The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1878-01-08
ceiye their moneys worth in clean sree's' your

Police insist oosruet them 10 ne prop
discharge OF their duty aud which sey claim should ex
cuse the Imperfect performances Of those duties t'ge,e'
".s sed ND sf facts shch il commit
ment to cleanse this city.
The department clams:-
Frs, they poweress TO enforce the separat on
IN ss *. aea sa' aSass district Drac1s
pond That the comminriing OF these two articles
renders the whole mass saensse and brings y within
as osdsse. sa 'Ps''s Shall not ss lawful for
any person 70 threw Or cas- INA @ ~ or
the Dey Of New YORK Raritan or jamaica Bay 10
che Ssa to s ond', a q
the of Long Island sound to the deposit Of
At thus appears,n quote from the written state
OF the department hereto annexed shat there
| no waters surrounding or IN the vicinity Oh New
York where material may be lawfully deposited.
AS the disposition OF the material on land tho street
Cleaning act provides that all material Ia question
shall removed from the city daily except such DIRT
and ashes as In the judgment OF the Board Of Health
we Sun quote, shave knowledge now completely the
attempts Of the Board oil Police 10 utilize tnis
vas. volume OF material in niiing up and making ing
feaied. Further, The sanitary ordinances Of Kings,
Queens, Richmond and westchesser counties. Long
| Island Guy, Brooklyn Jersey CITY, hoooken and all
the rura districts OF New Jersey pronibit the depo-
sicn of this material within their several juris-
ling ling the a' deposits It IS proper to ada tna.
the violations OF the statutes ana ordinances IN thus
regard are misdemeanors, subiecting the offending
parties 10 indiclmen, ana crilnilai punishment"
NO DUMPING GROUNDS
The chief difficulty IN the way OF the Commissioners,
then, that which ney dwell with greatest en-
phasis, is their inability 10 dispose o. the mass OF
refuse collected in cleaning the city. Had we place
TO dump this in, they say, we could keep the city
clean and the reason we cannot lind such place Is
that being powerlcss TO enforce the separation OF
ashes aud street dirt from garbage, the whole mass
becomes putrd ana offensive, and therefore brings us
WITHIN tho provisions oil the statute.
These are the illegal other difficulties surround
ing the matter OF street cleaning" SO patheicaly re-
ferred 10 IN protest OF number OF gentlemen adj
dressed the Mayor anu lately published IN the daily
press and SO plantively recchoed by the Mayor IN
his formal dismissal OF the charges brought by him.
sell against the Commissioners.
In the judgment OF your Committee this objection
is not only not well taken by the Police Board, but
their constant urging OF II and nsistance upon u are
puerile aud ridiculous
An ordinance oil the Common Council requires gar
bage and ashes to be kept separate and put ont for
collection in separate vessels, The Police Board has
under its control and orders force OF 2,2OO men, IN
high training each ono OF whom can as part OF mis-
duty 10 the enforcement OF this ordinance. With
this machinery at It's disposal the Police Bonrd not
only cannot show any sustained or continued effort TO
enforce this separation but itself encourages and n-
stigates the iniraction Of the law on this point
"Do you enforce Obedience to the ordnance requir-
ing ashes and garbage to be kept separator
We quote IRON the report OF an interview with
Commissioner Nichols, published In the New York
World of December 49, copy OF which Is hereto an
.No; we used to. but It was found TO DO impracti-
cable Tor the that required us 10 have twico
as many carts use, ana That entaled expcndi-
could not afford under the present appropra-
ton You easiy what an additional labor and
expense would be required 10 send TWO carts where
we now send only one"
Tue inhabitants OF the tenement house district are
not as eenoted for observance Of sanitary laws,
but In view OF the above statement, are they TO DO
blamed TOR the admixturc OF garbage with their ashes
when the dcpar tment, whose business it s to enforce
their eparaon deliberately Mixes under the eyes OF
tenants, the very substances which the law pro-
claims shall. under poualty Of dne be Kept distincts
Your committee Is aware that about two years ago
effort made by the Police Board 10 enforco the
separating ordinance; That the inhabitants OF the
.fu mn tnA
with great unanimty to provide themselves with iron
and tin vessels, as receptacles OF garbage, and en-
deavored TO keep 1t separate and distinct, and
your committee charges that the failure at that time
carry out this system OF separation was chiefly, II
not entirely. owing TO the admxturo OF these sub
carts sent Tor their collection.
