepped forth out of the rural byway, and, shaking from its shoulders the garment of village con- servatism and fear, entered upon the highway of progress; when from being "the sleepy borough," it started into a state of wakefulness and activity ; was 1867, and the election of Orange Noble as Mayor of Erie marks the beginning of a new civic era, the entrance of Erie upon its career as a real city. For some time matters had been so tending. Civic improvements had begun; but what had been done served more to point out what ought to be done than to produce a feeling that with so much accomplished it was time to rest. There had arisen discussion with reference to sewers and a sewer system for the city ; an extension of the paving improvements, an improved fire department, and above all, an adequate supply of water, both for domestic uses and for fire protection. There was an element of the population that was strongly outspoken in favor of progress; there was also an element opposed to radical methods and fearful of debt. The issue was joined in the spring election of 1867. The result of that contest was the election of Orange Noble, the candidate of the progressists, and Mr. Noble was re-elected until he had served the city for four years in succession.
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Mr. Noble was probably the most public spirited citizen Erie ever had -he certainly was the leader in that respect up to that time. Having made a fortune of nearly a million dollars in the oil field he came to Erie, settled here as a citizen, and spent it. He put some of it into real estate upon which he erected splendid buildings ; he put more of it into manufacturing industries ; he established a banking house and aided in starting another ; he was ready at all times to lend a hand in whatever interest he was solicited to patronize-and so he spent his fortune. He died a poor man. But it was he who started Erie along in the path of progress, and it was his example that stimulated the young city into activity. From the year of his election is dated Erie's greatest things of a civic character.
There were practically no sewers in Erie prior to 1867, for the few covered drains were not in any sense sewers ; rather a make-shift to take care of streams that could not otherwise be disposed of, and utilized because happy circumstances had so well disposed them. In 1867 the councils set about adopting a sewer system, and though we, with the wisdom which hind-sight provides are free to say a great mistake was made at the start, they did the best they then knew how to by following the universal example of other cities. The first main sewer planned was in Fifth street from Mill creek to Peach, and in Peach street from Fifth street to Tenth. Into this lateral sewers, that received other branches or house connections, were drained. It was the beginning of the Mill creek evil, to be sure, but as has just now been stated, the people of that day did not have the wisdom of those of the present. But it was the beginning of the sewerage system of Erie ; the first of many mains to empty into Mill creek was that at Fifth, and many another, pointed more directly to the bay, followed in the general plan of drainage for the city. It is proper to state that the mistakes of those who had planned the drainage of Erie were discovered long before the beginning of the Twentieth Century. Dr. Germer, while health officer, more than thirty years ago, raised his voice against the pollution of the water, both of Mill creek and of the bay, but the practice continued, until in 1907 and 1908 the matter came to a head through the interference of the State Board of Health. Nothing else had been effective, though more than one "Mill Creek Commission" had declared against the system. In obedience to the mandate of the State Board a plan for a receiving sewer and the dis- posal of the sewage has been adopted, toward the accomplishment of which the Councils are addressing themselves. But public sewerage began with Mayor Noble's administration, and during the forty years of its development had become a network of drains of the total length of 791/2 miles, ranging in diameter from 9 to 52 inches, the total cost of which was $981,847.95.
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The story of street paving has already been told. It had been begun earlier, until State street, Turnpike and part of Peach had been paved. when progress went lame. It was Mayor Noble's administra- tion that revived paving along with other improvements.
