The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-08-13
Am OPEN LETTER FROM DIR. HOLT.

10 the Honorable Mayor and City Council. and
e 20 91r e nndon If The seee and
markets of he Fourth District, MeBars. Chhs.
s,ayanac, Administrator Of Commences; Robt.
j.. Diamond. Administrator of Police; John
u. Kengstorff. Administrator of ASSESS
mens:
Tentleme,t-You have arraigned me before
this community, placing me In such q ques-
tionable light that | am compelled TO take
GUgnizante OF the personality WhGreWlth you
have pointed your publication of the tenth Ill
slant NY communication to the Board Of
Health, dated August s, was q plain, straight
forward expression Of the truth.
My motive and only intention In presenting
that report was to urge the immediate and
thorough cleaning Of the Fourth District;
knowing, as ! always have that the saliva
ton Of this people is pivoted upon their rem
dertng Of u complete obedience to sanitary
law, and believing, as ! do, that yellow fever
is the penalty we pay for our disUbedience.
Harassed by anxiety and the many cares
In the desperate struggle we are waging
against pestilence. ! made my report for the
general good, and In order to hurry on the
10 save one child from having yellow fever
was. In my opinion, o more glorious achieve
ment than to attend fifty in illness.
Ny communication seems to have offended
you, and, for reasons best understood by your
selves, you have been pleased TO publish ex-
tracts from parcel Of monthly reports which
are for the most part intended to furnish 81
statement to the board Of our sanitary work.
and TO keep the public informed concerning
the general health and prevailing Diseases l
have carefully avoided putting into these u
detailed account Of sanitary affairs as not
very delectable to the general reader, and ia
that place productive Of no good | have also
done this to avoid u constant picking at your
departments and consequent engendering OF
ill-feeling by seeming 10 wage continual
notty warfare
Aggravated complaints against you have
addressed as special and private communica-
tious to the board.
There Is no discrepancy nor error in my re-
ports. In them, as in my latest, have told
the truth in whatever 1t was my
pleasure to state. AS for my official negIi-
gence in writing report based upon mere
hearsay, allow me to correct your "imDres-
q paper without first informing myself by
personal investigation of all the particulars
set forth.
The question at Issue Is not personal one
between your honorable body and myself. In
this moment Of public calamity and great
distress. ] esteem myself rs Of exceedingly
small Importance. There is no neglect nor
abuse of your power In the Fourth District
which could possibly touch me personally.
In answering your publication, am simply
fulfilling an Imperative duty to my integrity,
forced to 1t by yourselves.
While beg to assure you that there exists
on my part between your honorable body and
myself no unkind feeling whatever, l at the
same time assure you that there does exist
between you ard the people Of the Fourth
District 8 very serious issue. which your
statements have in ITO wise mitigated
] have been profoundly astunlshed that, In
an emergency like the present. q time OF
great public disaster and CONSERVATION, your
eral departments, should have based itself
upon seeming discrepancy In the routine
reports OF a sanitary Inspector rather than
to have planted itself squarely upon the
record OF its own work, aud calling upon the
whole people to bear testimony Of your stew
ardship.
With wonderful preciptancy you have
placed yourselves behind q breastwork hasti-
" constructed of the supposed discrepancies
In my monthly reports. II these can be OF
helping you out OF n difficulty Or from al en-
harrasslng position, ] will gladly send you
those of the past two years, thanking you ut
the same time for the distinction you have
conferred upon them.
/ have made the general charge that In the
management OF streets etc, in the Fourth
District there have been committed the most
horrible Outrages ever perpetrnted upon Thu,
people,
You have assumed tho responsibility by
this charge as aimed ut you.
In this charge have made the plain state
meut of a TRUTH intending no reflection upon
Dr. injury to any one. Now that have made
the charge, let me assure your honorable
body that hold myself ready 20 come for
ward with the specifications, minutely re-
counting essential details.
You shall have them whenever your honor
able body may desire, and. moreover II de-
manded by the public, aho ne wW find to be
our masters, and ne their SERVANTS, and that
they are the only tribunal in this business, they
too shall have the same.
With great respect allow me to assure you
that will not permit myself to enter into -
public controversy further than Is essential,
such displays being foreign to my Instincts
exceedingly distasteful, and by no means
dignfled,
Again assuring you that | am fully ably to
defend myself IN the substantation of every
CHARGE remain very respectfully your ODE
dent servant JOS. HOLT NJ. D.,
Sanitary Inspector Fourth District