New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1872-04-04
BREEDING PEST1LENCE.
lr.ARMrNGLY FILTHY CONDITION OF TIE
STREETS.

MEANING RESUMED ALIEN nav
PoUR MONTIIs-FIFTY THOUSAND on ,dsir
LOADS OF REFUSE TO BE REMov hpwi ~
prrnIIc HEALTH IMPERILED-SANlIAh I Nv
sprCToR MoRRIs's OPINION - fIiIGhifoL
PREVALENCE OF "sPoyTT.S%n ssGyER."
The troops Of laborers employed by the
contractor have of last begun the long
delayed task OF removing tho accumuia'eu hS.es' -"
baQe and dirt from the streets OF this CITY, 'uuRo
worth PRECEDENT Of the Board of Health and ono Oh inc
street. Cleaning COMMISSIONER estimatcs 'i"'
the total amount TO be removed wiz roaon
Ioooo loads while others say that thero
are M len 80 GOO loads be carried off, All agree ha
with tho Exception Of the close OF the nara "ih.o u
1861 when the succession OF snow storms hau naoo ~
narrower ughfaresalmos impassaoio ior sc'oi"
weeks the streets have never been in more n'"y 'v
dtIon than at present In the lower wards along INC
rver and IN those streets bordered by tenenehts ' 10
mora ospeciolly the case. In Washington and Green
wich-sts along nearly their entire length there arc
heaps OF ashes and garbage ana until "thih u'y "
two the mud in numerous places was iour W 'h iii'
deep In portions Of Pearl. William, Front ana 7ou'
SITS heavily loaded trucks scarcely DO driven along
while IN the more Travelled crosstreets such as fuon'
WALL Barclay vcsey and Cortlandt, there are accunu
,tions OF dirt part OF which has been there since NO
vember last. .., o,,,,o
In the Fourth Fifth. and Sixth Wards, portion oino
Seventh and Eighth, and the whole ofthe fourtech'h o
pretense of cleaning the streets was madc curing "
Fall and Winter months, nor, lHuecu, up ="
sent time Not few blocks are almost impassaDie III
conseouence of the ashes and refuse thrown from the
tenements day after day, and allowed to accumuate
pretensc has been made Of gathering the ashcs ana gar
bace each day, but 1t has been only pretehse' iho
greater portion has been left In the stree's
instead Of being thrown into the carts anu
taken away. There probably from l0,ooo
TO 5000 loads lying In the Sixth and Fourteenth WaS
alone An attempt Is now making to gather this mass
into heaps but owing to the immense amount acctnu
lated and the negligence OF those employed Only .e
surface "a scratched over and good portion is left be-
hind In tho low streets OF the Fourth ward, between
Chahamst and the East River. affairs could not well be
worse In many instances the roadways are hlled UP
level with the sidewalks aud occasionally the filth over
flows into the cellars In Goerck Cannon Maheih'
Tompkins East and the lower part OF Houston Stanton
Ryingon, and other streets, thcre are places
almost impossible, more especially In the Vicinity Vi INC
river and heaps OF ashes and dirt are frequently 10 nc
found from two to three feet high tho cutters are
choed and small lakes spread the surface IN con-
sequence Further up town. the condition OF hoso Vi e
streets somewhat better but such OF them as nave
cobbetone payements nearly bad as those in the
tenement-house districts. Portions OF IwehV-SXth,
Thircth Thirty first Thrtythrd, and Thirty-siAtsts'
especially, are In very filthy condition.
In such OF the streets unpaved there Is naturally
condition OF affairs which Is disgrace to city Ike
this Worh-st. from Chathamsquare to broadway, Is
In state that utterly precludes the idea OF travel no
III,
are heaps Of ashes and garbage In numerous Places
nearly breast high e0uth-Ffthave., from Washington
square Canast although not quite 80 bad as worth
ST. is still fair illustration Of how wretchediy
filthy street may become when neglected as ths mas
been There portions Of unpayed streets on both the
East and West Sides which in wor Sc condition than
even W9rth-st or South Fifthaye. No attempt what
ever is made to clean them. and the Health authorities
fear that unless something IS oEh % f6e % er neigh
borhoods and possibly of the entire community VIII DC
| seriously endangered
City sanitary Inspector Morris says that unless the
streets properly cleaned he is apprehensive
OF epidemic when warm weather sets To- Tho gases
tho OF the sun III the urcJNlng Yegcta-
ID and animal matter with when the streets are inenn-
bsred cannot bnt eXercise very % & %
allrningy. Much Of the smallpox anu DINER con
The ifhv condition of streets. and adds that only by
thc most strenuous exerons on the part OF himself ana
able bounds Ccrebrospnal meningitis As tne disease
koTn which at the PesHt ic Is 81 s
rapid increase and the alarming mortality dionE tnose
saee n:aT 60 PER o cent nha G 9 Of e' gases and
poisonous GdGr8 arising Irom u nstaTpailr death cs
pecly ia OF young children. occurring from
SIX - days after the attack although the symp-
toms are nearly the same ~ each case Thc irS inac.
ton OF the disease, which generally shows itself
just after meal Is t ySmnS accompanied pan bea ny
Intervals OF quiet generally followed BY fresh at
he'd ia thrown backward aud there rgidity of the
muscles IN Instances small erdptionS of dark
10 The eycis, chest and thighs There are, also occa
soaally. eruptons OF the lips Constipation Is proml-
fever and chiis, sometimes accompanied by cough:
There IL tenderness OF me abdomen ana spine WITH
Of the first that came under the observation
of the Board OF the Brown family reported by
Health Inspector W. Leo. Tne family occupied the
ir floor of one OF row of small cncmsnls erected on
maic ground in Eleventhavc.. between Thirtyht and
Thirty sixthsts. Five OF the children were attacked
within comparatively short time, the symptoms i IN
each being rs above described, ana four OF them
dieu An examination of the premises led to the Deefh
the disease was OWING 10 deceive sewe c,
few blocks away may have contributed toward poison
ing the atmosphere breathcd by these children. The
raly moved into house IN Thirty seventh-st, a block
two away, and since then sixth snila mas peen
victims not confined TO tenementhouse localities.
Among those VINO nave died on the West Side are the
ssmai Frank o. sc, West Henry Dunhsm
S st. Jas. s'I g At A. NJ III %s't hTsn
MIS- Poser O. At 80 ~ IVES. Ts5f'' VIM Henry
Ticrc are, in addition. a number of under
treatment them being In the vicinity of streets
that show plainly that they have not been cleaned in
Ion time On the east the deaths have been
frequc in Last AIaugin, TompkinS Cannon. Houston,
anu other streets as are nearly on level with tue
EIst Liver and are, therefore, thy in the extreme,
although tie cases have by no means been confined to
Coroner hermann held inquests few days ago in the
se aSV two other Children Of the same family have
den this disease. On TUESDAY last, little daughter
o. Mr Wtfn the al ese and died in short Tune Mrs
Schwartz returning from the funeral seized with
| alt ousn attended by several shiliui physi-
| Oians. III all OF these cases the symptoms of
| ccrt lro-spinal meningitis, spotted fever" ~
Is sometimes called marked, and the post mortem
examinations showed cOncusiycy That death resulted
from this disease Tne Sanitary Committee Of the Board
Health have had the matter under avisenent for some
time past thus far they unable 10 discover
| ueans OF checking the disease unless by instuting
more rigid OF street cleaning in the tenement
| house districts OF the city.
CLEAN STREETS OR PEsTILENCE.