Erie had had a fire department from 1837, crude and inefficient at the start, but very steadily improving as the town grew. In place of leathern buckets with a company of passers there had been provided hand fire engines of pretty steadily improved designs, and when by charter the town had blossomed out into the city there were in exist- ence not less than three engine companies, while the wise precaution had been taken to provide subterranean reservoirs from which to draw a supply of water. In 1861 the city made the important advance of purchasing a steam fire engine, the Keystone. Great in those days, it was soon found to be inadequate. The coming of the steamers changed the organization of the department, however, and hose companies dis- tinctive from engine companies, came into existence, the first of them named in honor of Mayor Noble. But it fell into disgrace. Five of its members were convicted of incendiarism. This brought about an- other measure of progress that appertains to the period of Orange Noble's mayoralty, namely, the beginning of the paid fire department. The year 1871 marks this. During the Noble administration the steamer McLane was added, and then, in the course of a few years there were bought and installed the W. L. Scott and the D. T. Jones. Steadily the department grew toward a fully paid organization, and with the growth many of the old traditions departed. No longer are the engines embellished with names; a number is sufficient. At the present time there are nine engine houses, all brick structures and most of them modern. There are nine steam fire engines, two ladder trucks with towers and modern appliances, one chemical engine and ten hose wagons, with a well organized force and thorough equipment. The Gamewell fire alarm system was installed in 1886.
The most important need of all was water, and this, too, came during the administration of Mr. Noble. It was the principal issue in the campaign that resulted in his election. In the borough days there had been a pump-log waterworks constructed, but that was as noth- ing to a live city. The populace was crying out for water, and be- cause of the urgent demand private projects were set on foot. A cor- poration called the Erie Water & Gas Company was organized, and soon afterwards the Erie Gas Company secured an amendment to its charter that permitted it to introduce water wherever it supplied gas. There was a strong rivalry for a time, to secure contracts ; but no steps were taken to provide water. The evident demand of the citizens was for a municipal water works, and Councils appointed a committee to secure the services of a competent engineer to submit plans for sewer- age and water and H. P. M. Birkenbine of Philadelphia was engaged
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and submitted a report in February, 1867, which placed the expense of building water works at $350,000. The effect of the report was that councils made a contract with the Erie Water & Gas Co. to supply water for fire purposes at a yearly rental of $9,000 for twenty years. This action fired the train, and the explosion occurred when Mr. Noble was elected Mayor. Confirmed in their position the friends of the municipal system obtained the passage of a legislative act authorizing the construction of the water works. The act provided for the appoint- ment by the court of three Commissioners of Water Works, and the first appointees were W. L. Scott, Henry Rawle and W. W. Reed. The board was organized on June 29, with William Brewster as secre- tary and H. P. M. Birkenbine was engaged as engineer. It was de- cided to locate the pumping station at the foot of Chestnut street. In November a contract was made for two Cornish pumping engines; in December an order was given to the Erie City Iron Works for the stand-pipe and early in 1868 contracts were made with J. M. Kuhn for the buildings and James Dunlap for the pier. The pumping station was completed and a portion of the water mains laid in November, 1868, when the service commenced. It had been estimated by the engineer that it would require $350,000; the cost when the plant was fully ready to supply water was somewhat above $353,000.
Of course the building of the pumping station and the laying of the street mains as planned by the supervising engineer was not the real end of construction in connection with the water works. It has been a story of continued construction to the present time, and will continue to be as long as the city endures. In the nature of things it cannot be otherwise. When the pumping station was built a stand- pipe, into which the water was pumped for the equalization of pres- sure, was constructed of boiler iron surrounded by a tower of brick masonry about 260 feet high, said to be the highest tower, built of brick, in the world. In 1813 it was decided to supplement the equip- ment by a reservoir, which was built on the high ground of the first ridge, south of the Erie Cemetery. It is of a capacity of about 33,000,000 gallons, is 27 feet deep, and the bottom is 210 feet above zero water level in the bay. Soon a difficulty presented itself, in the character of the water, which was not of sufficient purity, and this was remedied for the time being by extending the intake pipe 333 feet be- yond the end of the pier. Then came a new demand. Greater capacity was demanded by a greater city, and to supply this, in 1886 a Gaskill compound pumping engine of a capacity of 5.000,000 gallons daily was installed. In 1893, the capacity being again found to be insufficient, a Worthington pumping engine of 12,000,000 gallons daily capacity was installed. Again the quality of the water was become such as to render it objectionable, and in 1896 the intake pipe was extended into the Big Bend, the pipe consisting of cast iron pipe sixty inches in diameter,
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8,307 feet in length. Three years later another Worthington pump- ing engine was added, that has a daily capacity of 8,000,000 gallons. Meanwhile the old Cornish engines were put out of commission, but with the pumping facilities that remain it is possible to supply the city with 12,000,000 gallons of water per day and still have in reserve for emergency a capacity of as much more.