IRREGULAR CARRIAGE.
Another cause OF tho failure 10 separate 10 tho rreg-
ulariiy with which the department carts make their
rounds.
SHOW is It," We continue from tho same report In
the World "that within block Of here, on Mott
street, there are at this hour Of tho morning many
barrels iuli OF garbage?'
Answcr-Tnat 10 because we have not scows
enough TO remove the stuif We have to hire them all
the time, anu even thea they are not sufficient be-
cause We have to &c out TO dump, and
hot do that when there Is high wlnd without i'm
perilling the lives OF our men. While the scows
lying full at the dock, waiting to be taken out and
iosdod Is useless TO iii our carts with stun which we
cannot remove; we nave 10 walt for the scows TO
return from sea.
Here is the whole story in u few words Garbage
accumulates quickly, and in the narrow, close rooms
OF the tenement house must OF necessity be gotten
rid Of The only way Tor these poor people to get rid
OF II rs to place 1t IN the open air 70 await removal.
Removal being delayed the reccptacles are needed
for further use, the conteDts arc dumped into the
gutter into ash barrels, and feslcr there until
tho department gets ready to cart IT awDy.
BY that time has deca yed 10 such an extent be
incapable Of separation. or II separated to be Of any
use, and Is thrown into tue ashoart 10 disti iOul
liquids which, Under It's motion, tricko through into
the street, poisoning the air and creating terrible
nuisance
Your committee not propose add one word to The
foregoing statements OF one OF the Police Commission
Those statements establish the TACT that absolutely
effort is mado by the department TO separate tho
garbage from the ashes a1d street DIRT o this CITY.
But THIS very admixture OF garbage Is the cause
why no place can he secured for the disposal OF the
refuse with which IL is mixed. The legislation of
(which the Police Board complains Is eminenty proper
aud just We do not propose TO permit our rivers and
bays 10 become mass OF corrupting matter, nor do
We blame adjacent communities Tor protecting their
shores from this disgusting and presidential vista
tiOn.
VALUE STREET swEEPiNGs.
In the judgment OF your committee not one ounce
OF this city's need be taken TO dumped
the waters oil the East or North river oil Long
Island Sound. The garbage once scparaed--and ~ IS
but ten per cent OF the whole amount OF city refuse
the residue, ashes and street sweepngs, are not oal,
putrd or offensive matter within the statute, and need
not be removed IRON The city daily, II AT all. Much
OF 1t Is Immediately available for hliing low
lands The street sweeplngs have certain value
as manure and were formerly disposed OF for that,
bringing In something like .S2O,OO0 per annum.
Ashes when screened make an excellent subsiratum
for psvements and dlling for low lands, besides yield
ing largo percentage oil available iueL Dumping
grounds Tor both these materials might without Of
lence be established in the city on lands hard by
To be acquired Tor tue purpose, and II II were
known tnat these two materials could DO found IN
quantities at certain known places and al liked prices
II market would soon be established Tor Them.
The garbage taken when fresh ana without ndmx-
ture commands ready sale at prices which will
nearly the expenses Of its collection. Your
mittee accompanied by two OF tue Police Commissions
crs visited an establishment at East New York,
seven miles back vi Long Island CITY, where
largo Quantities of swine raised Tor market on tho
garbage supplied from three or four hotels OF this
cay Tue proprietor rays these hotels about 50 900
per annum for their ashes aud garbnge (the former
screened supplying him with ali the uel toc his
chinery) and removes them This long distance between
nine and twelve oclock each night
When confronted with the Police Commissioners he
procssed himself ready TO purchase all the garbage
they could deliver 10 hin az any vacant island on Long
Island sound Subsequently, your committee pro-
cured a perfectly Responsible man who offered TO
receive on the docks ana carry away ut
his own expense all tho garbage OF the
city. He has subsequently offered aud his