The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1878-11-17
The Garbage War.

S. was directed by Mayor Pilsbury VII o dexe
ousIy put the Times newspaper forward
the the originator of the COD iict. The or slaupl
OF that paper was, it must be confessed, q
yF' vigorous as it was unexpected and as sen
,i sational as big capitals and frightful adjec
tives could make it. Mr.. McCaffrey denie,
the charges thus publicly made, and de-
manded Investigation by an impartia
committee, banning come of the mos
3. respectable and intelligent gentlemen O
z the city as acceptable to him in that capac.
lty. The Mayor, however, assumed the
= right OF selecting the committee and utterly
r ignored all the names suggested by the
a accused. This was a decided ADVANTAGE
gained over Mr.. McCaffrey by his adverse
sarles IT he was correct in his theory that
the Mayor was the instigator of the war
upon bim and 8 real head and front.
The omen was not retrieved in the
result. Mr.. NcCaffrey and his committee
were constantly at loggerheads they re-
fused him counsel, took testimony without
notifying him, examined important locali-
ties IN his absence, got insulted at q criti-
cal moment and closed the examination
without hearing his evidence. This NAV
have all been accidental, however, and
there may have been no conspiracy what
ever against the accused as charged by |
MIN, nor even any hostility towards him
on the part of the Mayor. Whether there
was or not has, in our opinisn, nothing to
do with the merits of the question.
The charge as made in the Times was
that four thousand loads of unwholesome
garbage -hadE been deposited IN our front
streets just before the epidemic, that this
action was the cause of the mortality that
ensued and that the culpable party ought ;
to be treated as a murderer and woree.
AS public journalists our sole interest is to ,
ascertain whether this charge was made
good or not. =
We must say that it was not, either lit -
orally or eubstan italy. In fact there was
no attempt to sustain the charge as origi.
nally made. 1t was virtually dropped by o.
me Times and changed into an accusation q
If filling certain back streets and lots with {"
garbage not taken from the uump. But if -
his had been proved il would not have y, "
'orne the Times out in the spirit of its -, -,
'ttack. 1t would have been q mere fact of
1iilng, without any fact Of resulting -
iamage. The garbage WAS placed in back =,
treets and lots ; the fever ravaged Annun- 49,
"ation, Tchoupitoulas and Constance -
treets in the front of the city for weeks
etore it reached tie remote localities -
there the garbage had been deposited 1f
his fact is incontestible, ard it absolutely g.,
estroys the Times theory of epidemic ~
aused by garbage infection and of mur- 49,
erous results f1cm ffcal recliSepce or -
laipractice. m,
But whas about tho extent of the charge =,
respective OF locality and epidemic, that is W
le a 900 loade. There is n proof whatever
} sustain it. Nothing more than the usual
mount of garbage was used for filling "
urposes, and this quite properly. Ger W.
ain kinds of garbage, euch as coal ashes, -" ~
axe the most solid ard least offensive '0'
ind of filling for streets and lots. tfae o'
ways been used for this purpose and
ways will be, Notwithstanding the war ="
n Administrator McCaffrey. Citizens of or,
II kinda,-editors ard Doctors, Mayors ma
I'D Board of Health members, committee bs
zen ard witnesses - all occasionally M
SIX for good garbage filing for their wi
wn premises and adjoining streets. co
he letters of Surveyors D'HemecoHrt and fnl
ile put these things beyond controversy. An
Mr.. McCaffrey, then, cannot be blamed the
IT having followed a precedent approved sti
geneFatlons before him and for granting It'll
le urgent request of private parties for it
arbage filling. me
Bat, his prosecutors insist, his men were CO.
lreless or stupid in permitting offensive col
ash instead of solid garbage to be haul is
/; they buried dead cats in the open ert
reefs and left carcasses go slightly cover %e
at the dump that hogs feasted contin7- tut
ly on them. Why, say the gentlemen of i'm
le committee, we oureelves eaw several ati
lndred hogs busily feeding on the dump. is
o which Mr.. McCaffrey replies If the al,