In the course of time the water of the bay was condemned as unfit for use, whereupon the Water Commissioners proceeded to provide the remedy of extending the intake pipe across the peninsula into the open lake. This work was decided upon in 1904. An act of the Legislature
PUMPING STATION AND STAND PIPE, IN 1876.
was secured that ceded a section of the peninsula to the Commissioners of Water Works, plans were prepared that included the extension of the pipe, and settling basins in which to filter the water, and a con- tract was awarded to the T. A. Gillespie Company of Pittsburg. Work was begun in July, 1904. The pipe, which is of steel 60 inches in diam- eter, was extended beyond the peninsula 9,334.25 feet into the lake, to a point where the water is 35 feet deep, and there anchored to a crib so as to ensure a depth of 26 feet of water over the pipe. The entire length of the intake pipe is now 17,641.43 feet, or rather more than 3.35 miles, and is believed to be the longest single piece of submerged
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60-inch cast iron and steel intake pipe in the world. The work of placing this intake in position was completed August 31, 1908, and on September 16, 1908, the city was supplied with water drawn from the outer lake, more than three miles from shore. The Commissioners have surrounded the pumping station with a handsome park, and a portion of the land acquired on the peninsula has also been parked. Near the pumping station, in 1902, a swimming pool was constructed, which it patronized by scores of children every summer day, and, whether considered in connection with strict business relations or the aesthetic and hygienic spirit manifested by the Board of Commis- sioners of Water Works, has won universal endorsement. The Com- missioners in 1909 were Willis B. Durlin, William Hamilton and Clark Olds.
Following the period under Mayor Noble, characterized as the epoch of public improvements, there came the administration of Wil- liam L. Scott, regarded as the era of reform. But progress continued. The city continued to grow. Manufacturing was increasing by leaps and bounds, building up the city, and Mayor and Councils lent all proper aid. It was a conservative progress that Mayor Scott intro- duced and his successors, C. M. Reed in 1872, Henry Rawle in 1874, John W. Hammond in 1876 and Selden Marvin in 1877 followed along the same conservative lines. Mayor D. T. Jones' administration (1878- 80) was characterized by the successful straightening out of the city's finances and the removal of the floating debt, and Mayor Joseph McCarter (1881-83) placed the city in a position where its credit was above par. Philip Becker, who was elected in 1883, aided in lighting the city with electricity, and had the satisfaction of seeing a favorite measure adopted, namely, to build a city hall, and with a sense of gratification presided at the ceremony of laying its cornerstone in 1884. Frank F. Adams, one of Erie's busiest manufacturers, was prevailed upon to accept the office of Mayor in 1885, and carried into his administration valuable business ideas, but found it necessary to resign before the end of his term, Frank A. Mizener continuing his policies for what remained of the period. John C. Brady's adminis- tration (1887-88) was marked by the multiplication and extension of the public service facilities, and Charles S. Clarke (1889-93), coming from an extended period of training in the office of Controller, carried into the higher office that interest in the city's financial affairs that had distinguished him while he served as the "watchdog of the treasury." Walter Scott was the centennial mayor. Elected in 1893, he saw the city hall so far completed as to make it available for use, and in the last year of his term, aiding in the celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the permanent settlement of Erie, presided at the dedi- cation of the city's building. The terms of Robert J. Saltsman, begun
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in 1896, and John Depinet, in 1899, were chiefly marked by efforts to solve such problems as the abatement of the "Mill creek evil," and the abolition of grade crossings, stubborn questions not to be quickly dis- posed of. William Hardwick was elected on the platform of progres- siveness, with "Erie first, last, and all the time" as the watchword or motto, and the purpose uppermost to make of Erie a clean and orderly city ; and he strove to that end. Mayor Saltsman's second term, begun in 1905, was cut short by death in 1907, when Michael Liebel, Jr., was called to the municipal throne. Bringing energy and zeal with him he has addressed himself to some of the problems that have been most stubborn. Not the least is the question of the public health in the set- tlement of which it may be necessary to resort to an issue of bonds, but that the correction of the evils that exist in the condition of Erie's sewer system shall be effective Mr. Liebel is determined and the people are with him.
