St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-05-25

improvement in the water supply, the
commissioner says: ut is matter for
regret that the city cannot indulge in
the same measure of self-applause re-
garding her methods of food inspection.
Taking into account all that has
been done In this direction by
the agencies now at work in the
way of the state dairy commission and
the local inspectorship of dressed meats,
it is still deplorably true that the public
of this great city is not adequately pro-
tected by any due oversight of articles
of food intended for human consump-
ton. Censorship over dressed meats
is but a limited affair at the best. The
naked eye can do little to detect ill con-
ditionS in meat and, while the micro
scope can do much, it will yield it's re-
suits only to the trained hand and eye
of the microscopic"
Under the head Of house inspections
it is stated that in 1889 there were 1888
visits made by the inspectors. Most of
these were along the line of severed
streets, and the commission recommends
that the council should compel all houses
to make connections with sewers. In
speaking of the scavenger service, DIR.
Kilvington says: 1.-The volume of this
business carried ON within the city lin
its is increasingly large. 1t is estimated
tnats49S, 1924 loads of garbage and other
refuse, and 9,7O3 loads of nightSoil have
been disposed of during the past year,
while orders have been issued by the
department for the removal OF 2,200 dead
animals, in addition to the many removed
by private owners. The Mississippi
river is still used as the principal de-
pository for these waste materials, al
though this perniciOuS practice has been
condemned by the chief the United
States engineering corps in this dis
trict in his report to the government"
Death statistics are treated in the fol
lowing paragraph: Sin so rapidly
growing city as this it is difficult to
form a correct estimate of the popula-
ton upon which the calculation OF
death rate may be based. The depart
ment has preferred to err upon the
safer side, and has made its
figures upon the conservative esti-
mate of 100000, the same number upon
which its rate of last year was made.
Nevertheless. the mortality rate shows
very marked reduction, a decrease
which, by the way, has peen progress
sive fol the past three years. In the
twelve months ending April, 1887, it
stood at II per thousand: in the year
closing April, 1888, 1T fell to 10 per
thousand; in the period ending April.
1889, it reached 1874 per thOusand; III the
year which this report brings to an end,
it touches its lowest mark. lib per
thousand"
AS to the matter of expense DIR. Kill
vingtOn says: Some criticism OF the
department has been called forth by
the fact that it's appropriation for the
year just closed has been overrun. Inc
department would courteously reply
that it has no apology to offer for itself.
The appropriations made have never
been sufficient for the needs OF the SER
vice. The comptroller has annually re-
quested an estimate of the expenses to
be met during the ensuing year; and.
unlike some other branches OF the city
government, the department has based
its demands upon actual necessities and
has found it impossible to make any
suitable allowance for those more or less
expensive emergencies which, like an
epidemic of smallpox. may and often do
arise. In submitting its estimates it has
emphasized the barely essential features
of it's figures, but, in despite of this fact
and without consultation with or further
reference to the department, the gross
sum has been arbitrarily cut down. In
consequence it has been impossible to
live strictly within the limits Of the re-
duced appropriation"