58 ILLINOIS ACADEMY OF SCIENCE 



to treat the wastes so that offensive conditions in a stream 

 may be in part or wholly relieved, but for certain industries 

 such treatment of the wastes is prohibitively expensive. 



Enjoining industries against causing objectionable stream 

 pollution may, and in some instances actually has, neces- 

 sitated the shutting down of works. It is conceivable, in the 

 case of large industires upon which are dependent a con- 

 siderable population, that an order to cease stream pollution, 

 which is virtually an order to shut down the works, might re- 

 sult in great hardship without adequate returns accruing from 

 the cleaner conditions of the stream. There may be instances, 

 therefore, where a limited few of the streams of the country 

 may legitimately be turned over to the manufacturing inter- 

 ests. Now that the stream pollution problem has become 

 more acutely an issue and the disadvantages of filthy streams 

 is better understood it would not seem wise to permit waste 

 producing industries to be located upon any but very large 

 streams which have an ample volume to dilute the wastes to 

 an inoffensive condition. That is to say, the streams which 

 are now clean should be maintained clean for the reason that 

 we have an ample number of large streams which can ef- 

 fectually take care of wastes from waste producing industrial 

 plants for an indefinite period in the future. 



Legal Control Over Stream Pollution 



A discussion of stream pollution would not be complete 

 unless some consideration is given to legal control. As al- 

 ready indicated the cleanness of streams cannot be conserved 

 unless under a central governmental supervision. If left to 

 individual communities, very little could be expected in the 

 way of results. Communities are not likely to be altruistic 

 enough to spend large sums of money for sewage purification 

 works to protect neighbors on the stream below unless such 

 altruism is induced by damage suits which render sewage 

 purification the cheapest way out of the difificulty. But law 

 suits are costly if long drawn out and the results are often 

 unsatisfactory. 



It is essential that specific problems relating to stream 

 pollution must for successful solution be placed in the hands 

 of experts and it is, therefore, necessary or at least strongly 

 advisable that every state have an expert commission. Among 

 many there is a strong prejudice against commissions inas- 

 much as the multiplication of commissions is looked upon as 

 a delegation of legislative and executive powers to others 

 than direct representatives of the people. This need not neces- 

 sarily be so, however, for a law may be framed requiring in 

 general terms that streams must be maintained in an inoffen- 