Erie, in 1884, adopted an ordinance creating a board of Fire Com- missioners, under the direction of which the Fire Department has at- tained to high proficiency. The success that has attended the opera- tions of the Fire Commissioners has prompted a similar commission for the Police Department, but that has not yet been provided for, the Mayor and Council committees having charge now of over 58 men, as has been the custom from the time the force consisted of a chief and two men who served with Sundays off. It is, however, an efficient department, well organized, and provided with a modern call system of 32 boxes, and patrol wagon service. In 1905 a Mayor's Court was created by ordinance, which is, of course, operated in connection with the Police Department.
In the old borough days the streets were under the charge of a Regulator, but when the city came into being there was a change to committees of Councils with ward foremen under them. It did not work out well, and therefore a change came in 1879 when an ordinance was passed creating the office of Superintendent of Streets, and, with the efficient aid of the City Engineer's Department, this branch of the city government is now well managed.
The Board of Health was created by ordinance in 1897, and, with its health officer and corps of sanitary police, is doing much for the public health. The office of inspector of plumbing is an important auxiliary of the Department of Health.
The city's work is never completed. New things are arising to demand attention and old problems are yet to be disposed of. Aside from the sewerage question that of the abolition of grade crossings seems now to be the most pressing and for the time being it is on Mayor Liebel's slate to be attended to. Whether Hon. J. B. Cessna's contention that the railroad companies can be compelled at their own expense to provide for crossing public highways so as not to interfere
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with ordinary traffic, shall be established by a Pennsylvania court decision, or fail to be established, there will be no rest until no railroad crossings at grade remain in Erie.
Of equal importance with the business transacted at the City Hall or the Court House, is that done at the postoffice, and the story of the growth of that section of a public department of the general govern- ment that is localized in Erie, is in a way an index of the growth of the city. From its beginnings in the log building near the foot of French street, through its various changes in locality and betterment of accommodations to meet increasing demands, it has kept step, alike with the progress of the city and the advancement of the nation. It was so when better facilities gave the city a service more prompt and more frequent, when the registration of mail and the money order system came into vogue, when the free delivery of city mail was estab- lished and, last, when daily delivery in the rural districts was put in operation. The letter carrier system was introduced in Erie in 1867, the first carriers being Phineas Wheeler, Jacob Rindernecht, Peter W. Smith, Thomas Lee, George Momeyer, George Mallory and Spencer H. Booth. In the year 1899 there were on the letter carriers' force forty-one regulars and nine substitutes. Rural free delivery in Erie county began by the establishing of six routes out of Erie, on Decem- ber 1, 1900, two additional routes being established on February 1, 1907. The postmasters of Erie have been : James Wilson, 1801 ; John Hay, 1804; John Gray, 1809; Robert Knox, 1811; James Hughes, 1828; Robert Cochran, 1833 ; Smith Jackson, 1840; Andrew Scott, 18-41 ; Rob- ert Cochran, 1845 ; Thomas H. Sill, 1849; B. F. Sloan, 1853 : Joseph M. Sterrett, 1861; Isaac B. Gara, 1869; Thomas M. Walker, 1876: Isaac Moorhead, 1879 (died in office June 4, 1881) ; E. W. Reed, 1881 ; Henry Shannon, 1885; John C. Hilton, 1889 ; Charles S. Clarke, 1894. Isador Sobel, the present incumbent, was appointed postmaster under Presi- dent Mckinley, on March 29, 1898.
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