, 1881-08-21
CITY SANITATION.
Responsibility for Nuisance
Landlord or Tenant.
What the Building Inspectors
Have Done During tho
Week.
The Filthy Premises Discovered-WhatHs
Doing to Remedy the Evil.

Doing to Remedy the Evil
Report on The Snake Nuisance -Small.Poz and other
Diseases.
WHO SHALL AEATE TIE SU1-
SANCE:
Rufus Platten, living at No az west
Adams street, was brought up before Justice
Wallace day before yesterday, at the instance
of the Health Department, on the charge OF
allowing pools of stagnant and putrid water
to collect and breed disease OIL the premises,
and fined $50. In the item. rs reported. the
Court was made to say, You have per
feet right rs tenant to claim all Offset on any
rent due to your landlord fo!Aexpensc you
may have been put to while complying with
the law in the matter Of drainage" 10
this the tenant replied that his land
lord, one Carter, was IN ln Europe !ai
lie had signed would allow no Offset for i'm.
| proyelnents, and sewer would cost ~.
10 this the Court was reported to have said.
"Don't pay one cent Of money to Mr. Carter
until you drain that cesspool." ....
The proceeding. beng somewhat novel
one, and the position taken, whether it con
! formed to gooA law or not, agreeing with
| tile popnlar notion that landlords ought TO
pay something anu not "s1ick the tenant
for everything, reporter took 100 look +, mto mo
| Investigation, that the report OF the Judges
t remarks was NOT strictly correct.
WHAT lie DID SAY
was that the tenant would have a good plea
| i'll abatement OF the rent after the expense
to which he had been put both IN the pay Y
| druiufng the cc3spool. Justices are not IN tne
| habit Ut delivering advice and Instructions to
G9pG {on' und M f aceoripg to
| Cameron. Justice Wallace did not 10 50 In this
! ease. Cot Cameron, however, advised tho de-
l6as Il he aidnt % eiean out the Vault
| OH the premises, and connecI IT. with the
sewer, he rhe tcnant) would 10 T.; ana I.t1. t1e
| Carter that he tho tenant} would Iake tho
money out Of his rent unless tho leusc distinctly
provided that the tenant was 70 httenu TO anu
| pay fur such matters himself.
l. TIE NEW EKVISED CITY ORDINANCES
on this subject, Sec. 6s7, require the commis-
sioner of Health to serve notice On the
| "owuer, occupant, or agent" Of Il building or
premises In or upon which nuisance may ne
| found, requiring them to abate the same. It Is
not compulsory On the Commissioner 70 ufscrloe
| tho manner In which tho nuisance Is to be
| abated, though In this case he did. where the
.owner. occupant, or agent" neglect or refuse
! to comply with the requirements OF the ORDER
in the lime specified; they are subject to a me
| vides that, at the expiration Of the time speci-
lied In the notice, the Health Oilcer shall cause
tho nuisance to be abated; tnat whenever tne ne
f'caunot be found, the Commissioner SHALL aoat5
the nuisance without notice. In either case tte
| expcnse Of the abatement Is to be collcc.c0
| trou, the person or persons who may have crsat-
ed, contln-ucd, md suffered tho nuisance 10
exist.
to suffer or permit cellar, vault, private dran,
pool, sewer, nr sink On the premises peotlElli
TO occupied by him 10 become nanseors' iqh,, h,,
.Jr,}s1
penalty for creating, suffering. or permitting
such nuisance to exist is the same Us ~ unaer s
the previous section, with IN addltionae nhs nr, re
for every day it Is continued after notice 10
The 1aw apparently makes no distinction a ne-
tween landlord and tenant: The y owner occpo
pant, or AGENT in the order nsmed, 5 g. to pc pc
served with u notice; aned ed,no7ied r. qo qo
doesn't comply. md then fomPefan 60. re a,,,tb ~
Department. The law leaves the parties to SET,
tie their differences between themselves MnI' ~,
the lay Is after is hage tae a nnon so ire
Queutly will perhaps appear from INC Io''o"u4
STATEMENT By cITY-ATroRSEY GH1NSELt
made in the course of q conversation Win Inc
reporter on the subject:
shail be Liable, for the reason that, IN grea
many Instances, the landlords are non resldents
and the city can't gc1 Ut them ana >,!tsit, 9sint
that somebody in possession Of the premise:
; shull takc care Of these things. Iherc IS an
other reason. Tie g pea%ee A,'u nui
nobody except those two KNOWS woat tne 'a,: pao.
visions OF the contract may be- IN nine case:
bypothcsis that the tenant shall take care o
EVERYTHING and see that the sewers, catcn
b,,sns, etc, ure I'LL right. The case depends, a:
usn reluuops % between tho individuals and tht
city. it Is wisely provided sdsaats'e, taat tnt
I remember correctly, the Council mute the
uroysiot, against the tenant for that very rell'
onbeeause he Is the one sn san e. eooK no.
look to the landlord. II it is on account OF IN
hcrcnt defects in the construction OF tue bulid
| inp he ctn look to the landlord. lie eau pay a.
tine. ana. when he comes 10 pay his rent: take fl
out But he must not do 1t repeatedly, becaus'
be is obliged to elect to either pay atn, tue wao
. | Under his contract an0 still cut down on tn
rent. In other words, he cant eat MS CAKE a1 =
It. TOO He s1n5 say 1hc1e ehs IS di
Guilty witt the sewerage. 49,, :,
J " but suppose the owner or landlord Gun D
scsiso that m cse, be should be the party served
If he cannot be served, however, the city has t
| fall back upon tho occupant
In order to ascertain what
Il THE I:EAI-EsTArE MEN
; | +ho,ybt of the subject of tenants recouping o.
their landlords in such cases, the reporter calle
, on two OF three agents for rented houses IN
put the question to them one man adnrd 1n@dsps sb
was responsible for nuisance 9
his promises ought to stand It: t. ,.s Anotne a9tI
thought it might be Just but tnat u VIZ -, ee.. ~
| improvements and take the cost or them gu out 9
| tho rent In his rounds the reporter Ia'led
discoycr the cold biooded landlord VINO taSe
ref1,ve in the cut-throat lease,-probably DC
cause such discovery happens oniy 70 teMah ~
thornsclyes,-and who bias been salu 70 noi1 ln q
| .loe,rine that II a tenant, having signed 4cas
and agreed to leave the promises JUST as :
found them, should discover scwer.gas, tr nitat