The New York herald., 1870-08-20
AN OFFAL NUISANCE.
what Becomes Of Dead Animals Pound in the
City-The Way Contractors Do Their
Duty--A Rank Smelr' in the Lower
Bay-How 1t Can be Stopped,


Train by heart; but IT must be confessed that the
question has been answered in the lower bay OF late
In o way not even pleasing 10 eyes that delight In
nothing repuslve and Olfactories that crank smells'
put into turnup expression OF disgust more easily
imagined than described The fact is that the New
York Rendering Company have had good deal TO
say about what the tame as well as the wild waves
have had to say for weeks past OF which fact any
person who has had the bad luck TO
take sail down the bay within the past few weeks
must be well aware. IL is almost needless to men,
zion what the New York Rendering Company is,
but everybody may not be aware that 1t is the sue
cessor Of the Boole contractors. who once upon
time undertook for valuable consideration duly and
periodically paid to keep the city free from dead
animals and oifal OF all kinds IL viii be rernem.
bered that this company and the Board OF Health of
this city once had Dig fight over the rendering
business. which at one time Did fair to outrivAl the
enors Of the Prussians and Frenchmen in point of
dete nation and spitefulness on both sides.
The rendering company got the contract to take up
and dispose OF all the
DEAD ANIMALS AND SLAUGHTER HOUSE oFrAL
they could find in the city, and for long period had
rendering place foot OF West Thirty-eIghth street.
North river where dead cats horses, dogs and other
animals were rendered into fluids and substances
the sale Of which brought the company in good
profit every day. 1t suddenly occurred to somebody
IN the neighborhood that the atmosphere might be
considerably improved upon II the factory Of the
company Was made TO quit business, and straight
way crleS went up from many tenement house
throars that the stencil from u was too horrible to
endure. People who travelled up and down
the river on the steamers day by day
added their complaints to those OF the
short time the Board OF Health gave heed to them.
Then came the tug of war, and while 1t lasted the
stencil became all the more unendurabe, and tndi-
vl0ualS OF tender scOmaClS commended that III The
thing did not come to an abrupt ending the doctors
In their neighborhood wouid become too rich for the
vicinity and might make bid for Fifth avenue
residences, thus leaving the west side to the mer
cies OF what they feared might be an epidemic. The
usual picking up the dead animals about town and
rendering them into serviceable material.
Tnsy cried out cloud that they
would be benefited by the result OF
their labors. But the crash finally came One day
the Board of Health put It's FOOT down firmly and
won the fight by reason OF its might. The render
Ing business stopped and the people In the vicinity
OF the establishments breathed more freely.
THE CONTRACT
But what was to follow was worse than before, al
though Gothamites nave not had so mucn to COM
plain about as their near neighbors on the seaboard
The rendering company, as has already been men
toned, is the successor or the Long leland Bone La
Booe in April Of 1865 q contract was drawn up TO
dispose OF the dead animals In this city, BY the con-
tract the contractors and their successors were
bound 10 take the animals
OUTSIDE THE CITY LIMITS.
or course, after the present contractors were pro-
hibited from rendering" they had naturally TO fall
back on the contract In this respect. The original
contractors agreed TO collect and remove from all
eighth street ali dead horses and other dead animals
found about the streets, to have a suitable number
OF vessels propelled by steam power to remove all
the carcaSses DC. and then to transport them ''tO
some place out and beyond the limits OF the cityn
The New York Rendering Company are also bound
mat ''upon any neglect Or Or rel refusal nH''Na on
the part OF the contractors to per.
70 form nm, the whole or part Of the stpulatlons
oi this contract, or any requirements, conditions
and specifications Of the same, the work shall be
done by other parties at their EXPENSE This con-
When the Board Of Health OF this city succeeded tn
Inspectors 0fice It, OF course, became the party
Bee to it that the contract properly fulfilled and
IL has had great many bouts with the contractors
on the score OF their not doing their duty properly
1t would thus seem that the question as to whether
the lower bay can be made poisonous with the dead
animals dumped into It by the New York Rendering
Health but there would appears to be great diver
sity Of opinion upon the subject.
THE BOARD OF HEALTH's VIEWS.
The Board Of Health contend-and Its counsel has
written an opinion to that effect, which he has
already submitted to the CommissI0ners--th they
have no jurisdiction in the matter OF the lower bay
nuisance whatever. The Commissioners claim that
IL IL their bounden duty to look after the health OF
the city and That 1t was because they became con-
WINGED that the rendering OF the dead animals in
Thrty-eighth street was nuisance and detrimental
TO health that they put stop to it. Beyond the city
would they contend. have no more right to inter-
lere In the matter complained OF IN the lower bay
city OF Philadelphia 1t is Just here that the legal
sh0e pinches and that the
CONTRACTORS GRIN
the more grimly whenever they are complained Of
and dead horse floats up the bay along side OF plea
sure Doat evidence that it was at any rate
allowed to remain in the city after DEATH The con-
tract compes the contractors to transport the dead
animals to ''sOme place out and beyond the city
limits" which IL will be seen Is quite indefinite
IN hn m ngf nxn nf cnnrro nfnrr
The city limits" in the bay are divided from 'f0r-
elgn" jurisdiction by an imaginary line from Red
Hook to Bedloe's Island and beyond that to almost
Bergen Point. SO II the contractors act up to their
ctteraly they fulfill their duty they say, when
they transport dead animals and 0nal to no matter
what slight distance beyond this imaginary
line and dump them into the water. 1t is contended
however, by the residents Of staten Island and
many other places just without the inner bay tnat
the contractors have been Of late dumping the dead
animals at night time the city as Governors
Island and tlrat they have on some occasions gone
so far to dump them in the river from the wharf
itself. This latter statement however needs con-
frmation; but the testimony Of q great many per-
been carried Of late altogether TOO the city.
The consequence IS now smelling rank to heaven In
oas dy % Sorses a a
terIng and spreading poison about for
miles. At New utrecht the inhabitants have
seen OF late as many as fifteen dead horses foatlng
near the shore together and the fact of their being
together is the best evidence I'm the world that they
DID not ee ao11S N the "a usual M way In crowd Live
there Is nothing known which is 80 particularly at
tractive In the dead horse as 60 draw other dead
horses floating a few miles from him close TO his
side. During the late very hot weather people
living
ALONG THE SEA SHORE,
just inside the city limits, have had very hard time
Of 1t, and in many places families have been COM
PEELED to leave their country seats and go elsewhere
10 live, so great Is the stencil arising
from the carcasses that are daily washed
upon the shores in, their vicinity Dr. Carnochan
begged HIM TO use his influence In doing away with
the nuisance but as he has no power IN the matter
the appeals have been In vain. The nuisance has
become so intolerable during the past week that
serious trouble has more than once been antici-
pafed In certain localities along the bay, aud threats
have been freely made that II the coDtractors boat
Is caught dumping inside Sandy Hook she Will be
captured, taken out to sea and
SUNK WITH EVERY SOUL ON BOARD.
The great question is how the nuisance can be
abated. Mayor Hall thinks the best way will be to
refuse TO pay the contractors until they give salts
factory proof that they do their duty remove the
dead animals SO far from the city that
the tide cannot bring them 70 shore apain.